There are a lot of things that go into running fire departments. The firefighters must be trained first, and they must prove that they are physically fit enough to do their duties. That’s just the start, though.
There are administrators who have to track how efficient the people in their firehouse are in terms of putting out fires. Weather and inventory both play a large part. In the past, they had to write things out by hand in ledgers.
Now, there’s fire department software and NFIRS reporting software. Let’s look at them.
What Is Fire Department Software?
This is a central hub for fire department administrators to keep track of everything going on in their own station. They can check everything from box alarms to the location of hydrants to people and places that have had carcinogenic exposure.
They can also check to see that their firefighters have the proper certificates and training. If they need to know anything, all it takes is a couple of clicks of a computer mouse, and it will all be there in front of them. The software also allows them to report to NFIRS.
What is NFIRS?
This is an acronym for the National Fire Incident Reporting System, and it’s a voluntary reporting system that tracks everything that a fire department faces. It’s integrated, so it can cover an entire state’s fire department activities.
People at a certain firehouse can input their resource inventory data, among other things. The reason it was created was to make it easier for emergency response systems to be better tracked.
When and Why Was It Created?
There was a fire problem in the United States through the early and mid-1970s. As a result, there was a report called “America Burning,” which then prompted NFIRS to be created. Now, the data was held in one central spot. Like all kinds of software, it’s gone through various versions. As of this writing, it is Version 5.0.
People using the NFIRS database might see that there are a lot of things to fill out. Some of them are mandatory and some are optional. The people who oversee it do point out that filling out the optional parts makes it much easier to get the clearest picture of what a certain fire department is facing and what could be done to help them.
So, that means that the people who are filling them out should be sure to take extra time to make sure that they are doing everything properly.
When you have a fire department respond quickly to a fire in your area, you can thank both their software and NFIRS. It helps them make sure that they have the equipment and that they are professionally trained to respond rapidly to a fire.
While all kinds of fires pose a problem, the firefighters are in a much better position than those from the pre-NFIRS days. As the department and NFIRS software continue to be improved, then so will the responses. That will benefit everyone.
