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Million Dollar Fire Responses: Are you Ready?

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(Investigators open criminal probe into LA explosion – AP Photo – Mark J. Terrill)

Fire Departments require roughly a million dollars’ worth of assets for each emergency response and here’s how — the fire apparatus – $750,000, 4 firefighters bunker gear – $50,000, and, 4 firefighters salaries – $200,000 — and that’s just for starters. Fire Departments across the country are regularly sending millions of dollars of assets paid by their community to every emergency, yet most are still responding with limited dispatch information – only address and call type!

With growing communities, Fire Departments are being pressured more than ever to maintain high levels of service, yet achieving this with no additional funding — a static budget.

In today’s advanced technology of “Google everything” and mobility, everyone is fully aware that a fire emergency response is a costly investment for any community and Fire Departments must be equally prepared to justify and ensure public support. With growing communities, Fire Departments are being pressured more than ever to maintain high levels of service, yet achieving this with no additional funding — a static budget.

So what are some Fire Department’s doing about it? Well, across the country,  many are turning to smarter ways to improve their response, and making every truck roll count. By modernizing and using smart mobile technology capabilities to collect and use data during emergencies, departments are now more than ever ensuring public trust, by preplanning and reducing risk, costs, while minimizing injuries to their firefighters. With smart community data, departments are maximizing the benefits of having up to date knowledge and planning capabilities instantly available on smart devices.

How is this being done? Well for Central York Fire, who serve a community of 150,000 in population, they know the power of upgrading to smart mobile technology, here’s their experience…

“With (smart technology), our emergency crews now have instant access to hydrants, emergency shut-offs, protection equipment, maps, and more. Pre-incident planning carries many benefits for Emergency Responders and their community… This planning ahead can aid in reducing a community’s insurance rating, assist firefighters in reducing risk and ultimately save lives.” – Central York Fire

By leveraging smart technology and valuable data, you will be able to ensure more effective responses by being better prepared to protect your community.

So, what does this mean for your Fire Department? For starters, by leveraging smart technology and valuable data, you will be able to ensure more effective responses by being better prepared to protect your community and have the right data instantly available to you. Remember, this is not a new concept, everyone is using  now Smart mobile technology to access information but for Fire Departments, it’s a game changer.

In todays’ world, the risk of fire fighting has just gotten a lot higher and let’s not forget that the City of Oakland just settled a $32 million fire lawsuit for the “Ghost Ship” fire in 2020. This is a clear reminder that being proactive and modernizing within your community is the only way to go to protect, and avoid deadly fires with extraordinary costs.

Fire Departments across North America are starting to adopt smart mobile for their pre-plans and inspections — NOW IT’S YOUR TURN. Protecting your community has just gotten a whole lot easier and this is what it’s all about – ensuring public trust. It all starts with the use of smart mobile capabilities and easy shareable information during any emergency. Saving time is saving lives and being smart about it, just makes simple public sense. 
See A Live Digital Pre-plan Today!

About the author: Paul Martin is the founder of www.apxdata.com – first to introduce smart mobile capabilities to Fire Departments meeting ISO, NFPA, FUS & State requirements.

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About the author

Paul Martin, President & CEO, APX Data

Paul Martin has devoted his career to public safety. He has helped departments across Canada and the United States through his work with Airbus and Motorola Public Safety Divisions. He is currently the founder and CEO of APX Data, a company devoted exclusively to helping fire departments modernize their fire prevention, response and fire investigations through the use of mobile technology. APX Data was first to market, introducing smart mobile applications to the fire service in 2013. APX has validated information on over 140 million structures in its database for all of the U.S., and is growing at a rate of more than 50% year over year. To talk to Paul, please connect with him on LinkedIn, visit apxdata.com or call 1-888-240-0591.

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