For today's fire chiefs to be successful in their jobs, they must make compelling presentations to city, county and board leaders to explain their departments' needs and successfully compete for badly needed, scarce resources. No matter how powerful an argument a fire chief may have, he or she is severely handicapped without such presentations when trying to make a case to political leaders, who have little time and must document and justify their budget decisions to the public.
The key to making powerful presentations is good data. The fire chief needs operations data that's conveniently accessible, easy to digest, accurate, complete and timely. Good fire data also is needed if managers are to use their resources efficiently. It's vital to know at all times if you're meeting your stated goals, what resources are available, and how these resources are deployed.
Clearing out the data dump
Technology has indeed played a vital role with better apparatus, better hoses, better firefighting equipment, better dispatching and tracking of apparatus, and better records systems. Unfortunately, these advances haven't directly helped fire chiefs to make critical policy decisions and lobby political leadership on behalf of the department. Chiefs have been forced to scramble through “data dumps” from computer-aided dispatch and records management software to extract compelling information and build powerful supporting graphics.
Fire-rescue managers are making new technology and data-based decision-making integral rather than peripheral concerns. A large number of departments have skilled analysts, while a growing number of fire chiefs have technological programs on their desktops to search for and secure this information. New technology has arrived that helps fire chiefs to easily tap into the huge CAD and RMS data right at their own computers, and to quickly make powerful presentations.
These advances in technology and data collection have greatly assisted Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Fire-Rescue with data-based decision-making and information management. Within the past five years, the department has upgraded its distribution network and implemented the use of the new Intergraph CAD, Sunpro RMS, now owned by Aether, and Telestaff systems. These improvements have provided managers with access to data that allows them to make more informed decisions.
The Intergraph CAD System is equipped with software called I-Netviewer. This program allows chief officers to access CAD information on incidents and units from their own computers.
The Aether RMS system is a full-service program that can be used to gather and store incident reporting information, daily logs and productivity information, training records, hydrant information, apparatus and equipment information, and fire inspection information.
The Telestaff system puts all staffing, leave and payroll information into one accessible format. The program gives managers a daily picture of overall department staffing and provides a detailed tracking system for leave use. Additionally, each employee can view his or her leave and payroll records for accuracy on a daily basis. These technological tools provide our managers with the necessary data for day-to-day operations.
Data analysts
While these tools have been a great aid, managers didn't have the complete fire data picture to run an efficient department, make a good case for needed budgets, and, most importantly, help save lives and property. It's clear that senior managers need good data to help them understand the details of their local fire and medical problems. Experience has shown that we can do a much better job defeating the enemy with good tactical and strategic information.
As a result, the department sought out and acquired specific technology to analyze data and assist with policy-making decisions. These ground-breaking tools are CAD Analyst, 1710 Analyst and Fire/EMS Apparatus Deployment Analyst Module, all from Deccan International.
CAD Analyst is fire chief — friendly software that helps managers research and analyze current work loads and response times by performing powerful analysis of our CAD data based on predefined response criteria and dispatching procedures.
The software presents its findings in color-coded maps of our service area. For example, response time performances that are shown in green indicate acceptable performance, while red indicates unsatisfactory performance. The software also has a “calculator” that we use to analyze response performance and work loads by time of day, day of week, month and year, incident type, and station area, which we then use to experiment with different time targets for various response criteria established by our department.
The software runs on a Windows operating system and is extremely user-friendly, requiring minimal training for our staff. Essentially, CAD Analyst helps us exploit our data right on our laptops without having to get our hands dirty knowing how to work the CAD for our purposes. As a result, even a busy fire chief can look at color-coded maps of last year's work loads and response performances on different incidents within minutes. For example, we used the program to understand the actual level and distribution of our first-unit-on-scene transport medical performance.
With the advent of NFPA 1710, we also needed a tool to compare current compliance to the standard. For this, we used 1710 Analyst to print accurate reports and to view performance in the form of color-coded maps. This tool also gives us the ability to print and submit the required analysis as outlined in 1710. We also used the accompanying 1710 ADAM software to help determine the additional resources needed to fully comply with 1710.
Completing the data picture
These programs may help explain current response time performances in terms of what is done well and what needs to be improved, but they stop short of answering the natural what ifs that follow: What if we added a new medic unit at a certain location? What if we relocated our ladder truck from one location to another? In these scenarios, what would be the effect on workloads and response time performance?
For this, the department uses Fire/EMS ADAM, another analytical software package in this suite of products, to evaluate staffing changes; station locations, relocations and additions; and apparatus relocations and additions. Like CAD Analyst, it displays information as color-coded maps. The base response analysis map shows the department's overall standard of cover using the established criteria and established response coverage goals.
Alternate fire station and apparatus location scenarios can be created where response coverage goals are not being met by merely dragging apparatus with the computer mouse from one location to another or by adding a new apparatus. The software automatically recalculates and graphically displays response performance for the current location scenario and closely matches actual recorded performance.
Recently, we used Fire/EMS ADAM to project the apparatus and station location needs for some proposed contract service areas and newly annexed areas. We based several budget and life-safety policy-making decisions on the estimated response travel distance from the street system and estimated call-to-scene times from incident response history, projecting and receiving additional resources to serve the newly annexed areas.
The system also verified the station location and apparatus needs to provide the appropriate service level to the proposed contract area. Using these projected apparatus and station needs, we established an accurate budget for the contract.
Most importantly, I used ADAM to explain to my city manager our understanding of the situation and the rationale behind our proposal, winning his support for this project.
These systems complement the CAD and RMS software by providing the fire department's badly needed data analysis and decision support needs. This data system is designed to collect, process and analyze fire-rescue data and produce information in a useful form.
The main purpose of this fire data system is to better describe, present and track the city's fire-rescue problem through the use of color-coded maps and easy-to-read data. This information is at the heart of many aspects of the department's prevention and suppression policy decisions. Additionally, this data system can assist with answering the what, where, who, why and when questions about fires, medical incidents and fire losses in the community. These data tools have removed the fear factor of analysis from fire-rescue managers, while recognizing that the most important part of analysis still is the need to use common sense.
Fire service managers tend to have neither the time nor the inclination to pour over detailed tables of numbers. Therefore, it's extremely important that they have the tools to produce the necessary data and present it in a way that enables the key results to be understood quickly and the most important points to be made as clearly as possible. Good data display will make the difference between whether a point is understood or even considered. CAD Analyst, 1710 Analyst and ADAM are designed along these lines and have a good data display format.
The data software products in this fire data system have many potential users at all levels, however, the primary users are the fire chief and some of the senior managers. The mid-level chiefs and other officers are the secondary users that use the data only after it is analyzed by the primary users. The primary Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue managers who use this data system generate monthly, quarterly and annual statistical reports. These statistical reports must be accurate, because fire chiefs need to have accurate and credible data so that they can demonstrate it publicly.
Technology challenge
Data-based decision-making for the fire service is a real dilemma for departments that haven't accepted the need to invest in these software products. Technological change will continue to remake the fire-rescue delivery system. Therefore, if fire chiefs make the wrong bet, or the right bet at the wrong time, their fire-rescue delivery systems will fade into obscurity. Technological change is giving fire chiefs the ability to rethink their policy strategies with accurate and timely data.
While technology, data analysis and data-based decision-making are three significant tools that a fire chief can use to improve the fire-rescue delivery system, concerns have been put forward that these three elements can't be used effectively without the management aptitude, attitude and ability within the senior management of fire-rescue departments.
Fire chiefs and senior managers must be willing to use new data technology tools to assist with their day-to-day operations and their policy-making decisions. Fire departments throughout this country are going to be challenged increasingly to use data-based technology in their decision-making. When fire chiefs use data-based decision-making, they expand their available options for providing an effective fire-rescue service delivery system.
All fire service managers should embrace data-based technology that will assist them with day-to-day and policy decision-making. Emphasis should be placed on data tools that assist with policy decision-making because most departments are using good data tools to assist with everyday decision-making.
