Few things have the destructive force of fire. Because the consequences of fire are lightning fast and devastating, jurisdictions across Canada and the United States require fire incident pre-plans (also called safety pre-plans) from industries and organizations within their communities. With fire, there is no substitute for being prepared. Learn more about the FireQ pre-plan software below.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) defines a pre-incident plan as “a document developed by gathering general and detailed data that is used by responding personnel in effectively managing emergencies for the protection of occupants, responding personnel, property, and the environment.” (NFPA 1620-2010 Edition). Fire departments across North America receive incident pre-plans from organizations, building owners and safety managers in the communities they serve. These plans ensure that life and property saving information is in the hands of responding firefighters; guides how they respond to the fire; and, supports the safety of firefighters.
Fire pre-plans generally include information that will be used by decision makers at the incident, guiding their response to the emergency. To be effective, they need:
- Coordination between the protectors and those who are being protected
- Clear presentation of information
- Ease of access
The best made plans, however, can be undone by lack of accessibility. Simply stated, the best plan in the world provides little help if firefighters cannot access when it is needed.
The FireQ fire department software allows firefighters to upload pre-plans to the FireQ fire department pre plan software, so that they are always visible and available to firefighters. FireQ puts the information they need…the information they have…right at their fingertips. Pre-plans do not need to be re-created to be accessible within FireQ. Simply drag and drop your file to the software. From the FireQ software, at a glance, firefighters can see a list of pre-plans for the buildings and organizations within their communities.
Firefighters can also view the fire pre-plans on a map, providing a visual representation of location.
From the FireQ fire pre-plan app, firefighters can access pre-plans quickly and easily. Pre-plans within a 5km radius of an ongoing incident are visible to the firefighter on the app, ensuing that firefighters are always armed with the best information available.
Firefighters can also upload and track other relevant documents related to each pre-plan. These documents could include building blueprints, maps of evacuation routes, muster points, and personnel contact lists. With the new FireQ pre plan software, firefighters can access their pre-plans and know the features of a building, its hazards and its escape routes. This is, most times, the most important factor in mounting an effective response, keeping firefighters safe and mitigating loss.
With the ready availability of pre-plans – in combination with firefighter response features, communication tools, dispatch support and comprehensive records management – FireQ is placing all the tools and technologies firefighters need in one place and easily accessed.
A FireQ user and Chief of his department put it like this,
“It allows members to respond to the public’s needs quickly…the firefighter who receive a message/information on their mobile device via Fire Q may be the one to get that truck moving, makes up the boat team, or may be the one who finds the child in the smoke.”
