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ENSPIRE MAGAZINE WS20
The adoption of technology into all aspects of modern-day life can be overwhelming . Working professionals across all career fields have used new technologies to maximize efficiency , yet firefighting , the profession where every second counts to saving lives , hasn ’ t been given the technological attention that it deserves . The founders behind Tablet Command , an incident management and response software , have combined their firefighting experience and technological know-how to give fire departments across America the technology to adequately track the tasks and whereabouts of arriving responders - much of which is still being done on pencil and paper .
The app works by integrating 911 call centers into the app ’ s push notification system , increasing station reaction times . Responders then have a built-in GPS map to use , including a layout of fire hydrants and all responding units . Standard incident templates are combined with real-time sync of location and data improves situational awareness . All action is timestamped , meaning for easy and accurate reports . Tablet Command team is full of fire service and programming experts , combining their years of ground experience to make the app as accessible and efficient as possible . San Francisco Bay area firefighters , Andy Bozzo and Will Pigeon founded Tablet Command after 2 line-of-duty deaths in their own department . They ’ ve worked since to harness technology towards limiting chaos in the field , saving the lives and time of first responders . ENSPIRE has been in contact with the Tablet Command team and asked a couple of questions .
What circumstances and challenges faced by first responders across the country does Tablet Command address ?
One of the toughest challenges in firefighting is the chaos of the first few minutes of an emergency . Public safety agencies across the United States employ a standardized system of incident management known as the Incident Command System ( ICS ) in order to maintain personnel accountability and provide for an achievable span of control . In a dynamic environment such as a fire , these critical objectives can be challenging . Tablet Command automates the information stream by providing comprehensive incident information in an easy-to-use and interpret user interface . We ’ ve aggregated this information onto a single , seamless-shared platform , making incident management more efficient , and enhancing public and responder safety .
Why are task management and responder whereabouts still widely being tracked by pencil and paper ?
The saying goes in American Fire Service : “ 200 years of tradition , unimpeded by progress .” The truth is , firefighting is a blue collar job ; it ’ s dirty , messy work , and at first glance , doesn ’ t seemingly fit well with “ technology .” In spite of these facts , Public Safety agencies are today recognizing the need to utilize technological advancements for us to do our job more safely , as the responsibilities for firefighters have changed so much in the last 20-30 years . Firefighters are not quick to embrace shiny new technological tools , especially when the tools are created by people who don ’ t understand the dynamics of their work environment .
In the first few decades of technology deployments in the fire service industry , the success was extremely limited . There was literally nothing that firefighters could use in the first few minutes of an incident that could then scale up as the incident grew . Until recently , the fire service has been a very traditional , very skeptical workforce whose skepticism ( as referenced in the first sentence ) was essentially proven with the ( forced ) introduction of wonky , clunky , slow technology .
We believe that when crisis hits , we must rely on one another to pivot , problem solve , and grow .
How have your professional experiences informed the creation of the app ?
The co-founders of Tablet Command work for a fire department that suffered multiple Line of Duty deaths in 2007 . This tragedy profoundly struck both of them . The founders came together to provide a solution that could aid in preventing