By: David Blankinship, President, Emergent.tech
Fire Department Software that Saves Lives.
We’re not your typical software company. Born from the fire service and built by it, Emergent’s responsibility is to its emergency responder family. Here’s what we mean by that.
At some point in your career, you only want to work on things that will make a big difference, all while working with people that are the very best at what they do. In the fire service, you don’t only find yourself in a truly lifesaving occupation, you find your family – people that strive for the same thing. Our story is derived from that as we yet again found ourselves at a similar point in our careers.
Emergent was founded by a team of firefighters and public safety professionals who recognized the need for software solutions that were tailored specifically to the needs of first responders, created to meet their exact specification, focusing on practical, operations-centric tools that directly plug-and-play into the field.
Each of us has experienced firsthand the significant gap in the software solutions available to the industry. Before, it was safe to say that most software tools on the market were designed for general use and did not provide the specific features or functionality that first responders needed to do their jobs effectively.
The way I see it, the solution is simple: we need a new approach to building tools that fundamentally does things differently, making us produce tools that supports first responders rather than add a new process to the mix without much of a purpose. What better way to create a solution than working directly with the people who would be using the software from square one.
We immerse ourselves with firefighters, EMS personnel, and other public safety professionals to understand those very needs and develop software solutions around them. With years of extensive product testing, we worked through any kinks in the line to polish off with an efficient and reliable tool for the market.
Our Inspiration
We cannot express enough gratitude for the involvement of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVFR). They scoured public safety for the best tools for their firefighters, tried a bunch, and came to a startling realization: there were none that centered completely around firefighters, made their day better, reduced stress (cognitive demand), made life better for their patients and made reporting easier.
The TVFR team has established a legacy of keeping themselves at the cutting edge of situational awareness software. They’re committed to utilizing the latest technology to improve their efficiency and effectiveness on the job, ensuring they provide the best possible service to their community. Over time, TVFR has implemented several innovative software tools to enhance their operations, allowing them to stay on top of their game or help with interoperability, but this was different, and they decided to build their own. That’s the reason for Emergent. They just needed best of class builders to execute their vision.
One of the most fundamental pieces created by TVFR is the Emergent Fleet Dashboard, which provides real-time information about their fleet, including vehicle status, location, and maintenance needs. It literally ties directly into truck telemetry. With this tool, TVFR can track their vehicles and equipment more efficiently, reducing downtime and increasing operational readiness. TVFR's commitment to staying on top of their fleet's maintenance and readiness helps them to ensure that they are always prepared to respond to any emergency in their community. And it also makes telemetrics available to firefighters in real time.
The Emergent Tactical Board is another key capability architected by TVFR. This tool provides real-time situational awareness, allowing TVFR to coordinate their response to emergency incidents more effectively. With this tool, TVFR streams in CAD and response data, manages resource needs on the incident, and makes informed decisions. This provides a visual tool for the incident, ensuring a coordinated and effective response. The Tactical Board is an operational tool for TVFR, allowing them to automate response times and reduce the risk of errors during any incident.
TVFR also pioneered EMS Field Quickchart, which allows them to manage their patients and protocols with an app that focuses on the patient, completely focused on what is happening, not on billing or endless forms. The app provides features such as electronic patient care reporting, which makes it easier for responders to document patient care accurately. With real-time access to patient records, TVFR can reduce the risk of errors and ensure they provide the best possible care to their patients. The EMS Field Quickchart is an essential tool that has helped TVFR to improve their EMS operations significantly. And most importantly, even seasoned medics report significantly less stress coming off a shift.
Finally, TVFR re-imagined Inspections to manage the process more efficiently. This tool ensures that TVFR stays on top of inspections and re-inspections, reducing the risk of fines and penalties, while managing a heavy compliance responsibility. With the Inspections tools, TVFR can make the entire process smooth as they interact with occupancies throughout their lifetime.
And now it’s time to share it with the world. TVFR recognizes that this is a capability that needs to be shared with the rest of Public Safety. The same tools that are changing every call for their firefighters needs to be available to all. Emergent’s commitment to the fire service is evident in their software's design and functionality, built from the ground up to meet the needs of first responders. And our responsibility is to make it scalable to anybody else that needs it. As a result, we will bring you the same software solutions that are designed to improve situational awareness, increase efficiency, and enhance overall performance, while focusing on firefighters at the point of intervention to any situation.
Interested to learn more about Emergent? Be sure to reach out so we can connect you with an expert to dig into the Emergent suite.
Visit us at emergent.tech
