By MATT KOVALCIK
Innovative technology continues to take firefighting at the St. Clair Shores (MI) Fire Department (SCSFD) to a whole new level. When I became chief about five years ago, we developed a plan to bring this technology to the SCSFD. My first goal was to get computers in our apparatus and laptops for the shift commanders. I set out to use grant money to acquire not only the equipment but also the best software solution available to computerize my building site plans or preplans.
As a result, the SCSFD has now deployed PrePlanView, a software preplan system from Viewpoint Command Systems, to provide critical information instantly to responders during an incident. The system has allowed us to create and update our building plans in a consistent format. Like any software program, there was a learning curve, but overall it has been very easy to learn and use.
Before using PrePlanView, firefighters would have to look up hard-copy folders containing information such as building plans and nearest hydrants as required by Michigan’s Firefighter Right-to-Know law. But now, once fire dispatch answers an emergency call, the responding units can enter the address or name of the company/business and have not only the plan but all vital information available to them as they respond through PrePlanView on the vehicle laptop.
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From a safety point of view, the system gives us a huge amount of information on buildings so that even en route we are able to access what we need. Whether we need more people or whether the building has hazardous materials in it, we have the information at our fingertips.
The SCSFD has created about 200 preplans, and our goal is to have every building’s complete configuration on file. We started with prioritized targeted areas, such as schools and marinas, when we respond to an incident, and there is a high expectation that the information we have is timely and accurate.
The system works like an ATM machine; it is all touch-screen. So even if you haven’t used it in a while, it is very easy to remember. The SCSFD uses PrePlanView in weekly training sessions. We access and review one preplan on our large screen video system, another recent technology addition.
We deploy PrePlanView at the SCSFD’s three fire stations, in the training room, and on each frontline engine, as well as on the shift commanders’ laptops. We can view building and site plans in 3-D. This allows incident commanders to rotate the site for a virtual walk-around en route, zoom and pan the site, and show detail on multistory buildings. It’s all visual—you do not have to look up anything. A firefighter or commander can just touch areas of the screen to instantly display information such as hydrant information, hazardous materials, building information, and contacts.
We have not had a major incident to use the system in a worst-case scenario, but we have used it for contact names and numbers, shutoff information, and more. Prior to implementing this system, we trained with several agencies in a mock hostage/school incident; if we had this tool at the time, it would have been very valuable at the command post.
The next step in our technology plan is sharing preplan information with other responding departments such as the police, and then with automatic-aid and mutual-aid partners. Everyone will view the same information about the site. Our ideal goal is to integrate PrePlanView with the dispatch center so that preplans can automatically activate en route on all of the laptops.
This product gets us closer to the ideal world—reducing negative surprises at the scene and improving our first responders’ safety.
MATT KOVALCIK is chief of the St. Clair Shores (MI) Fire Department.
Photo courtesy of the St. Clair Shores (MI) Fire Department.
