Chicago, IL – Mayor Richard M. Daley and Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter recently announced a new Firehouse Automated Systems Technology (FAST) project that will enhance training, increase efficiency and accountability, and reduce costs at all Chicago firehouses.
The announcement was made at the Candidate Firefighter/EMT Graduation Ceremony held at the Navy Pier Grand Ball Room, where 59 graduates took the oath of office of the Chicago Fire Department.
Under Project FAST, every firehouse will get sophisticated software that will assist in a number of tasks and free up personnel to concentrate on responding to emergencies and protecting residents’ safety.
“Project FAST will make our Fire Department more efficient and accountable, while it saves taxpayers money. And that’s good news for the people of Chicago,” Daley said, noting that Chicago’s city government has become a national leader in the use of technology. Trotter introduced the new technology, saying, “When Mayor Daley appointed me to this task, I said I would re-engineer the department’s administrative and operational functions to better meet the demands of a modern-day fire department.
“Through Project FAST, every administrative function of a firehouse will be further automated. New training, strategic planning and staff managing software programs will be available to take this department into a new era of innovation and progress.”
Project FAST consists of four general areas of automation: training and education, Tactical Intelligence, staff management and workflow automation. Cutting-edge software training and education programs will be a pivotal component to enhance the job performance of every firefighter and paramedic.
Under the old system, Daley noted, firefighters and paramedics had to go to the Fire Academy for training, and replacement crews had to be are brought in to staff firehouses.
“Now they’ll be able to take some of their training in the firehouse on the computer,” he said. “If a call comes in, they can respond to it and then continue the training program after they return to the firehouse.”
Through Project FAST, the Tactical Intelligence component will provide every member of a firehouse with aerial maps and building layouts for training sessions and strategic planning.
The new staffing software is expected to ensure accurate and fair staffing and increase productivity and efficiency. Project FAST will help create a paperless environment in every firehouse. It will increase efficiency by automating every administrative function of a firehouse through workflow automation. The project manager, Cecelia Bolden of Systems Development Integration (SD.I), is charged with rolling out Project FAST. More than 40 computer cabinets have already been installed, and software installation is underway. FAST is a multi-phased software application process that will take several months to complete.
