Bellingham, WA, April 30, 2020 – Emergency Reporting® (ER), the global leader in secure, cloud-based reporting and records management software (RMS) for fire and EMS agencies, is pleased to announce that it has implemented a new report (ICS Form 214) into its system, enabling fire & EMS agencies to easily apply for financial assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s Public Assistance Grant Program. Emergency Reporting is the only RMS to offer this automated report option to users, saving them hours of paperwork.
According to the FEMA website, fire service, 911, and EMS agencies may be reimbursed for certain costs related to the COVID-19 response. The site says that COVID-19 cost recovery is being offered for fire & EMS departments because “fire and emergency medical services (EMS) providers are engaged in responding to one of the world’s most significant medical emergencies in modern times. The response to COVID-19 is not without impact in terms of the fiscal strain of extraordinary personnel, facilities, equipment, supplies and apparatus usage.”
One of the key elements of this FEMA program is the need to fill out ICS Form 214 – Activity Log. “That’s where we come in,” says Tom Louis, Business Development Analyst at Emergency Reporting. “ER is making it easy for agencies to reduce the hours needed to fill out this form by providing users with Report #1797 – FEMA ICS 214 Form Activity Log for Reimbursement. This new, first-of-its-kind report is a first for ER, since it is formatted to match the actual FEMA form.”
Louis says that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Emergency Reporting team is committed to doing all it can to make updates to the system that will help its customers. “ER is staying true to our core value of fire service advocacy by providing system tools to make this challenging time just a little bit easier for our customers,” he says.
In addition to the many challenges faced by those in the fire and EMS service during the current pandemic, fire departments across the country are being forced to propose significant budget cuts. Emergency Reporting CEO David Nokes says that many fire agencies are using their ER software during this time to help save time and money, and to secure grant funding.
“Cloud-based software like Emergency Reporting can save departments thousands by eliminating the amount spent on costly maintenance of installed software, as well as many hours of personnel time spent on things like managing spreadsheets and paper forms for different compliance needs,” Nokes says. “The benefits received from a high-quality RMS becomes especially clear in times like these. We’re working hard to ensure that our system is delivering everything our first responders need to get them through this difficult time.”
A recent post on the ER blog shows the process for filling out the new Report #1797 – FEMA ICS 214 Form Activity Log for Reimbursement and gives screenshot views in both Windows OS and MacOS. Visit the blog post here for more information.
About Emergency Reporting
At Emergency Reporting (ER), our mission is to empower first responders worldwide with fast and easy-to-use technology that provides the data needed to keep themselves and their communities safe. Our Records Management and Reporting Software act as the centralized ecosystem that powers an agency’s entire operation, from training and events to incident reporting and compliance, to real-time analytics and performance feedback through data. As the pioneer in cloud-based EMS and fire software, ER has always been the smarter way forward for the Fire Service while also managing to be the most user-friendly solution available. Since 2003, we’ve proudly supported over 750,000 first responders through this mission worldwide – including DoD/military installations and large entities such as NASA, nuclear power plants, and hospitals. For more information, visit www.emergencyreporting.com.
