Managing an active fire scene is one of the most demanding, life-or-death duties an incident commander must handle. Balancing the effective deployment of resources with the safety of firefighters and EMTs is a constant challenge. Also constant is the need for accountability of senior officers during and after the incident. If something goes wrong, having access to an accurate record of the decisions is an absolute must, so lessons can be learned and better results achieved at the next fire scene.
At the same time, incident commanders don’t have the time to master complex software to manage fire scenes more easily. This is why BATT3 – a public safety solutions company founded by firefighters to support firefighters – has developed the ICx Incident Command software platform (ICx). Designed to run as an app on rugged, reliable tablets such as those made by Zebra, ICx is a digital tactical worksheet with built-in fireground accountability. Its intuitive graphical interface allows incident commanders to manage all aspects of a fire scene and share their real-time resources, data and decisions with others via the wireless web. The platform’s features include real-time personnel and resource tracking, accurate and updated information sharing and streamlined communication between firefighters, command and dispatch.
“The impetus for developing BATT3’s ICx software was to make it easier for incident commanders to truly know what was going on at all times, and to make decisions and respond to developments in an efficient and accurate manner,” said BATT3 Chief Marketing Officer John Morrison, a working battalion chief with 28 years of experience. “Not having to focus on the command board makes it easier to watch the entire incident and make proactive decisions about strategy, tactics, and resource allocation.”
SIMPLICITY WHEN IT’S NEEDED MOST
Because ICx was developed by firefighters for firefighters, the user interface sticks to what incident commanders need to do their jobs – and nothing more. This is why the ICx software screen is a clean digital version of a traditional tactical worksheet. This makes ICx a simple-to-learn product for command and control of emergency incidents.
Using ICx as a tactical worksheet can significantly decrease the amount of time spent on administrative tasks during an incident. This allows incident commanders to focus on what matters, while making informed decisions more quickly and efficiently, ultimately streamlining fireground operations.
ICx’s screen layout can be configured to meet a department’s specific needs and processes. This scalable interface can be customized to handle any incident size, whether it’s a small structure fire or a large-scale natural disaster. ICx’s flexibility also allows commanders to adapt their approach as needed to address the unique challenges of each incident.
ICx can be configured to work with most CAD systems. In doing so, the CAD interface can be tasked with automatically entering dispatch information such as scene addresses and responding resources into the ICx platform. This autopopulation of resources makes it quicker to begin tracking them on the digital command board.
Meanwhile, ICx’s timers can keep track of total operating time at the incident, how long each resource has been on assignment and how long personnel are spending in IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) zones. Each assignment is displayed to the incident commander using a history view complete with times, allowing the incident commander to manage the time on assignments and rehabs.
SAFETY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ARE MAXIMIZED
By helping an incident commander manage fire scenes effectively and with full situational awareness, ICx helps keep firefighters safe. This is because ICx monitors their locations and assignments in real time so firefighters in trouble can be identified fast and rescued.
“What ICx does is let us keep track of who is there, what they’re doing and where they’re doing it,” said Rob Karsch, senior sales engineer for Zebra and a dedicated member of the Bristol, Rhode Island volunteer fire department for over 40 years. “Unfortunately, we experience line-of-duty deaths, and quite often that’s attributed to a firefighter needing assistance but we can’t get to them because we’re not certain where they are. With ICx, you know where your people are and that saves lives.”
ICx comes with a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) tool built in. It helps the incident commander perform a quick roll call on scene, to show where everyone is and record this information into the incident log.
ICx also provides a configurable mayday checklist that the incident commander can use during mayday calls. This checklist, which can be configured by the fire department to match its procedures, speeds up the assistance process in situations when seconds count.
BATT3’s emphasis on safety and accurate record-keeping is why ICx is profoundly useful as an accountability tool. Everything the incident commander decides and does is recorded for after-action review. And when ICx is integrated with BATT3’s FireRoster scheduling platform, the level of historical detail is further enhanced — and so is the degree of accountability.
Visit Zebra.com for more information on Zebra’s rugged tablets.
