4th Quarter, 2006
FireVISION is a quarterly publication from ACS Government Systems with fire-industry news, FIREHOUSE Software tips, and other helpful information. We hope you find this and future issues to be both informative and useful.

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THANK YOU!

Another amazing year has come and gone. So many things have happened with FIREHOUSE Software. Here's a brief look back at 2006...... 

• FH was the first to earn NEMSIS Gold Compliance certification. All of the components related to NEMSIS are now available in FIREHOUSE Software 7.
• FH CAD Monitor was enhanced to allow more interface options with participating CAD vendors.  
• The FH Mobile suite expanded with the availability of FH Mobile EMS, and development began for FH Mobile Inspections. 
• The FIREHOUSE Software Education and Training Seminar was held during the ACS Client Forum in Washington DC for over 375 FH users.
• We began the distribution of the update for FIREHOUSE Software 7.

FHETS 2007
ACS Government Systems is pleased to announce the FIREHOUSE Software Education and Training Seminar will be held October 1^st through 4^th, at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, California. The planning committee - including four FH clients who've attended multiple past FHETS conferences - used customer feedback, along with survey and polling information to choose this year's site. Several requests and comments for this FHETS event have already been received. By popular request, the 2007 FHETS will be held independently of the ACS Client Forum. Many participants voiced their opinion to return to the format of the past, with evening social gatherings, raffles, and multiple, spacious classes to attend. Weighing this information, we decided to return to a location of a past FHETS.

Check-in will begin on the 1^st, with classes starting the 2^nd. The classrooms provided by the great staff at Town and Country Resort are spacious enough for a great turnout. We anticipate (and expect) 400 attendees to be there. The layout of Town and Country allows for multiple indoor and outdoor gathering locations with FH staff and clients alike. We will expand the number of class sessions, including adding new classes with more advanced topics to accompany the basic classes related to FH use. 

For the 3 day event, the costs will be $595 for the seminar, with hotel rooms available at $129/night. Breakfast, lunch, and between class snacks will be provided for the attendees during the 3 days. We will post more details to http://www.firehousesoftware.com/FHETS/FHETS_1.htm, including hotel and seminar registration links, as they come available.

Tips from the Field....
This column details different ways FH clients have put FIREHOUSE Software to work for their department. We encourage clients to submit tips and suggestions for future FireVISION articles. Feel free to email them to: FHdocumentation@acs-inc.com.

"Where did that record go?"
A popular situation almost every department has come across at some point in their history is the loss of a record from FIREHOUSE Software. The inventory record for an apparatus, or an old staff member just disappears. When they start retracing their steps, they remember they were attempting to delete a maintenance record or staff contact just before the whole record disappeared. They realize they chose the Delete button at the bottom of the module, instead of the Delete button for the child record. FH has a Workstation Options setting to help minimize this accident from occurring.

• Log in to FIREHOUSE Software with administrative security access.
• From the Tools menu, select Workstation Options.
• On the General Tab, select the Data Entry Forms tab.
• Under the section 'Deleting Records....', control options are available to 'Hide' delete buttons, and require a confirmation before deleting.
  • Checkmark 'Confirm master record deletion by typing "Yes" to require a user to type YES to confirm they wish to delete a master record (IE: Occupancy, Staff, Inventory, etc.).
  • Checkmark 'Hide the "Delete" button from the bottom of data entry forms ....' to hide the Delete button from the bottom of the module. If necessary, a user can delete from the Form menu while the record is open.
  • Checkmark 'Hide the "Delete" button from linked record lists....' to hide the Delete button on the tabs where child records will be listed. The user must open the record to choose Delete for the child record.
• Select OK to apply the changes. Some users may need to exit FH before the change(s) will be activated.

"Is there a faster way to look up this....?"
Situations sometimes come up when lookup buttons in FH slow the data entry process instead of accelerating it. This could be caused by the lookup item being a large list, or perhaps the user navigates faster using the keyboard over the mouse. A user may also know the keyword of a description better than the code or ID. FH has a Workstation Options setting to place the cursor in the description of fields instead of the code field. 

• From the Tools menu, select Workstation Options.
• On the General Tab, it should default to the Startup & Navigation tab.
• Under the "Field Navigation" section, the option to 'Allow cursor to tab into description for "on-the-fly" searches....' should be checked. This provides the options to choose...
  • Conditionally - where a keyboard 'Tab' lands the cursor in the description only if the field is required and currently blank or invalid. (Set as default)
  • Always - Tabbing lands the cursor in the code first, followed by the code description.
  • Only -   Tabbing only lands in the description, skipping the code.
• Select OK to apply the changes. Some users may need to exit FH before the change will be activated.

This setting is available not just for lookup table fields, but master record lookups like staff members, inventory, and occupancy records as well.

ACS FIREHOUSE Software Notes

New Employees: The next time you call our main office for technical support, you will probably hear a new voice. Darrell Hagans joined the FH Technical Support team in December. He comes to us from the IT department at Raleigh Fire Department, NC. While at Raleigh, he was actively involved with providing tutorials and product support for FH to the firefighters of Raleigh. Welcome to the team!

FIREHOUSE Software version 5 Product Support: Product support for all versions of FIREHOUSE Software 5 will be discontinued after June 30, 2007. Clients with active support contracts have been provided software updates to at least FH version 6. If your department has an active support contract but has not received an update to FH 6, please contact FH Technical Support to have an update distributed to you. When you contact Technical Support, please have your existing version of FH 5 available so we can ensure all necessary items are included in your update packet. If your department does not have an active support contract, or you are unsure of its status, please contact your department's sales representative about support contract renewal.

Mailing Payments for FIREHOUSE Solutions: Because of partnerships with other services provided by ACS Government Systems, some cities and municipalities have recently mailed payments for FIREHOUSE Solutions products to other ACS Accounts Receivable locations inadvertantly. To ensure proper and timely application of payments for FIREHOUSE Solutions products, please mail payments to:
ACS FIREHOUSE Solutions
3345 106th Circle
Urbandale, Iowa 50322

We apologize for any confusion experienced. If your municipality has a partnership with ACS Government Systems for other services, please contact your Accounts Payable department to inform them of the FH home office address to use in future payments of FH invoices.

New FH items available now!
With the new year, new products and updates are available.

• The 2006 International Fire Code, and 2006 Life Safety Code inspection violation code sets are now available for purchase in an FH ready format. For price information, please contact your regional FH sales representative.
• FIREHOUSE Software 7 is available for new customers and as an update for existing clients with active support contracts. Update packets will be distributed at a controlled pace to ensure we continue to provide a high level of service and support. Please review the documentation promptly and apply the update. If your department does not have an active support contract, or you are unsure of its status, please contact your sales representative about support contract renewal.
• FH Mobile Preplans and FH Mobile Incident Command updates are available for clients currently using or ready to update to FH 7. FH Mobile EMS for FH 6 users is available now. An update for Mobile EMS will be available for clients ready to update to FH 7 during the 1st quarter of 2007.
• New manuals for FIREHOUSE Software, FH CAD Monitor, and other downloads are available on our website http://www.firehousesoftware.com/sup/manuals.htm. A special checklist is available for clients considering a change to NHTSA 2.2 (NEMSIS) EMS code set.

FireVISION Distribution
A new feature was introduced on the FH website at the end of November for clients and interested prospects to register their email address on a subscription list to the FireVISION quarterly e-newsletter. While registering for the newsletter, options are also available to be included on periodic email announcements for FHETS events and future FH product news. You can find the quick link icon for registration on the left side of www.firehousesoftware.com, or go directly to the subscription service page at http://www.firehousesoftware.com/nl/. I f you know of any colleagues who did not receive this edition, please forward the newsletter to them and suggest registering for future newsletters. If you are already registered for FireVISION and wish to register for other available publication options, proceed to the bottom of this newsletter to select the option to modify your email profile. The link will take you to the ExactTarget.com Profile Center. Single click on the Subscription Center in the left navigation pane to view the the FH publication options. Checkmark any option you have an interest in, and press Update at the bottom of the page. While you are in the Profile Center, feel free to edit any information as necessary.

If people with registered emails are not receiving the newsletter, spam and junk email filters could be prohibiting the delivery. Review the Newsletter Blocked details provided by ExactTarget.com to ensure FireVISION and other emails are delivered.

Archived copies of all previous FireVISION newsletters (printed and e-newsletters) are available at: http://www.firehousesoftware.com/dwnld/newsletter.htm

If you have any questions or concerns related to the newsletter distribution, please email: FHdocumentation@acs-inc.com.

Stop By and See Us
Look for us at these upcoming events in 2007!
01/17/07 to 01/19/07: Miss. Fire Chiefs Conference, Oxford, MS.
01/22/07 to 01/23/07: Foothills RETAC Colorado EMS Data Conference, Longmont, CO.
01/24/07 to 01/27/07: Working Together 2007 Emer. Srvcs Conf  & Expo, Milwaukee, WI.
01/24/07 to 01/28/07: Fire Rescue East, Jacksonville, FL.
01/26/07 to 01/27/07: LSU Annual Equipment Exhibit, Baton Rouge, LA.
01/27/07 to 01/28/07: Long Island Fire Rescue & EMS Mega Show, Uniondale, NY.
02/02/07 to 02/04/07: Univ of Missouri Winter Fire School, Columbia, MO.
02/10/07 to 02/11/07: 18th Annual Iowa Winter Fire School, Ames, IA.
02/15/07 to 02/16/07: NC Assoc. EMS Admin. Conf., Wilmington, NC.
02/22/07 to 02/25/07: Virginia Fire Chiefs, Virginia Beach, VA.
02/25/07 to 03/01/07: Firehouse World 2007 , San Diego, CA.
02/28/07 to 03/02/07: TASA Mid Winter Conference, Gatlinburg, TN.
03/03/07 to 03/04/07: MN Fire/EMS/Rescue, Mankato, MN.
03/14/07 to 03/18/07: WI State Firefighters Assoc. Conf., Green Bay, WI.
03/18/07 to 03/19/07: TX Fire Chiefs Assoc. Southwest Conference, Austin, TX.
03/14/07 to 03/14/07: Maine Ambulance Association Symposium, Augusta, ME.
04/11/07 to 04/13/07: LA Fire Chiefs Conference, Gonzales, LA.
04/16/07 to 04/21/07: FDIC 2007, Indianapolis, IN.
04/25/07 to 04/27/07: KS State Firefighters' Conference, Hutchinson, KS.

Department Profile(s)
Each quarter, we profile a different department using FIREHOUSE Software. Many departments have been excited to be profiled recently, so we're profiling two departments this quarter. If you would like your department profiled, please send information about your department to: FHdocumentation@acs-inc.com.

Profile # 1
Fire Department: Clinton Fire Department
Location: Village and Township of Clinton, Michigan
Fire Chief: Dennis L. Keezer
Personnel: 26 paid-on-call members
Stations: 1
Pop. Served: 5,200
Calls: approx. 350 per year
Apparatus: 2 Pierce Engines, 2 Pierce Pumper/Tankers, 1 Brush Truck
Software:  FIREHOUSE Software version 6
Comments: Located on the boarder of Lenawee and Washtenaw Counties, you will find the Village and Township of Clinton. Clinton is approximately 55 miles southwest of downtown Detriot. Along with providing fire suppression and licensed Basic Life Support services to the Village and Township of Clinton, they serve portions of Macon, Manchester, and Bridgewater Townships (all located in Lenawee and Washtenaw County). The department was formed in 1926, manned by volunteers responding to the 'fire barn' where a hay wagon carrying buckets, ladders, shovels, and other hand tools, was stored. The hay wagon was pulled by hand until 1937 when the department purchased its first pumper. A tanker followed 2 years later. In 1969, a multi-purpose station was built to replace a large two bay garage for the apparatus. More great news and information about the department can be found at: http://www.cfdmi76.org/.

Profile # 2
Fire Department: St. Tammany Fire District # 4
Location: Mandeville, Louisiana
Personnel: 100
Stations: 4
Pop. Served: 50,000
Calls: approx 4,500 per year
Apparatus: 5 Engines, 6 Ambulances, 1 50' Squirt, 1 95' Platform, 1 Rescue/Hazmat Response Vehicle
Software: FIREHOUSE Software version 6
Comments: Just one of fourteen departments serving St. Tammany Parish, you'll find Fire District # 4 in Mandeville, located on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain. This growing residential community is quickly connected to the Greater New Orleans area by 'The Causeway', a 23.8 mile bridge across Lake Pontchartrain. St. Tammany Fire District # 4 serves 78 square miles of the parish. They provide fire protection, hazardous materials and extrication responses, emergency ALS delivery service, public education, and training for fire and EMS. In 2007, the Delgado Community College and Fire District # 4 will sponser a paramedic associate degree and paramedic certificate programs for the Northshore region. The department's website is under construction now. Check http://www.mandevillefire.com/ soon for the latest news about the department.