What's New?

Welcome to the new FIREHOUSE Software web site! Continuing with our efforts to provide faster and easier access to information related to the FIREHOUSE Software suite of applications and services, we’ve had the website redesigned. Our goals for the redesign were to: simplify navigation, speed searching abilities, provide updated content, and expand the product resources available to our clients. We hope you find the new layout to be user friendly. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact us. Thank you again for choosing FIREHOUSE Software!

The FIREHOUSE Software version 7.3 maintenance release is available now. It is a full update of the program and database, containing changes addressing issues reported by clients since the release of FH 7.0. Most importantly, this update addresses all NFIRS code enhancements implemented January 1st, 2008. The USFA has provided a NFIRS 5.0 Design Documentation Changes table with the details related to the latest code changes. Additional install components are available with the CD for some states implementing the new NHTSA v2 (NEMSIS) code set. No new features have been included in this version requiring special training.

As clients continue to provide outstanding suggestions for improving FH, we’ve introduced many new items to add to the capabilities of FH. Click HERE to view a list of some of the things introduced in Version 7.

In conjunction with webex.com, FIREHOUSE Software has created some pre-recorded instructional webcasts providing detailed steps for resolving some of the most frequently asked questions by clients to the FH technical support team. The webcasts are available for viewing here, and from our Downloads section

Fire Act Funds a Multi-Organization Study Aimed at Helping Fire Departments Assess and Respond to Risks

With a second major grant of $1 million from the research section of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (the Fire Act), five top fire research organizations continue collaborating to develop tools that will help local fire departments better assess the risks in their local communities and plan to respond to them more effectively and efficiently.

The three-year project, being conducted jointly by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), will establish a technical basis for risk evaluation and deployment of resources by local fire departments and create tools the departments can use to better assess the risks and hazards in their communities; plan adequate resource deployment to respond to and mitigate emergency events; and measure their effectiveness in responding to and handling events.

“This is a study many fire industry leaders have dreamed of for several years,” said Chief Dennis Compton of the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) a technical advisor to the project. “Until now, it has simply not been possible, due to the complexity of the tasks proposed and the costs involved.

“By bringing together recognized experts in the fields of fire and EMS industry, economics, statistics, model evaluation, standards of cover, geographical information systems, and fire protection engineering, we will ensure that the result will be a comprehensive, validated assessment model that will serve the fire service for many years,” added Harold Schaitberger, IAFF General President.

In Phase I of the three-phase project, experts brought together project technical advisors and a stakeholder group to identify and quantify community risks and necessary resource deployment.

As part of the study, fire scientist are developing and testing mathematic models representing risks, fire movement, and various interventions for mitigating a fire or EMS event. In Phase II, they will collect hazard and response measurements that will form the technical basis for the model. Phase III will be devoted to validating and beta-testing the software for accuracy and ease-of-use. Once complete, a new software called VISION will be re-released through CFAI. All purchasers of the original version of VISION will receive updated versions as they become available.

To learn how your department can participate, go to www.firereporting.org

Questions regarding the study may be directed to Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell at 202-824-1594 or Lmoore@iaff.org

Product support for all versions of FIREHOUSE Software 5 was discontinued after June 30, 2007. If your department is still running version 5 of FH, technical support staff will assist you with applying the necessary updates to update your software to the latest version. Please apply your updates soon. Clients with active support contracts have been provided software updates to FH version 7. If your department has an active support contract but has not received an update to FH 7, please contact FH Technical Support to have an update distributed to you. 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.

Embracing the .NET platform for the next generation of ACS FIREHOUSE Software solutions helps ACS ensure long-term support of its client base by providing capabilities such as standards-based Web services, rich integration, and versatile mobility. Learn more.