Liberty Suburban Chicago Newspapers
July 6, 2006

Fire Department goes high-tech for emergencies

By Meghan C. Smith
Staff writer

The St. Charles Fire Department is among four Chicago area departments using new software that will allow firefighters to retrieve critical data and information en route to or at scenes of an emergency.

Chicago-based RealView has created CommandScope, a program that allows emergency personnel to retrieve critical data and floor plans of buildings at the scene of an emergency. Firefighters will be able to access the information at the scene using tablet personal computers.

In addition to St. Charles, North Aurora, Aurora and Park Ridge are using the system.

St. Charles Fire Chief Alan Schullo said before the new software was put in play, an inspector analyzing a commercial building took handwritten notes of its pre-plans, such as the building's lay out, where its sprinkler system control was located, how the electricity can be shut off and if the building stores hazardous materials.

"Things that will be critical for us in an emergency," he said.

Afterward, the inspector would then take the notes and go back to the station to manually put the information on a computer. The notes are also placed in notebooks kept on the emergency vehicles and at the station. Now with the software, Schullo said when the inspector does an inspection the notes are taken electronically on the tablet PC and the information is immediately stored in the system. The system also eliminates guesswork and allows firefighters to be attentive to specifics of the emergency.

"This is a multifaceted system that will have us go paperless on our inspections. And once it is the system everybody gets it; aerial photos, floor plans, (Computer-Aided Design) drawings," Schullo said. "A major challenge with the fire service in general nationally is inspections' data collection and data availability. Being able to retrieve that data quickly in the time of an emergency in the field is important."

While it is mandatory for all commercial buildings to have an annual pre-plan inspection, Schullo said the department does not go into residential areas to get the same pertinent information for homes. However, with the new software residents now can supply their own pre-plan and submit it to the Fire Department via the Internet.

Information residents can supply includes the home's layout, how many people live in the house, would someone need medical assistance getting out of the house and how many pets are there.

"This is for if someone who is not home we know something about the building or if it is in the middle of the night and we don't have everyone accounted for," Schullo said. "And most important we don't want something happening to one of our firefighters."

Schullo said the Fire Department will formally make an announcement of when residents can customize their home's pre-plan.

RealView President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Nardi said the system is also encrypted, making it 99.9 percent safe.

"It's very safe. ... Today (fire departments) have information in a book and someone could steal from the book whereas you can not do it with this system," he said.

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