2nd Quarter, 2007
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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Creating a New VISION for the future of the Fire Service
ACS Government Systems has partnered with 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 the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to create a VISION for the future of the fire service.

With a second grant from the research section of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, a three-year project will be conducted jointly to 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 for response and mitigation of emergency events; and measure their effectiveness responding and handling events.

ACS Government Systems is the technical  advisor for this project. We are assisting our partners with software development, data solicitation and collection for the project. 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

 

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FHETS 2007 
Registration for the 2007 FIREHOUSE Software Education and Training Seminar (FHETS) being held October 1st - 4th at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, CA. is going on now at an incredible pace. Over 180 attendees have already registered. We anticipate 400 attendees for this year's event. If you haven't already registered, click Register now to reserve your spot.

Check-in for FHETS will begin on the 1st, with classes starting the 2nd. For the 3 day event, the seminar will be $595, with hotel rooms available at $129/night. This special hotel room rate extends 3 days before and 3 days after the seminar as well. Breakfast, lunch, and between class snacks will be provided for the attendees during the 3 days. For travel planning, the seminar begins with a welcome reception on the 1st from 6pm to 7pm. Breakfast will be served on the 2nd at 7:30am, including an address from our keynote speaker. The last class will end at 5pm on the 4th.

This year's classes are structured for FH users, FH administrators and FH IT/network administrative staff. Here's a list of just some of the subjects offered in classes this year:

  • NFIRS Incident Reporting
  • EMS Incident Reporting
  • Staff Members & Scheduling
  • Training Classes & Programs
  • Understanding Expression building
  • ISO & Accreditation
  • FH Mobile EMS
  • FH Mobile Inspections & Occupancies
  • FH Mobile Incident Command with Preplans
  • Query Building and Report Writer Layouts
  • Equipment Inventory Management
  • Accounts Receivable (Cost Recovery)


Don't forget to visit the San Diego Visitors Bureau for information about some of the sites and activities available in the San Diego area before or after our event.

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.

Updating FH Mobile installations with the new 2005 SQL Server Express

With the introduction of FH Mobile Inspections & Occupancies to the FH Mobile Suite, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express edition was included. The new SQL server gives users a larger 4GB database for their mobile application, as some departments are needing the larger database for attached files and record content being synchronized from the FH database to FH Mobile. When an update is being performed, if an existing installation of SQL Server is on the computer, a prompt will appear to ask if you wish to upgrade the SQL server. If you choose to upgrade to SQL Server 2005 Express, please note the special items below critical for a successful upgrade SQL Server 2005 Express. The SQL Server 2005 Express installation has certain installation items which must be set properly for FH Mobile to operate:

1.) Registration information will be requested, asking for a name and company. On the registration screen, uncheck the checkbox for Hide Advanced Configuration Options below the Company field.
2.) A prompt may appear during the installation wizard to choose the 'Log on as'. The choices will be for 'Local System Account' or 'Network Account'. Choose 'Local System Account'. If this is not selected, the installation of FH Mobile will not be able to attach the SQL database necessary for the application.
3.) Use the default settings for Feature Selections installation.
4.) DO NOT change the defaulted instance name if prompted during the install. FH Mobile must have the exact instance name populated as it appears.
5.) If existing components are found by the install, check the option for SQL Server Database Services to update the version.
6.) When prompted for Upgrade Logon Information, select Windows Authentication Mode.
7.) The Error and Usage Report Settings to Microsoft are optional features. It is not known to affect FH Mobile performance.

Updating the SQL Server to the 2005 Express edition is only necessary if you expect your Mobile database will grow larger than 2GB in size during its usage. Users installing FH Mobile for the first time will automatically have SQL Server 2005 Express installed.

ACS FIREHOUSE Software Notes
FIREHOUSE Software version 7 update:  
Almost all FIREHOUSE Software clients with active support contracts have been shipped their FH 7 update packet. Only a small group of clients in Pennsylvania were delayed, but will be shipped out in July. 

FIREHOUSE Software version 5 Product Support: 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.

ACS EMS Group merging with FIREHOUSE Software!
We are pleased to announce that the ACS EMS group has combined with ACS FIREHOUSE Software to extend our joined capabilities to all of our customers. This merger will lead to FIREHOUSE Software providing a billing and collections service for FH customers.  More details will be announced soon.

FireVISION Distribution
If 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, select the option to modify your email profile. The link will take you to the ExactTarget.com 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 emails are delivered. Archived copies of FireVISION 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 the coming months!
07/13/07 to 07/15/07: Pittsburgh FireRescue & EMS, Pittsburgh PA.
07/14/07 to 07/17/07: TN Fire Chiefs Conference, Nashville, TN.
07/18/07 to 07/20/07: Missouri Valley Fire Chief's Conference, Rapid City, SD.
07/21/07 to 07/22/07: Ohio Fire Chiefs Assoc Annual Conference, Columbus, OH.
07/22/07 to 07/22/07: Texas A& M Fire Training School, College Station, TX.
07/26/07 to 07/28/07: FirehouseExpo, Baltimore, MD.
08/09/07 to 08/11/07: LA State Firemens' Assoc Annual Conf ., Lafayette, LA.
08/10/07 to 08/11/07: OK State John F. Futhey II Fire School, Choctaw, OK.
08/23/07 to 08/25/07: Fire-Rescue International 2007, Atlanta, GA.
08/23/07 to 08/25/07: N Carolina State Firemen and Chief's Convention, Winston Salem, NC.
09/14/07 to 09/15/07: New Jersey Firemen's Convention, Wildwood, NJ.
09/15/07 to 09/19/07: Georgia State Joint Firefighters/Chiefs Assoc Conference, Savannah, GA.
10/01/07 to 10/04/07: FH Education and Training Seminar (FHETS), San Diego, CA.

Department Profile(s)
Each quarter, we profile a different department using FIREHOUSE Software. If you would like your department profiled, please send information about your department to: FHdocumentation@acs-inc.com.

Fire Department: York County Department of Fire & Life Safety
Location: Yorktown, Virginia
Fire Chief: Steven P. Kopczynski
Personnel: over 120 career and 40 volunteers
Stations: 6 stations and 1 training center
Pop. Served: 63,000
Calls: 8,700 approx
Apparatus: 6 ALS engine companies, 2 ALS ladders, 2 medium duty rescues, 6 ALS medic units, 1 tanker/water tender, 2 brush trucks, 1 shift battalion chief and 1 EMS shift supervisor.
Software:  FIREHOUSE Software version 7, FH CAD Monitor
Comments: The York County Department of Fire and Life Safety is a modern suburban county government fire department that protects more than 107 square miles of the county. Located in sourthern Virginia where the mouth of the York River empties into Chesapeake Bay, Yorktown is about 35 miles from Norfolk and 63 miles from Richmond. The department is about to enter their 10th year using FIREHOUSE Software. The department began in April 1954 as the York Volunteer Fire Department. Overall, the department is comprised of over 180 members that operate out of a centrally located administration building, an emergency communications/9-1-1 center and six fire stations strategically located throughout the County. In addition, members serve on specialized response teams and staff a Haz-Mat Unit, Technical Rescue Unit, Marine Unit (23'Rigis Hull Fire/Rescue Vessel), and a Metropolitan Medical Response Unit. You can find more interesting information for the fire department on their website: http://www.yorkcounty.gov/fls/em/index.htm.