2nd Quarter, 2014
FireVISION is a quarterly publication from FIREHOUSE Software® with fire-industry news, software tips, and other helpful information. Previous FH® newsletters are available in our web site's Newsletters section. If you have any questions or concerns related to the newsletter distribution, please email: FHdocumentation@xerox.com . If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, see the instructions at the bottom of this email.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Follow the latest FHETS updates on Twitter and FH news on Facebook.
 
Stop By For a Visit!
It's Texas in the summer, so we know it's going to be HOT! Join us in our booth to cool down and take a look at:
  • FHnet - Our latest and most powerful records management system
  • FIREHOUSE Software version 7.16.10
  • FH Medic version 2.2.
  • FH Mobile Command
  • Gold and Platinum support packages
If you would like to reserve time to meet with the FH team, please contact us. Let us know you will be in Dallas and we will set up a time to meet with you.
 
It was so good last time, we're going back! Register NOW! 
Our 2008 FHETS conference in New Orleans was one of our most highly attended and enjoyed FIREHOUSE Software Education and Training seminars ever. We want to do it again, so we're going back in 2014!
Headquartered at the Sheraton New Orleans, we've located the 2014 conference in the heart of everything New Orleans has to offer. You'll be steps away from the French Quarter, the Mississippi River, and just a mile from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Sheraton New Orleans just underwent a $50 million dollar renovation, updated for more comfort, and more of the amenities you want.
The seminar price is $895 for the conference, including: breakfast, lunch, and both receptions. Hotel room accommodations are available for $108/night (plus taxes), with this special rate available to our attendees three days prior to and following the seminar, based on guestroom availability. Visit www.myfhevents.com to register NOW!
For travel planning, we will keep our schedule consistent with years past. The registration, a FH user's group meeting, and an opening night reception to be held on the 23rd, followed by three days of classes and interaction with FH staff and clients. Anticipated classes are being planned now. Look for more details in the coming weeks.
If you have any questions, please contact our training coordinator at FHets@xerox.com. If you missed FHETS 2008 in New Orleans, here's your chance as we return to "The Big Easy." And for the 500 plus who experienced the New Orleans FHETS then, you should come join us too! There'll be even more to learn this time around.
 
If FHETS doesn't fit in your budget....
Periodically throughout the year, different FH regional user groups have their own one or two-day seminars. Sometimes those events are handled by the user group themself, while other events have FH staff in attendance too. We encourage our user groups to hold these events. An example of a recent regional training seminar was the North Carolina User's Group Regional Training event, held in Wilmington, NC. This event brought over 100 attendees from areas other than North Carolina, including local departments in Virginia, midwesterners in Indiana, and distant travelers from Montana. Attendees noted that their departments cannot afford to send them to FHETS, and the regional training was all they could do for the year. 
Events similar to this are commonly announced in the FIREHOUSE Software Yahoo Group forum. Watch for future events to be announced that may be in your area.
And a message from our new trainer......
First let me extend a big thank you to all of you for your warm welcome to my position at FIREHOUSE Software. It is a new experience for me to work on the business end of FH and so far it has been a lot of fun. With the continued release of FHnet, there are many requests for training and our team is ready to meet that need. Our training team can accommodate training either on-line or on-site, so please contact your sales representative for more information.
I am pleased to announce registration is now open for FHETS 2014 at http://www.myfhevents.com/. I look forward to seeing all of you there. With over 40 classes for you to choose from, plus one-on-one time with our support staff, there are many opportunities for you to receive answers to all of you FIREHOUSE Software/FHnet questions.
Jimmie Dotson
Training Specialist
Preparing for the FHnet Conversion
The rollout of FHnet to our clients with active support contracts is in full swing. Some departments are choosing to begin with a fresh system. Others are choosing to bring over their existing data. Converting FH 7 data to FHnet is a unique process we're excited to provide you. As our users prepare, we want to provide you some best practice recommendations and limitations to prepare for.
We recommend considering these steps: 
  • Plan a thorough test conversion first.
    • Set up the test conversion on an environment/network similar to what your live production environment will be. (Have you reviewed our FHnet system requirements yet?)
    • Compare the data elements between FH 7 and FHnet. See how the data populated. If necessary, you may need to perform some data editing in FH 7 before the final live production conversion.
  • Run our attachment formatting tool to so attached files will be migrated and stored within the database. The tool is available from our support team. Attachments that were links to web pages will not convert.
  • Schedule mandatory down time before going live. Build in extra time beyond the conversion time. This will allow you to confirm all workstations are connecting and accessing the data properly.
There is a small set of items the conversion will not introduce into FHnet, requiring user re-production. Each of these areas have significant changes to their functionality in FHnet. Certain areas also have a high level of user variability, making direct automated conversion impossible.
  • Administrative Option Settings/ Workstation Option Settings
  • Staff Scheduling Definitions
  • User created System Rules
  • User created Custom Reports
  • User Defined Field Definitions
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the FHnet conversion, please email us at fhnet@xerox.com.
firevision_seeing_future_120x120
Making plans for the future of FH 7 technical support
As we move to the next generation of FIREHOUSE Software with FHnet, users of the current FH 7 have been confused by discussions related to the 'end of support' of their existing software. Xerox Government Systems, LLC. expects to continue to offer service for all our FH products as long as demand exists within our customer base. For FH7, we have publicly indicated support for this platform through 2015 at a minimum. However, we do feel it is likely that official support for FH7 will continue beyond that period.
As part of this commitment, we have recently released full support for Microsoft Windows 8 and Microsoft SQL Server 2012. Preparing for the future, we are already working on the Microsoft SQL Server 2014 compatibility testing.
Preparing for your SQL Server needs
Mainstream support for all Microsoft SQL Server 2008 versions will end July 8, 2014. Similar to the recent end of support for Microsoft Windows XP versions, this means Microsoft will no longer provide patches, updates or security fixes for the SQL Server 2008 lineage.
We recommend departments using the SQL Server 2008 Edition for their FH Enterprise and Web systems should prepare to update their SQL Server. Departments using the FH provided SQL 2008 Express Edition for their FH Enterprise and Web Edition systems can update their SQL Server with the new 2012 Express Edition. We included the SQL Server 2012 Express Edition with the release of FIREHOUSE Software version 7.16. You can also download SQL Server 2012 Express from Microsoft.
If you have any questions on how to backup your FH data before upgrading your SQL Server, our technical support team will gladly assist.

Stop By and See Us
Look for us at these upcoming events in the coming months!
07/20/14 to 07/20/14: TX Mun. Fire Training School, College Station, TX.
07/23/14 to 07/25/14: LA State Firemen's Assoc. Conf., Baton Rouge, LA.
07/31/14 to 08/01/14: 2014 Mid States Fire Conference, Rogers, AR.
07/31/14 to 08/01/14: AR AEMTA EMS Conference, Hot Springs, AR.
08/13/14 to 08/16/14: FRI 2014, Dallas, TX.
09/23/14 to 09/26/14: FHETS 2014, New Orleans, LA.
Department Profile
In each newsletter, we profile a different department using FIREHOUSE Software. If you would like your department profiled, please send information about your department to: FHdocumentation@xerox.com.

Fire Department: Ellsworth Fire Department
Location: Ellsworth, Maine
Fire Chief: Richard Tupper
Personnel: 10 career, 18 paid on-call
Stations: 1
Calls: 400/year
Pop. Served: 7,000+ local, 14,000 within mutual aid territory
Apparatus: 1 Ladder, 2 Engines, 1 Tender, 1 Rescue, and 1 F350 Truck,
Software: FIREHOUSE Software Enterprise Edition, FH CAD Monitor
Comments: Ellsworth sits on the northern edge of the Union River and Union River Bay, along the Atlantic coastline. The town center is about 30 miles south of Bangor and 80 miles east of Augusta. Incorporated into their logo is the slogan, "Business, Leisure, Life." These words speak volumes to the business friendly atmosphere and opportunities for quality of life in the community.
The fire department dates back all the way to the middle 1800s. Hand drawn pumpers served the community until 1902, when horses were purchased, until the time came when motorized trucks could be acquired. In May of 1933, 75% of the business district was destroyed by an arsonists match totally a staggering $1.2 million dollars of damage.
Today, the Ellsworth Fire Department provides first response for fire and non-EMS rescue services to the City of Ellsworth, one unorganized territory, automatic aid to four neighboring municipalities and mutual aid assistance to 28 Hancock County towns. More details can be found about the city of Ellsworth and the fire department at http://cityofellsworthme.org/.