7.8.7 Release Notes

These Release Notes are for Firehouse® release 7.8.7, and provide a listing of the defects resolved and the enhancements implemented during this release. The changes listed in the Release Notes apply to both FH™ Standard and Enterprise editions.

(FH Enterprise) Unable to create an Auto Task with dynamic dates on the alarm date for the query.

Lookup codes were checked for apostrophes (') and quotes ("), but not for percent sign (%) and caret (^). These are all invalid characters.

The issue has been resolved. Users may no longer enter a percent sign (%) or a caret (^) in lookup codes.

After updating from FH 7.5.40 to FH 7.7.0, not all existing invoice items were created for invoices as expected. When you try to add an invoice item, such as a permit, you are not able to select the existing invoice and then click OK.

In FH installations that included state-specific NEMSIS files, if you added user-defined fields to patient/victim information, you were able to delete state-required user-defined fields in addition to your own user-defined fields. You should not have been able to delete the state-required user-defined fields.

Even if an administrator opened the Administrative Options dialog box, clicked the General tab, and cleared (disabled) Allow individual user preferences, users were still able to open the Reports dialog box and: 

  • Click Options and select Install From, Organize Favorites, Organize Hidden Reports, and Set as Favorite.
  • Click Default, and then select Set as Global Default and Set as Workstation Default
  • Select Show Hidden and view hidden reports.

All of these options should have been disabled, and users were able to use the options to get password protection to run reports.

The issue has been resolved. The options listed above are now available only to administrators and users who have been granted the appropriate permissions.

To grant the necessary permissions, do the following:

  1. Choose Administration → Users and Security.

    The Users and Security dialog box appears.

  2. Click New, or select a user from the list, and then click Properties

    The User Setup dialog box appears.

  3. Under General Privileges, select Create or Modify Queries and Create or Modify Reports, Graphs, or Maps

  4. Click Save.

If a report is password protected, the report is now run only if the user knows the password or is an administrator. A user is only able to click Options and select Install From if they are an administrator or have create/modify access to the area the report is stored in.

Two fields have been added to the Occupancy module, to let the user enter the permit number of a business and a unit (company) assigned to the inspection of the occupancy.

To find the new fields, do the following:

  1. On the main FH toolbar, click Occup.

    The Occupancy dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Address tab.

    The Business Permit field appears on the far right side of the dialog box, and the Unit field appears to the right of Inspection District.

You must have a C: drive for FH Sketch to be installed as part of the Firehouse. installation. If the machine you are installing FH on does not have a C: drive with write permissions, FH installs without FH Sketch.

In previous releases, when a user added a new item to the Journal module, the date filled in by default for the item was the current date (not the date selected on the calendar). An option has been added to let the user use the date selected on the calendar as the default date when adding new items.

To find the new option, do the following:

  1. Access the Journal module in one of these ways:

    • Choose File → Department Journal.
    • From the main FH toolbar, click Journal.

    The Department Journal dialog box appears. Below the calendar, the Use Selected Calendar Date option is visible.

    If Use Selected Calendar Date is cleared, the current date is used for new items you create. If Use Selected Calendar Date is selected, the date selected on the calendar becomes the default date for items you create.

    Note: You cannot set a future date for Dispatch, Incidents, Investigations, and EMS items.

The ACS logo graphics and copyright tag lines throughout FIREHOUSE Software have been updated to use the new ACS, A Xerox Company logo graphics and taglines.

In previous releases, an activity timeout in FH would log users off while they were working in FH Sketch to complete an occupancy sketch. This timeout is now disabled while FH Sketch is open.

A field has been added to the Occupancy module, to let you add the staff ID number of the person who verified the preplan.

To find the new field, do the following:

  1. On the main FH toolbar, click Occup.

    The Occupancy dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Additional Records tab.

  3. Under Additional Preplan Info & Alerts, click Add.

    The Other Preplan dialog box appears. The new Verified By field appears below the Preplan Code.

A new administration option has been added for cases where a single zip code covers multiple cities, such as in Canada.

To find the new option, do the following:

  1. Choose Administration → Administrative Options.

    The Administrative Options dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Incidents → All Incidents → General tabs.

    Under Rules, the Do not require Zip Code option is visible.

    If Do not require Zip Code is cleared, only one list containing cities and states appears in the Lookup - Cities, States and ZIP Codes dialog box. If Do not require Zip Code is selected, a second list containing cities, states, and zip codes appears in the dialog box.

You can now use FH Inspector and a new, add-on application called FH Cloud Sync to use the FH Cloud for synchronizing new or updated FH inspection data you collected on an iPad with the FH database.

The FH Cloud Service is a secured connection which uses an HTTPS address and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to protect your data as it is pushed to and pulled through the cloud from the FH database at the fire station to the iPad in your hands.

Using FH Cloud Sync, you can:

  • Create new occupancy and hydrant inspection records on either the iPad or the FH database and use the FH Cloud to synchronize them.
  • Update existing occupancy and hydrant inspection records on either the iPad or the FH database and use the FH Cloud to synchronize them.
  • Send code lists, checklists, and logins from the FH database to the FH Cloud, and then synchronize the iPad to the FH Cloud.

You can run the synchronization manually, or you can schedule automatic synchronization through FH's automated task feature.

The visibility of reports in FH can now be restricted to administrators and users who have the create/modify item permissions for an item. Three options in the user interface are affected by the report restrictions:

  • In the Reports dialog box, the Show Hidden option now only appears for administrators and users who have the create/modify item rights for an item.

  • If you select a report in the Reports dialog box and then click Options, the Organize Hidden Reports option now only appears for administrators and users who have the create/modify item rights for an item.

  • If you select a report in the Reports dialog box and then click Properties, the Report Designer dialog box appears. In this dialog box, the Hide this report option now only appears for administrators and users who have the create/modify item rights for an item.

An option has been added to let you enter the unit (company) assigned to perform the hydrant activity/inspection.

To find the new option, do the following:

  1. On the main FH toolbar, click Hydrant.

    The Hydrant dialog box appears.

  2. Click the Activities tab.

    The Unit field appears below the Add button.

You can now add an insurance record and a vehicle record to an involvement record, as well as through Incidents. Insurance and vehicle records added through an involvement record are associated with that involvement; insurance or vehicle records added through incidents continue to function as before.

To find the new features, do the following.

  1. From the main FH toolbar, click Incident.

    The NFIRS Incident Report dialog box appears.

  2. Fill out the information for a new incident, or open an existing incident record.
  3. Click the Property & Involvement tab.

  4. Under Person/Entities Involved, select the name of a person or entity, and then click Open.

    The Involvement dialog box appears.

  5. Click Insurance or Vehicle Info.

    If you selected This happens

    Insurance

    The Insurance Information dialog box appears, containing fields related to the involvement record.

    Vehicle Info

    The Vehicle Accident/Extrication dialog box appears, containing fields related to the involvement record.