Original Article: Orchard Park Fire District to use cloud-based software to help save lives (wkbw.com)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — The Orchard Park Fire District will be using a cloud-based software called Florian. The fire district will be the first fire and emergency medical service provider, in Western New York, to use the software.
Florian was created in Buffalo and has been used in various major cities in the U.S. This weekend, it will be used for the very first time by Western New York firefighters.
The district fire chief called the technology “indispensable”, as the Windom Volunteer Fire Company, which is technically the only volunteer fire department that serves a major NFL team.
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Florian is taking fire and EMS protection to another level and with the Bills home opener this weekend. The Orchard Park Fire District will be putting it to the test.
“Everybody’s safety is number one and our firefighter’s safety is number one,” Orchard Park Fire District Chief Jay Knavel said.
The software will keep track of the fire district’s assets, its crew members and better protect the public.
“The firefighter will turn on their phone and put it in their pocket and do nothing. We can track them and communicate with them through that. Obviously, the radio is the first choice,” Chief Knavel told me. “But we also can monitor where they are. We can send them to specific coordinates.”
Chief Knavel said the software will be able to track firefighters inside a building and also use voice activation.
Each firefighter will have a cell phone.
They are not just any kind of phone.
These are stronger and more rugged, so it can withstand the day-to-day duties of the job.
3AM Innovations Sales Senior Director Izzy Rufat said, “We actually have our training getting in later today with the Chief and team here at Windom to use for the game day on this Sunday. We’re excited to kick that off and really just looking forward to a safe and stellar football season.”
There are other uses to the software outside of Bills home games.
Chief Knavel said, “Uses of Chestnut Ridge Park, when we have rescues there, we have large manufacturing buildings where there are many floors and many big buildings. We don’t want to be able to lose people.”
As a resident of Orchard Park himself, Rufat told me the Orchard Fire District leveraging technology for games will be a game-changer.
Rufat said, “Working together to protect our firefighters and knowing where people are and accountability so we work with a multitude of departments across the country but this is really special for us to work with our hometown team.”
The Orchard Park Fire District consists of three different volunteer fire departments: Windom, Orchard Park and Hillcrest.
Windom draws more personnel from the other two departments on game day.
Press contact: ellie.bancroft@3aminnovations.com
About 3AM Innovations
3AM Innovations delivers advanced AI and 3D technology solutions for the public safety sector. By empowering all public safety personnel with crucial information, we support effective incident management. Furthermore, 3AM integrates its core incident command platform, FLORIAN, with global partners to significantly expand its capabilities. We combine decades of incident command experience with advanced technology. Ultimately transforming the organized chaos of an emergency into actionable intelligence. To learn more about 3AM Innovations and our offerings, visit www.3aminnovations.com.