Bonfield’s firefighters are taking to FireQ and have decided to officially adopt the system.
FireQ is an operational program designed specifically for fire departments. The system handles paging and response, but also includes reporting, hours worked and can keep track of training records and inspection reports.
Created and produced by BretonSmarTek, the company detailed, “FireQ provides everything the firefighter needs,” including helping to manage administrative tasks.
Deputy Fire Chief Joshua DeWaal agreed, and told council he and his crew preferred the system over the others they tried – namely PSTrax and APX Data. DeWaal noted, “When it comes to record keeping and equipment management it can all be easily accessed through FireQ.”
Not that the other programs were bad, Waal emphasized, it’s just that FireQ had more features to offer at an affordable price.
Currently, the fire department uses a program called Who’s Responding. Come January 1st, 2025, that contract is complete, and the plan is to move to FireQ. The Deputy Chief noted that “Who’s Responding offers us only a paging software. It shows within the app who is responding and where they are.”
The annual subscription for Who’s Responding cost $1,017 and covered 25 staff members. FireQ costs $1,327 for a year subscription and covers 30 staff. The department also investigated using the program Iam Responding, and although similar, DeWaal preferred FireQ “With its built-in reporting, equipment management, and training aids.”
DeWaal added, “This will provide the Fire Department with the additional resources that are needed when it comes to record keeping and equipment management, which can easily be accessed and reviewed.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
