With the inherent dangers and unpredictability of firefighting, it’s critical that all team members remain connected during an emergency situation – from individuals responding on-scene to those monitoring off-site. Getting the right information – and accessing that information from anywhere – can help to improve firefighter safety not only in the moment, but also into the future.
As part of the MSA Connected Firefighter Platform, FireGrid helps to provide that solution. The Connected Firefighter Platform of products includes the all-new handheld LUNAR™ Connected Device for search and rescue, the G1 SCBA, HUB, and ALTAIR® portable gas detectors, which together help to keep firefighters safe, connected and accounted for, even in the most dangerous situations.
What is FireGrid?
FireGrid is an easily accessible cloud-based platform that provides an additional layer of firefighter safety by collecting smart data to help support fire departments’ capabilities to manage products, people, and processes. The FireGrid suite of applications includes a web-based cloud platform, the FireGrid Monitor tablet application and the FireGrid Configure mobile application.
How Does FireGrid Software Support Firefighter Safety?
As soon as a firefighter arrives at an incident, FireGrid provides incident and firefighter data to on-scene officers and remote personnel, so off-site personnel know what is happening on the ground. This data not only provides actionable insights in the moment, but also can be used to improve a department’s safety program over time. Here are the four key features of FireGrid, and how the suite of applications supports each.
Monitoring
The FireGrid Monitor tablet application provides insight into live, on-scene information such as SCBA air pressure, time remaining, who is in alarm, and who is searching. This device and incident information aids in confident decision making such as when to issue evacuations.
The FireGrid web-based platform can be used for live, remote monitoring, providing a read-only view of multiple active fire scenes from any location. It provides an alternative monitoring solution for departments that may not always have on-scene Local Command capabilities or an additional solution for those wanting more visibility into on-scene operations. Incident Commanders can actively monitor firefighter status and coordinate live fire scenes both locally and remotely.
Reporting
With the FireGrid web-based platform, after-action data from fire scenes is automatically stored and aggregated for report generation and data analysis, including device and incident information. This data, which provides days, months, and years of insights on device use and behavior trends, can be used to help implement more effective training programs and improve safety procedures over time.
Maintenance
The FireGrid Configure mobile application is used to configure, personalize, and update MSA devices, such as the LUNAR Connected Device, with the latest firmware versions. This helps to simplify over-the-air updates and makes it possible to retrieve data logs through the web-based platform.
Inventory Management
With the FireGrid web-based platform, technicians can efficiently manage the inspection status, maintenance, and active work orders across MSA’s head-to-toe products.
Learn more about the MSA Connected Firefighter Platform and FireGrid here.