Firefighters in Alabama may soon be equipped with both a fire hose and a smartphone while on duty.
The Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs is developing an app that will allow firefighters to give reports on fires faster and more easily. Firefighters would use the app to upload a picture and answer questions to provide information such as the location, amount of damage and cause of the fire.
The association applied for a grant to raise funds to further develop and distribute the app.
Arthur Willis is the President of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs. He says the smartphone tool will help with research of fires in specific areas.
“What it would really help us do is to find the areas of the state that we need to really focus on. Right now we’re not sure where the majority of the fires are occurring, but with this data we can narrow it down to a county, or even a community in a county, that we really need to focus our efforts.”
Out of the 1,200 fire departments throughout the state, 1,000 are staffed by volunteers. This app is designed to make the reporting process easier for those who volunteer their little extra time to combat fires throughout the state.