Chief Collina and the Melrose Fire Department implements StationSMARTS

Chief Ed Collina has been with the Melrose department for his full fire service career of 32 years. Having been promoted to Chief in March of this year, one of his first initiatives was to implement a state-of-the-art records management system. With the full support and encouragement of Melrose Mayor Infurna, Collina has partnered with StationSMARTS to streamline his operations, “bringing us into the 21st Century.”

NFIRS reporting by FAX:

Melrose is one of the few remaining departments in the state of Massachusetts which submits their NFIRS reports by fax. This dated process, coupled with the fact that only incidents with property loss are reported, results in a total of only 29 runs reported for all of 2018. In reality, the department most likely made 4,000 – 4,500 runs, and this under reporting has severely hampered their ability to obtain federal grants to fund operational initiatives.

With the new system, his staff will be able to complete their NFIRS reporting quickly and easily from a tablet. The enhanced NFIRS will enable the Chief to capture real-time and accurate operational data as his staff completes NFIRS reports.

New Roster System:  

The initial focus of the new records management system (RMS) will be to automate the staff roster:

  • This new attendance system enables the Chief to easily report staff times within the department, and gives him the capability of separating rosters for on-duty and administrative staff.
  • Additionally, the day’s real-time roster will reflect staff updates and changes as they occur, and can be viewed on all tablet platforms, including the Chief’s iPhone.
  • Ride reports can be generated with seat assignments and posted in the watch room, and on the whiteboard within StationSMARTS. With the roster module operational, the second phase of implementation will be automating the NFIRS reporting.

Daily Log:

Log books used for decades will now be replaced with a flexible activity tracker, enabling the Chief to report on any and all types of operational activities. For example, the results of weekly radio system checks can now be recorded in the activity tracker for future reference. Command staff can be immediately notified of any issues with this simple-to-use interface.

Chief Collina made the decision to apply for the EMPG with only two days remaining in the year’s grant cycle, hoping that by acting quickly he would secure the ability to finance the records management product. He was successful in receiving that funding; and, with the help of StationSMARTS, he will be able to submit NFIRS reporting for all incidents throughout 2019, increasing his chances of receiving further funding.

As the implementation of StationSmarts progresses, Chief Collina will streamline his department’s rostering and NFIRS submissions, as well as increase his ability to easily track and report on all of his department’s activities. The 21st century looks bright for Melrose, and those at StationSMARTS look forward to helping Chief Collina continue Melrose’s progression into a greater future.