IamResponding (IaR)

Very useful to see your staffing so long as all of your responding members can be convinced to use it. At a volunteer fire house it’s good to know when you should roll with what you have and when you should wait an extra 60 seconds for more firefighters. As for connectivity, there are generally no problems within my municipality. Issues only seem to occur in areas like college campuses where there are multiple wifi sources or poor cell coverage. The mapping feature is almost never used in my department and it is usually easier for our officers (or whoever ends up in the officer seat) to pu the address into Waze or our gps

Very functional app. Helpful in terms of information, area, response etc. There does seem to be some problems with location of addresses as it automatically maps an address and half the time it is incorrect. Would like the option to manually enter the address if it doesn’t show the true location on the map and would also like the ability to enter manually the intersections of multiple streets as well as place pins on a map so other individuals responding know the exact location with real time updates as well as being able to track other users locations actively on shift. I would also like it to incorporate voice messages or direct communication to other users by instant message, video, or voice communications. Perhaps an ability to take pictures of the area so other responders know the location and/or dangers of the area. Just some logistical thoughts.

At least two things comes to mind that Active911 is doing better, and depending on the technology individuals use, it will determine if your agency wants IaR. First is Apple Watch use. I’ve seen time and time again requests for Apple Watch use, but yet IaR seems to ignore it. Second is the ability to program certain things on the end-user level, such as the user choices to where a person is responding (has to be done via the web, not the app) or individual information (once again - web, not app). These are simple things Active does that for some reason IaR can’t or won’t, and until these things are fixed, I’ll continue with a poor rating. I make the decision on systems at my agency, and I’ve given IaR a lot of years to make simple solutions. September is the deadline and we will then see from there. I hope someone pays attention, but I’m not holding my breath.