Most people think of the fire department as big trucks carrying lots of hose and dedicated volunteers responding when and where they are need to protect life and conserve property.  If you look below this public vision of the department a complex management structure exists to make sure the required services are delivered to the public (our customers) consistently and without interruption.  Part of this complex structure is handling the increasing reporting and training requirements Just like any commercial business today our department is faced with increasing information management requirements with a limited budget and even more limited personnel resources. 

In 1999 Klein realized that the requirements of managing fire reporting, training, ISO data and a host of other activities had out paced the data management system the department had evolved to over the course of the last 10 years or so.  It was time to address information management on a larger scale not just add another PC at some desk.  During the planning phase of the 2000 budget,  $50,000 was set aside to create a new information management network which would meet the needs of the department for the next decade.

Klein will move into the second half of this year with a new computer network which will tie all 7 fire stations together on one network with the hub of the system located at Station 31.  This is no small accomplishment considering the stations are scattered out over the 50 plus square miles of our fire district.  With this network in place all fire reporting will be electronically entered at the local stations and stored on the main server.  From headquarters the reports will be summarized by the office manager and sent to the county Fire Marshal at the end of the month.  Up until now this process required writing a report, faxing the report to the office manager and entry of the report into a dedicated PC.  Some months over 200 reports would be processed this way. 

Computer aid training will be the next use for the network.  Each Klein member is required to have 8 hours per quarter of classroom and field training to remain on the active roles.  Klein has purchased a network version of the most popular fire training material in the US.  This program, over 40 MB, will be stored on the network server.  Each member will use his / her password to access the system and take a class on line.  The program allows the student to pause but not stop the class until all the elements of the course are completed.  A randomly generated test from pool questions on the subject is given after the instructional material is presented. The student's name and score are stored then transferred into the training records of the department.  New ISO guidelines require that fire departments keep detailed records on training hours, hoses testing, pump testing and several other items.  These will all be stored as files on the new system.  Up until now this information has been fragmented, stored on several computers in and out of the fire department.

A very dedicated group of fire department volunteers used their work related networking and computer skills to augment professional technicians in installing and staring up the KVFD system.  Compaq Computer who has business divisions located in the Fire District generously donated some equipment to the new system.   As we look back at this project in the next few years, the new system will stand out along with our first ladder truck, 1200 gpm pumpers, and 5 inch supply lines as a major jump forward in providing quality fire services to our community at a bargain price.