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A new smart phone app getting rave reviews by fire departments and emergency responders was created right here in Leeds Grenville.
The Who's Responding app by Fluent IMS (Information Management Systems) Inc., a Brockville-based company owned by Elizabethtown-Kitley volunteer firefighter Jamie St. Pierre, is an app "designed by firefighters for firefighters."
Since its launch in January, the list of clients using the app has grown to include more than 200 volunteer fire departments, emergency and search and rescue agencies from across North America. Many Leeds Grenville departments are using it.
Elizabethtown-Kitley Fire Chief Jim Donovan has nothing but praise for the app. He says it made a difference "immediately" to operations within the department, including better accountability and data for incident reporting. It tells him in real time who is able to respond and tracks response vehicles on the road. "It maximizes manpower and minimizes vehicle response. It's such a great tool because the more knowledge you have before arrival on the scene, the better," Chief Donovan says.
The lead programmer on the project was Shane Curless. The app can dispatch messages, give a responders' list, provide incident mapping, map markers, GPS tracking, mass texting, radio streams, availability message and location tracking. It offers the responder an automated courtesy message to let their family know they're on a call. The app also lets you know about road closures and where hydrants and water sources are located.
Jamie St. Pierre launched Fluent IMS right out of college eight years ago. The company also provides web-based business management services. Its custom framework allows businesses to automate many of their standard tracking, training, learning, support and reporting needs in a single cloud-based system. Fluent IMS has more than 50,000 users from various international companies around the world.
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