The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has chosen EaseAlert to update emergency alerts throughout its network of Schedule B sites in California.

With 295 CAL FIRE operational facilities, this represents the largest contract and deployment of fire department alerting systems in the world. By installing at every site, CAL FIRE can update its stations without the time-consuming hardwiring and building that station alerting systems typically need.

“CAL FIRE is operating at a world-class scale, and they were looking for a solution that could improve health and efficiency for thousands of personnel across hundreds of facilities in a short period of time,” said Blake Richardson, co-founder and CEO of EaseAlert. “The fact that EaseAlert can be deployed quickly is important, but what matters most is that we’re giving firefighters a fundamentally different way to receive an alert. Instead of relying on a hardwired system to wake everyone in the station, we’re providing a wireless system that targets individuals with low-impact, highly effective tactile, visual and audible alerts.”

Ensuring that responders don't miss a call has been the main focus of fire station alerting for decades. Eventually, radios, loud station tones, and brilliant overhead lights replaced the bells. In order to lessen the first shock effect, some systems have lately added tones that gradually grow in loudness. However, auditory alerts are still the major method used by many firemen to be awakened and informed of an emergency.

This leads to a major issue: in order for everyone to hear audible alarms, they must be loud. This causes a startling fight-or-flight response each time a 911 call is received by responders. Because of this, firefighters are up to 14.1 times more likely to get a heart attack or sudden cardiac death while responding to an alert than when performing non-emergency tasks.

EaseAlert was developed using an alternative methodology. Its technology combines low-impact red illumination, "heart-smart" audio alerts and tactile alerts, such as vibration on the wrist and bunk. This eliminates the negative physiological response to loud tones and enables focused alerts to be sent to designated responders.

Central Command Units, TacPods, BunkAlerts, LED strips and SafeTones are all part of the EaseAlert foundation package that CAL FIRE will implement. Because of its modular design, stations can upgrade this base package with EaseAlert's entire range of alerting technologies after it is implemented.

“EaseAlert helps reduce unnecessary stress and disruption for our personnel by providing more efficient and effective alerts, helping crews mobilize quickly and respond to emergencies faster, says Battalion Chief Jared Lees, command and control at CAL FIRE. “This investment reflects CAL FIRE’s continued commitment to supporting our personnel, strengthening emergency response capabilities, and providing the highest level of service to the public.”

The new system is powered by EaseAlert's mission-critical server. Prism-IPX Systems provides a radio-based backup path, while individual nodes provide unique alerting logic for each response facility. EaseAlert automatically switches to the Prism-IPX radio link in the event that a station's primary connection is compromised, ensuring that the warning reaches the appropriate responders right away.

Because of its scope, CAL FIRE is an important project outside of California. As one of the biggest and most intricate emergency response organizations in the world, local fire departments in California as well as response organizations worldwide keep a careful eye on its technological and operational decisions.

The project represents a turning point in the well-being and operational efficacy of emergency responders worldwide for EaseAlert and the fire service in general. Because systems should be built around the responders assigned to the call rather than the facilities they work from, Firefighter Alerting (FFA) is taking the place of Fire Station Alerting (FSA) as the new gold standard. As the initiative grows, EaseAlert will continue to collaborate with CAL FIRE on deployments, continuing maintenance and equipment upgrades.