How a US Fire Department Uses Aussie Software to Solve an Age Old Problem

The City of Richmond Heights Division of Fire is responsible for protecting the lives and property of the citizens of Richmond Heights, Ohio. With a population of 10,476 with 33% living in aging apartment complexes, there is a lot that the local fire department needs to be aware of to ensure the community’s fire safety. In addition to the residential buildings, there is a hospital, an airport, several large shopping malls, school systems, four long-term healthcare facilities and two industrial complexes, so a very complex demographic with many diverse safety needs.‍

To do this effectively, the Fire Department (FD) must be prepared for any type of fire or emergency. One way that the FD prepares is by creating pre-incident plans for high-risk buildings as directed by the AHJ. Pre-incident plans are detailed documents that provide information about the layout of a building, its fire protection systems, and potential hazards.

With a history of both firefighting and as a paramedic, Justin Magill knows firsthand the unmet need to have the necessary information required to know where to go in a building and what to be concerned with when responding to an emergency. However, the historical methods of creating and maintaining pre-plans have made it difficult to create and keep plans up to date. Based on some online research Justin had done, he came across a much better way to create and manage pre-plans.

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“Traditionally in the fire service, preplans had been hand-drawn either on paper or created on a computer with no georeferenced data included. Advances in technology have made it possible to easily create detailed and accurate preplans using tools such as the PlanStudio software,” said Justin Magill, Firefighter and Paramedic at the City of Richmond Height Fire Department. “Using software such as PlanStudio helps meet the challenge of building and infrastructure changes by enabling modification of the plans right from your computer or from a remote device such as an iPad or tablet. All approved changes are then automatically updated on the cloud so the latest version of the plan is available when needed.”

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What’s required in a preplan? The criteria and process for developing pre-incident plans are well documented in NFPA 1620. Most recently, NFPA 1620 will be superseded by NFPA 1660 but the requirements will be largely unchanged. Per the standard, the following are some of the items to be considered during the design phase:

• Potential Life Safety Hazards
• Structure Size and Operation
• Location and Season Variation
• Presence of Hazardous Materials

In addition, the following physical and site elements must be considered:

• Construction
• Building management systems and utilities
• External Site Conditions
• Internal and external security features
• Fences and other barriers

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With software such as PlanStudio, the user can quickly create a pre-plan of critical buildings which are then all stored electronically in the cloud and are available for use whenever needed. The tool allows for documentation of the hazards, type of structure, ingress and egress pathways and the complete building layout. The tool not only retains the building information, it also links it to geospatially located assets, complete with matching images, ensuring a comprehensive and visual representation of your response strategy.

Since the implementation of PlanStudio in 2023, the Richmond Heights FD has seen the following benefits:

• Increased Efficiency - Preplans can be created and updated quickly and easily on an iPad while completing walkthroughs. The software has saved the FD a significant amount of time in creating and updating preplans. Complex plans usually take 50-75% less time compared to the previous methods that did not include site specific photos and the level of detail achieved within PlanStudio.
• Increased Accuracy - The software includes a cloud-based database of building information that is constantly being updated ensuring that preplans are always accurate. All data is georeferenced to the real-world enabling the data created to be utilized in existing GIS databases that dispatch centers may be using. This is important for firefighter safety, as it allows them to make informed decisions about how to approach a fire.
• Increased Accessibility - Preplans can now be accessed from any device with an internet connection. This makes it easier for firefighters to access the information they need when they need it, regardless of where they are.
• Enhanced Security - The software is password-protected and preplans can be encrypted. This helps to protect the information within the preplans from unauthorized access.

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Marc Neumann is the Fire Chief at the Richmond Heights Division of Fire, where the PlanStudio software has been implemented to help with the creation of pre-plans. Chief Neumann was originally a Division Chief with Orange County Fire Rescue Department in Florida, but then moved to Ohio because he recognized and welcomed the challenge of managing in a diverse region and the change from a large, urban organization.

“The primary fire safety challenges we face occur during the construction phase of a building. While the occupancies do meet the necessary codes, they have been constructed with materials that may not provide the best protection from fire, therefore requiring the fire department to maintain a high level of building intelligence on record,” said Chief Neumann, Fire Chief at the Richmond Heights Division of Fire. “With many older buildings in need of updating, there are many projects in place or being planned to either demolish and rebuild or renovate and extend. The latter poses a significant threat as occupancies such as hospitals, schools, and shopping malls must stay operational while the construction is being carried out.  Simultaneously running two different fire safety systems with many operational considerations and overlapping procedures poses a risk for accidents to occur, and often they do.”

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Chief Neumann further stated:

“I learned from previous experience how important technology and mobile data were and how a one-stop-shop to find data to improve situational awareness in firefighting including G.I.S. (Graphic Information System Mapping), was key. When Justin showed me PlanStudio, I was excited and relieved that we had found an affordable solution that checks all the boxes and can better assist in the pre-planning process. PlanStudio is user-friendly and provides information essential to firefighting and survivability. Making pre-planning simple, by easily adding information such as utilities, egress, and fire equipment as a one-stop-shop with a concise, clear, and dynamic view which an incident commander can share with firefighters before they arrive at the scene.”

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Justin has already mapped a significant number of high-risk buildings in a short period of time since they signed up with PlanStudio.

Justin stated:

“By having accurate and up-to-date preplans, firefighters are better equipped to respond to fires safely and effectively. Having the right information at the right time is critical to reducing the number of injuries and fatalities caused by fires. We expect to create a training program for firefighters on how to use the software and we will develop a process for regularly updating PlanStudio’s database of building information. We have also encouraged other fire departments to adopt PlanStudio for pre-planning purposes. We believe the implementation of the new preplan software has been a success for the City of Richmond Heights Division of Fire as it has saved the Fire Department time, improved the accuracy of preplans, and has made them more accessible. PlanStudio has made the city safer for residents and employees.”

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