To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: KEITH KAUFFMAN, INTERIM FIRE CHIEF
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APPROVE AN AGREEMENT WITH LOCALITY MEDIA INC., DBA FIRST DUE, FOR FIRE DEPARTMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SERVICES FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $40,000 AND THE TERM SEPTEMBER 1, 2022 THROUGH AUGUST 31, 2025
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Redondo Beach Fire Department’s current records management system (RMS), Firehouse, is reaching its end of life and will no longer be supported starting in January of 2023 by the current vendor. In order to maintain the high standard of service to the community and remain in compliance with federal and state guidelines, the Department prioritized the search for an adequate vendor replacement capable of serving its current needs and providing an opportunity to streamline processes moving forward. After completing a needs assessment and comparable product evaluation, the Fire Department selected First Due to provide an updated RMS that provides incident reporting, personnel management, training records, community event tracking, and the associated integrations needed to make these functions possible.
BACKGROUND
The core function of the Department’s RMS system is to collect mandated National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) documentation and related incident reporting for the over 7,500 calls for service the Fire Department responds to each year. The Department is required to submit monthly reports to both national and state regulatory agencies and the RMS system provides an online platform where this can be accomplished in an effective manner. The RMS system also documents all of the daily activities of the Fire Department including training, community events, and regular maintenance activities.
For the past 12 years the Fire Department has utilized Firehouse RMS. Following its acquisition by a larger software company, Firehouse was designated as “end of life” and will not be supported beginning in January 2023. Following the recommendations of the Fire Assessment Study, the Department has realized there are a number of areas where it can improve its internal processes and reporting protocols.
The Fire Department completed a needs assessment capturing current requirements and the future needs the next RMS system should provide. The critical performance components identified by the RMS Work group included:
• Web based platform that would allow incident reporting from the field and station.
• Ability to adapt and evaluate data fields to improve department performance.
• Simplified and semi-automated NFIRS reporting.
• Potential to house multiple department functions in a single platform.
• The potential to implement pre-emergency plans that would be displayed to Firefighters as they respond to calls.
• A validated and regionally adopted platform.
• Intuitive scheduling and CAL-JAC compliant training codes.
• Exceptional customer service.
Once the critical needs for the next RMS system were established key players in the market were evaluated via product demonstration. Four vendors including ESO (the firm that acquired Firehouse), Zoll Data Corporation, Advanced Problem Solving (APS), and First Due were all evaluated for their ability to meet the identified needs assessment criteria.
Upon completion of the evaluation of each system, several factors separated First Due from its competitors. First Due offers a modern, intuitive RMS platform that will allow the Department to optimize their reporting methods and leverage data to improve operations and better serve the community. Other distinguishing factors include:
• Meeting all of the needs assessment criteria.
• Future potential to implement building schematics into real time incident response.
• A functional Community Connect portal to engage the community and provide updated feedback and information regarding responses to specific addresses
• Regional adoption including Huntington Beach, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Arcadia
• Direct involvement of the First Due CEO in contract negotiations and understanding the needs of the Redondo Beach Fire Department
The Department recommends a minimum three-year contract due to the complexity in migrating existing NFIRS data and the work required to build the Application Programming Interface (API) to allow First Due to receive emergency dispatch information from Mark 43, the City’s current computer-aided dispatch system. First Due will be continually evaluated to determine if the system is performing to expectations and is enhancing the Department’s ability to provide service to the community.
The implementation and scope of work require a significant investment of time for both the City and Fire Department, and First Due is committed to helping the City reach its aggressive implementation schedule to ensure continuity of service. Local client references have been very positive, and the Department is confident that First Due can deliver the updated RMS, and required interfaces, prior to the decommissioning of the Firehouse system.
COORDINATION
The City Attorney’s Office approved the agreement as to form. The Fire Department coordinated with the City Manager’s Office, Information Technology Department, and the Communications Division of the Police Department to prepare the agreement and report.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the cost of the agreement for the First Due RMS system is included in the Fire Department’s annual operating budget.
APPROVED BY:
Mike Witzansky, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
• First Due Agreement
• First Due COI