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Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. Case Study
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- National Security & Defense
Applicable Functions
- Field Services
Use Cases
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- Data Science Services
The Challenge
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) in California is tasked with performing defensible space inspections on more than 16,000 buildings in their area each year. Defensible space is an area around a structure designed and maintained to reduce its fire risk. During an inspection, firefighters conduct a structural survey on the building to identify its material makeup and ensure it has a 100-foot buffer, free from dead trees and overgrowth. Until recently, the department used paper inspection forms, an inefficient process that made surveying every structure in the county a challenge. This system gave SBCFD no visibility into how many inspections each of its 16 stations were responsible for. One station might complete two dozen inspections, while another had a backlog of thousands — more than they could possibly complete in the time allotted. And it was difficult (if not impossible) to know how many inspections had been completed, or if any buildings in high fire-danger areas were not in compliance, putting residents at higher risk.
About The Customer
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department (SBCFD) is a fire department in California, United States. It is responsible for conducting defensible space inspections to protect the property and residents of their region. The department comprises 16 stations and is tasked with performing these inspections on more than 16,000 buildings in their area each year. The department was previously using paper inspection forms, an inefficient process that made surveying every structure in the county a challenge. The department had no visibility into how many inspections each of its 16 stations were responsible for, and it was difficult to know how many inspections had been completed, or if any buildings in high fire-danger areas were not in compliance.
The Solution
SBCFD decided to try a mobile data collection solution to keep better track of their inspections and to provide them with real-time data to explain the things they were seeing during wildfires. They chose Fulcrum due to its customizability and ease of use. SBCFD rolled out Fulcrum to a few inspectors to test. They received feedback and made changes accordingly. Once they were in a good place, they rolled it out to the entire department. Fulcrum for defensible space inspections has enabled SBCFD to better allocate its resources. Now they can just look at a map and see which areas have been covered and where more inspectors are needed. Implementing Fulcrum has also allowed for decentralized data collection throughout SBCFD’s stations, which are spread throughout the county.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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