WTAE.com
HEIDELBERG, Pa. — A computer glitch is keeping most fire departments in Western Pennsylvania from reporting structure fires to the state, Action News Investigates has learned.
A fire chief in Heidelberg says that could compromise public safety and cost fire departments millions of dollars in grants. The reports are supposed to be used not only to get grants but to spot trends that can help prevent fires.
Heidelberg firefighters were on the scene quickly when an apartment building caught fire. That’s not surprising, since it’s just down the block from the station. But state reports obtained by Action News Investigates show no record of Heidelberg responding at all.
Firehouse Software responds:Xerox says it plans to reach out to Pennsylvania Fire Commissioner Timothy Solobay to offer support and expertise to aid those counties shown in a recent news report on WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh. Xerox says they feel strongly that the Firehouse software was not the cause of reporting issues mentioned by individuals interviewed for the story. Since 2001, Xerox has provided a statewide fire incident reporting system to Pennsylvania, and numerous other states, through its Firehouse Software program. During that time they have successfully processed millions of incident reports. In neighboring New Jersey, the fire departments there report an 88 to 98 percent participation rate in reporting fire incidents, using the same software package. There are also other counties in Pennsylvania with very high reporting numbers. |
Full story: Computer glitch keeps Western Pennsylvania fire departments from reporting fires