Many volunteer fire departments have Firehouse Software installed, and even though it is past its “end of life” it is still working fine. Installed on a computer at the department, it is doing the job; keeping records as it has for many years, and reporting to NFIRS. The only reason to discuss it at all, is that Firehouse Software doesn’t and won’t support NERIS.
Fire departments need to move to NERIS in 2025, with NFIRS shutting down in January 2026.
One solution, that problem-solving firefighters have come up with, is to use Firehouse as they have but work with Responserack for NERIS for incident reporting.
With years of truck checks, and inventory data, and hose and SCBA data in Firehouse Software, keeping Firehouse Software is the least painful option. Adding Responserack for NERIS is a great addition.
Even if you plan to migrate to Responserack from Firehouse, having them side by side allows time for a careful migration. Introduce Responserack for your firefighters, for incident (connected to CAD dispatches), and allow your firefighters the best middle-of-the-night simple reporting system. Continue to utilize Firehouse Software as you have been, for other needs.
Responserack and Firehouse Software are a powerful combination for the NERIS era.
Sign up to hear more from Responserack on Volunteer Fire Departments, USFA NERIS and USFA NFIRS.
Responserack provides services for volunteer fire departments; member information services, incident reporting, NFIRS and so much more.
