Author - Crawford Coates

Orange County Fire Authority: Leading with Data

Transparency is good. But data without context can mislead. How OCFA leverages data to tell a more complete story. “A critical component of our work is accurately identifying and describing the problems we face as a fire department and as a community,” says Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy. “Once we’ve identified a problem, then we can address it.” The bigger and more complex those challenges, the more important it is to convey them accurately. For Fennessy and OCFA, this...

Keeping Ahead of the Crowd

How Lake Stevens (Wash.) PD continues to innovate, despite staffing challenges Chief Jeffrey Beazizo of the Lake Stevens, Wash., Police Department needs to keep informed in order to keep his community and officers safe. “If something big happens,” he says, “I want to know immediately. With FirstWatch, I get alerted through CAD triggers on my phone as soon as that call comes through. “It’s obviously not every call I need to be alerted to,” he says. “But major crimes and Priority 1...