Portage Volunteer Fire Company
Client: Portage Volunteer Fire Company
Category: Fire Department
The Portage Volunteer Fire Company provides fire protection, rescue detail, and quick response services to the residents of Portage, PA. Portage VFC consists of 40 active volunteers operating out of two stations. They are dispatched to about 350 alarms annually.
Portage VFC’s goal is to respond as many qualified volunteers as necessary to the scene with as little delay as possible. They needed an app that could improve their daily operations and enable them to be quickly and accurately informed of available responders and out of service responders. According to Assistant Fire Chief Andrew Myers, who had experience with other software programs in the past, they looked into the available options and decided that Rover stood out from the rest. We spoke with Asst. Chief Myers to find out how Portage VFC is benefitting from choosing Rover.
Rover Q&A Case Study with Portage Volunteer Fire Company
ER: Why did your department choose Rover?
Asst. Chief Myers: All the other apps seemed designed to add expense, whether it was charging per member, charging per alarm, or just being outrageously priced. Rover seemed to defeat that trend by offering a simple expense based on call volume thresholds.
ER: What has changed since your department implemented Rover?
Asst. Chief Myers: We have become more aware of our responding members. This takes the guesswork out of waiting for one minute for a, hopefully, qualified member, or leaving immediately and missing multiple qualified responders.
ER: What are some of the key data points you monitor that Rover helps with?
Asst. Chief Myers: Key data points that we monitor are members who respond to the station vs. how many actually make the scene. Response times to station and response times to scene help create SOPs to produce high-quality care during emergencies.
ER: What is your favorite Rover feature?
Asst. Chief Myers: The favorite Rover feature that we have encountered thus far is the ability to customize the app and portal, which allows us to fit our needs rather than fit our needs externally.
ER: Are first responders and/or civilians in your community safer since you started using Rover?
Asst. Chief Myers: Absolutely! They are safer just by having hard data to make decisions with. Providing care in a rapid manner is vital, providing adequate staffing to ensure top-level care is ensured by having responding software like Rover.
ER: How did Rover compare in cost to the other options?
Asst. Chief Myers: Rover was our first subscription as a department. Based on quotes, however, Rover has been a substantial cost saving.
ER: What is your crew’s favorite aspect of Rover?
Asst. Chief Myers: Quite honestly, the favorite aspect of Rover amongst our crew is being able to make an apparatus when responding from home because the crew knew of their response.
If you’d like to see how Rover can benefit your agency, sign up for a 60-day free trial, or attend one of our live demo webinars.
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