RFD happy with First View software system
RUSSELLVILLE — The information technology director for the city’s fire department said Monday he is happy with the department’s data collection software.
“We switched over to First View software two years ago because we are an [Advanced Life Support] non-transport department,” Fire Marshal Justin Green said. Green handles IT for the fire department.
“With that system, it allows us to send our call reports to the state automatically, if we want to. Right now, we are manually sending the reports to the state at the end of every month.”
Green said the department made the switch to First View because it matches the software the state uses.
“It just makes it easier to send the reports by using the same software and there is little chance anything will get lost in the process when it comes to making sure our calls are submitted properly to the state.
Russellville Fire Department averages 1,500 calls per year, Green said.
Last week, the Sheffield Fire Department became the last department in Colbert County to switch to the Emergency Networking records management software system. The transition will be completed in October.
Sheffield city councilmembers recently approved a contract with Emergency Networking, after only utilizing the emergency management software ESO since February 2025.
The software system offers features such as inventory/equipment management, hydrant locating, truck checks, event management, fuel tracking, and data conversion from the previous system.
ESO offered records and incident reporting, readiness metrics, supply tracking and scheduling, according to its website.
The annual costs for Emergency Networking would be $9,995 for the first year and $7,995 annually after that.
The annual cost of ESO is $6,990 annually.
Sheffield Fire Chief Matt Mothershed said the ESO system has not functioned as initially planned.
“ESO worked fine in the beginning, but we are starting to have some problems with it,” he said. “What we are switching to is a little more user friendly and will help us keep up with our calls and records better.”
Mothershed said all other fire departments in Colbert County, including volunteer fire departments, have already made the switch to Emergency Reporting.
Tuscumbia Fire Chief J.T. Fox said his department switched to Emergency Networking at the beginning of this year after a year of using both systems.
“Emergency Networking better fit our needs pricewise and is a better fit for a town of our size,” he said.
He agreed with Mothershed that the Emergency Networking interface was more user friendly.
“I haven’t heard a whole lot of complaints from my guys,” he said, “and any complaints have been minor.”
