Fire Investigation Release Notes : August 2025

Fire Investigation Release Notes : August 2025

Video

Coming Soon

New Features

1. Field Management - Custom Questions within the Investigation Form
  • What - The Investigation form now displays custom questions that were previously configured through Field Management, appearing in their designated sections with the specified field types and values. This enhancement completes the second phase of the Custom Questions feature implementation, allowing investigators to view and interact with organization-specific questions directly within the Investigation workflow.
  • Why - This improvement was implemented due to customer request to streamline the investigation process by integrating custom data collection requirements directly into the standard Investigation form, eliminating the need to reference separate documentation or systems during case work.
  • How - Custom questions will automatically appear in the Investigation form once they have been configured in Field Management:
    • Navigate to Field Management to configure custom questions for investigations
    • Set up question types, required fields, and section placement as needed
    • Custom questions will automatically populate in the Investigation form in their designated sections
    • Complete custom questions alongside standard investigation fields during case documentation
    • Note: Validation for required custom questions is not yet active and will be implemented in a future release
    • Note: Custom question fields are not currently supported in Form Builder print functionality and will be added in an upcoming release
  • Use Case - A fire department that requires specific local compliance questions for fire investigations can now configure these custom fields once in Field Management and have them appear automatically in every Investigation form. Fire investigators will see questions like "Was building occupied at time of incident?" or "Were smoke detectors present and functional?" directly within their standard workflow, ensuring consistent data collection without interrupting their established investigation documentation process.



2. New API Weather Integration
  • What - The Investigation form now automatically retrieves and populates weather data through an integrated weather API, using the same reliable weather service that powers incident reporting. The system automatically fetches current weather conditions and populates the weather section of investigations based on the geographical coordinates of the incident location.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to eliminate manual weather data entry and ensure accurate, consistent weather documentation across all investigation records, reducing data entry time while improving the reliability of environmental condition reporting.
  • How - Weather data is automatically populated when location coordinates are provided:
    • Enter or confirm the incident location coordinates in the Investigation form
    • The system will automatically query the weather API based on these coordinates
    • Weather information will populate in the weather section of the investigation
    • Review and verify the automatically imported weather data for accuracy
    • Note: Weather data is retrieved using the same API service used in incident reporting for consistency
    • Note: Coordinates must be accurate to ensure proper weather data retrieval for the incident location
  • Use Case - When a fire investigator documents a structure fire investigation and enters the GPS coordinates for 123 Main Street, the system automatically retrieves and populates weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and precipitation data for that specific location and timeframe. This ensures that critical environmental factors that may have contributed to fire spread or investigator safety conditions are accurately documented without requiring the investigator to manually research and enter weather information from external sources.



Enhancements

1. Field Management - New Investigation Type Dropdown Field
  • What - A new Investigation Type dropdown field has been added to the Investigation form header, positioned between Scene Type and Investigation Number, allowing investigators to categorize the specific type of fire investigation being documented. The field includes comprehensive default values covering fire incidents, explosions, threats, and notifications, with full customization capabilities through Field Management.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to provide standardized categorization of investigation types, enabling better case tracking, reporting, and analysis while accommodating the varying classification workflows used by different fire investigation agencies.
  • How - The Investigation Type field is automatically available in all Investigation forms:
    • Locate the Investigation Type dropdown in the header section between Scene Type and Investigation Number
    • Select the appropriate classification from the available options
    • To customize the dropdown values, navigate to Field Management
    • Access the Investigation Type field configuration to add, edit, or delete classification options
    • Note: Changes made in Field Management will apply to all future Investigation records
    • Default values include: Fire (Accidental, Incendiary, Natural, Under Investigation, Undetermined, Other), Explosion (Accidental, Bombing, Undetermined, Other), Explosives (Theft/Lost), Suspicious Package, Threat (Fire, Bomb), and Notification
  • Use Case - A fire investigation unit can now immediately classify each case upon creation, selecting "Fire - Under Investigation" for an active case where cause determination is pending, then updating to "Fire - Incendiary" once arson is confirmed. Fire marshals can customize their dropdown to include jurisdiction-specific categories like "Fire - Electrical" or "Fire - Appliance Related" to match their department's reporting requirements and statistical tracking needs, ensuring consistent classification across all investigators in their agency.









2. New Workflow to Copy Location GPS Coordinates to Weather Section
  • What - The system now automatically copies GPS coordinates from the Property Information section (Scene Information → Fire Incident Data → Property Information) to the Weather Conditions section, eliminating the need for manual copy-paste operations when documenting location data across different sections of the Investigation form.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to streamline data entry workflow by automatically synchronizing GPS coordinates between sections, reducing redundant manual entry and minimizing the risk of coordinate inconsistencies between property location and weather data sections.
  • How - GPS coordinates are automatically synchronized between sections during investigation documentation:
    • Enter GPS coordinates in Scene Information → Fire Incident Data → Property Information section
    • The system will automatically copy these coordinates to Weather Conditions → GPS Coordinates
    • Coordinates remain editable in the Weather Conditions section if adjustments are needed
    • Note: Manual editing of GPS coordinates in the Weather section will trigger an update to the associated weather data
    • Note: Changes to coordinates in either section will maintain data consistency across the investigation record
  • Use Case - When a fire investigator enters the GPS coordinates 40.7128, -74.0060 for a building fire location in the Property Information section, those same coordinates automatically populate in the Weather Conditions section without requiring manual duplication. If the investigator later needs to adjust the weather coordinates slightly to account for a different monitoring station location, they can edit the coordinates in the Weather section, which will automatically refresh the weather data to reflect the updated location while maintaining the original property coordinates in the Scene Information section.





3. New Field Gas Meter Reading in Scene Information Tab
  • What - A new Gas Meter Reading field has been added to the Utilities section within the Scene Information tab, allowing investigators to document specific meter readings when documenting Gas/Fuel utilities for structure fires. The field supports both positive and negative values and appears on printed forms alongside other utility information.
  • Why - This enhancement was implemented due to customer request to capture critical utility meter readings that may be relevant to fire investigation analysis, providing investigators with the ability to document baseline utility consumption data that could indicate potential causes or contributing factors in structure fire incidents.
  • How - Access the Gas Meter Reading field when documenting utilities:
    • Navigate to Scene Information → Utilities
    • Click to add a new utility entry
    • Select Gas/Fuel from the Type of Utility dropdown
    • The Gas Meter Reading field will automatically appear
    • Enter the meter reading value using free text input
    • Use the arrow controls to document negative values if needed
    • Note: The field only displays when Gas/Fuel is selected as the utility type
    • Note: Gas meter reading information will be included in printed investigation forms
  • Use Case - During a residential fire investigation, an investigator can document that the natural gas meter reading was 45,672 cubic feet at the time of inspection, providing baseline consumption data that may help determine if gas appliances or lines contributed to the incident. If the meter shows unusual readings or has been damaged during the fire, the investigator can capture negative values or specific notations that will be preserved in both the digital record and any printed reports submitted to insurance companies or legal proceedings.



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