“This technology is helping shave minutes off the response time of volunteers,”

“In firefighting, time saved is lives saved, property saved, and money saved. If we can get to a fire a minute faster, that much less damage has occurred."

"The technology helps volunteer fire departments make great strides in their response times."

Chief Daniel R. Small
Cumberland Fire Department

"The ‘catch-up’ feature that lets us listen to recorded radio traffic is awesome. In the past, it could take quite a while to figure out what the incident was about, who was assigned, what they were going to do, and so on.

Now I can figure this out in a matter of minutes, and make decisions that will help.”

Deputy Chief Daryl Rawnsley

Second Signal Can Help Your Department

Improved Emergency Response

When volunteers work just outside the normal radio range of your dispatch system, they frequently do not have enough information to justify leaving work to head for a scene. By providing that information quickly, many of these members are able to respond to those calls where they're needed most.

Improved Manpower Utilization

Improving daytime response by even one or two members on a regular basis can be the difference between a safe, effective response and the need for additional full time personel. Early surveys show a greater than 30% increase in responding personel for incidents above the lowest level of response. Out of town members can quickly tell when they're really needed, and can respond quickly.

Reduced Dispatch Center Burden

The first few minutes of any incident are the busiest time for dispatch center staff. Members call Second Signal to find out what is going on, freeing dispatchers to focus on the emergency.

Improved Non-Emergency Communication

Limited local radio range means that many members are unaware of vehicle maintenance issues, manpower requests, and other day to day announcements. Second Signal allows all members to receive this kind of information and be aware of important changes in daily operations.

Improved Volunteer Retention

As much as 70-80% of incidents occur between the hours of 8am and 6pm when many members are out of radio contact. Missing those important calls as well as all the daily operational announcements leaves them feeling distant and out of touch with the department. They begin to wonder if all those training hours are worthwhile. Second Signal allows these critical members to reconnect with what's happening.

Reduced Communication Costs

Second Signal can save more than 70% of the cost of text messaging when compared to using text messaging devices from a common carrier. These services charge a monthly fee for each pager, and do not provide close to the flexibility of Second Signal for text messaging alone. Consider that savings on top of the greatly enhanced functionality provided by Second Signal and the savings is overwhelming.