The Challenge

Gaining control of a crisis is difficult.  Lives and property hang in the balance. With limits on time, severe consequences of failure, and a host of other difficult conditions, the experience of a firefighter becomes critical.

The current paradigm suggests that decision-making in crisis is essentially information management?that more information, presented in a better way, will result in more effective response.

While more information may be helpful, it is not the only factor that affects successful decision-making. Research confirms that crisis decision makers who have experience to call upon make better decisions faster than those who rely on information management alone.

The first responder community faces additional challenges, including:

• The loss of veterans to retirement
• The difference in expertise between novices and veterans
• Regional and local differences in tactics

The result: an experience gap that will grow.

Closing the Gap

AlphaTRAC is developing solutions to close the gap and stem the loss of experience.  How?

Capture

Firefighters across the country represent a trove of untapped stories about decisions made during crisis. AlphaTRAC allows you to preserve those stories through XCapture applications, web-based authoring tools that help users quickly and easily document after action reviews (AARs) and capture lessons learned. Originally developed for the National Guard, new versions are being developed for fireground and HAZMAT incidents and can be adapted to other organization-specific needs.

Share

A lesson learned but not shared is just a mistake. Social networking capabilities, embedded within our products, let firefighters share their experiences and lessons learned, making them available for scenario-based training and improving the technology’s ability to recognize trends and patterns in crisis management.

Train

Through a broad range of multimedia training methods, AlphaACT training solutions teach students how to apply the lessons learned from the past to the crises of today.

Training Offerings

AlphaACT® HAZMAT

AlphaACT® HAZMAT is a web-based training solution designed to help emergency responders develop their skills indecision-making for hazardous chemical emergencies.

AlphaACT® FIRE

Currently under development, AlphaACT® FIRE is a web-based training solution that helps fireground incident commanders build their skills in decision-making in the high stress, chaotic environment of a fire response.

Crisis Decision-making Training

This instructor-led course helps attendees at all levels improve their crisis decision-making skills. Attendees will gain an understanding of effective decision-making and the processes involved, learn the recognition-primed decision process, and improve their decision performance.