Watch Duty

Please join us in welcoming former U.S. Fire Administrator, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, to our advisory board. Lori served as the presidentially appointed U.S. Fire Administrator from October 2021 to January 2025. Prior to her appointment, Lori served as the President and CEO of the International Public Safety Data Institute (IPSDI), which she founded after retiring from a 26-year tenure as a senior executive at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). In 2022, Moore-Merrell led the reorganization of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration to realign the administration with its originating legislation and the mission contained in the 1974 Fire Prevention and Control Act. In October 2022, Dr. Moore-Merrell convened the first Summit on Fire Prevention and Control since the 1974 founding of the U.S. Fire Administration. The Summit brought together the heads of every relevant government agency—and every major fire safety organization— to articulate and execute a National Strategy for the fire service. The National Fire Service Strategy addresses firefighter recruitment, cancer screening, mental health, and climate impact on the fire service. This collaborative effort became known as the #FireServiceOneVoice movement. Dr. Moore-Merrell believes that together, we can turn a moment of crisis into an era of opportunity for the fire service. Dr. Moore-Merrell envisioned and led the research, development, and implementation of a national emergency response analytic platform known as National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) replacing the 50-year legacy National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). Collaborating with counterparts at USDA and DOI, Dr. Moore-Merrell chaired the Wildland Fire Management and Mitigation Commission established in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) delivering the Wildland fire mitigation and management commission report and recommendations to the Congress in September 2023. She was also the visionary, creator, and chair of the Inaugural World Fire Congress 2024 - National Fallen Firefighters Foundation hosted by Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, USFA and the U.S. Department of State in May 2024. The World Fire Congress continues the global collaboration through six topic specific Communities of Practice (CoPs) that will deliver reports to the 2026 Congress. Lori began her fire service career in 1987 as a fire department paramedic in Memphis Tennessee. She is a Doctor of Public Health and a data scientist, whose work has changed fire and EMS deployment throughout the world. As the principal investigator and senior project manager, she planned and led large scale field experiments and the development of landmark reports and other resources to improve residential and high-rise fire ground operations, community risk assessment, fire and EMS resource deployment, and the use of “Big Data Analytics” in the fire service.

When Regrid spent a year tracking structure fires in Detroit, we saw firsthand how vital accurate parcel data is for fire response. We're proud to support Watch Duty with parcel data everywhere they operate in the United States. #FireResponse #ParcelData #WildfireAlert

"I don't really know any firefighters who don't have Watch Duty on their phones,” Orange County Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy says. “I mean, it literally has become the app, period.” Gift article: https://lnkd.in/gak8TfBw

OHAZ field technicians recently deployed three new wildfire cameras. They are now streaming on the ALERTWest website and the Watch Duty app! The Halls Ridge, Lenhart Butte, and Shaniko cameras will provide firefighters with another tool to detect and monitor fires on both sides of the Cascades. Learn more about our wildfire camera network at https://lnkd.in/gzHPVqqi.

It’s an honor to welcome San Bernardino Fire Chief Dan Munsey, MPA, EFO, CFO to our advisory board. Chief Munsey has been active in the fire service for over 29 years, rising through the ranks of San Bernardino County Fire Protection District from a volunteer firefighter to fire chief. San Bernardino County is the largest fire district in the United States spanning almost 20,000 square miles and serving a population of almost 2 million. Chief Munsey is a Center for Public Excellence, Chief Fire Officer, is a National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer, possess a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Grand Canyon University, is a graduate of the California Special Districts Leadership Academy, and holds a California State Fire Training Chief Officer Certificate. In addition to Chief Munsey’s service to San Bernardino County, he is a past chair of the California Fire Chiefs Association Operations Section and has served since 2019 as the chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Technology Council. He is a director on the FIRESCOPE board, the president of the California Metro Fire Chiefs Association, the vice-president of the San Bernardino County Fire Chief's Association, and a Western Fire chief Association board member representing California. Chief Munsey believes strongly in collaboration with allied stakeholders that results in synergy to achieve better public safety outcomes. Of particular interest is emerging technologies and the efficiencies it brings to public safety.

Watch Duty on KQED's City Arts & Lectures for a behind the scenes look at how we arrived here and where we are heading

"Our goal for Watch Duty isn't hyperscale growth; its irrelevance"

“Anyone can be a hero, that’s what’s important,” John Clarke Mills told KTLA’s Gene Kang. “There are not enough first responders to help, so your neighbors become first responders like [Steve Guttenberg] did, like I did.”

“[Watch Duty] is a shining example of technology at its best and most useful, and so I was struck by something one of its co-founders, David Merritt, told to The Verge over the weekend: ‘We don’t want you to spend time in the app,’ he said. ‘You get information and get out.’”