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News & Updates from IamResponding
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It has been a busy year already for our development team, with much more coming on the near horizon. We wanted to take a moment of your time to make sure you know about some of the IaR features that have recently been released, some features that are being released this week, and other important information that you should be aware of.
As always, there is NO CHARGE for any of these new features or system enhancements; they are all included within your subscription.
If you have any questions about any existing or newly released features, please reach out to our team at 877-509-0381 or [email protected]. Our team is always willing to hop on a live webinar with your department/agency at a time that works best for you, so that we can show, explain and assist with any features.
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Station Alerting
(Deploys this week)
For those departments who receive dispatch messages through IaR, we have added a new Station Alerting component to the desktop (PC) version of IaR. Hook some speakers to your IaR Station Display, turn it on, and you're all set!
Click the "Options" button at the bottom of the Dispatch Information column of your main IaR screen. There, you can select an alert tone to play any time a new dispatch message posts to your screen. You can also select to enable a text to voice option to read the Dispatch. Be sure to set up good parsing rules (Admin Functions --> System Settings --> Dispatch Parsing Settings) for what displays to your home screen, as the text to voice is a very literal feature.
Text to voice options are also being added to the Android apps this week, and to the iOS apps next week. Look for a "Play" button on the incident details page and the mapping page if you receive dispatches through IaR.
If you do not currently receive dispatch messages from IaR but would like to investigate the possibility of doing so, please email [email protected], and we'll look into that for you. We have many ways of getting that information from your dispatch center, and will be happy to look into activating that for you.
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We LOVE referrals from our subscribers! We'll provide a
free month extension
of your current, individual department subscription for every referral that results in a new department subscribing. You keep referring, and we'll keep extending your subscription!
If your department is part of an existing group subscription, we unfortunately can't extend that group subscription, but we'll send your department a $25 (US) Visa gift card to show our appreciation for each referral that results in a new subscription
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Simplified App Notification Options
(Deploys on Android this week; iOS next week)
App updates are being deployed this week (Android) and next week (iOS). One of the changes is for dispatch messages that are sent via push notification to the apps for those departments and agencies that receive dispatch messages through IaR.
From the push notifications of your dispatch messages, you will now have multiple options to indicate your response status without actually having to open the app, and you can also jump straight to the the mapping page for the specific incident being alerted. These options will differ depending if your phone is locked or unlocked. If locked, or if you are viewing these in your device's swipe down notifications panel, these are left and right swipe notifications. If unlocked, you will be able to select from multiple buttons.
If you receive dispatches through IaR: (1) be sure on Android to set your incident notifications to display via pop-up (in your IaR app settings); and (2) on iOS, set your IaR notifications to the "Alerts" style of notifications (This is in your phone's General Settings, under "Notifications"). You also should make sure that you set a default app response in your online member profile settings:
If you do not receive dispatch messages through IaR, please contact [email protected], and we'll see what we can do about getting that activated for your department.
PLEASE NOTE:
We have seen a number of user profiles that are set up to receive dispatch messages only via text message, even for members with smart phones who can and should be receiving them via push notifications via IaR's FREE apps. Getting your dispatches via push notification to the free apps is what will give you these new options, and is also what automatically triggers all of the extensive mapping features of IaR. Please check your IaR app settings page to be sure that you are set up to receive dispatches via push notification to the apps:
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How Far? How Big?
(Deploys this week on website and Android; next week on iOS)
How far is it to the closest hydrant? How much hose do we need? How big is this commercial structure, so I know how much water we'll need? How far off the nearest road is the wildfire or search operation? All of this and more is easily answered now with IaR's new measuring tool.
When in IaR's maps, simply click on the new Ruler icon, and then click on the map at your start and end points. A display window will show you the resulting measurement in feet, meters or miles (this setting is controlled via the Gear icon on that same page). Measuring around a curve in the road? No problem, just keep clicking points around the curve, and the total distance will be calculated.
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Friends and Family Notifications
(Already live)
Your family is waiting at a restaurant for you, or friends are expecting you for an event, but you've just been paged and are en-route to an emergency. There's no time to text or call them, and doing so while driving is far too dangerous. With IaR, when you indicate that you are responding to an incident, IaR will automatically send an email or text to whomever you designate, and let them know what you are doing. This is an individual member setting located in your online member profile (in the "Notify Others When I Respond" section).
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Outbound Messaging Enhancements
(Deploys this week to website, and in the next set of releases to the apps)
IaR's outbound messaging feature (for member to member messaging within IaR) is being enhanced to enable you to add attachments to the messages.
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Custom Member Profile Fields
(Already live)
Did you know?? You can add customized member profile fields in your IaR system, and those are all reportable through the Member Roster report. If you have the appropriate member permissions, just go to Administrative Functions --> System Settings --> Add Member Profile Fields.
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Internet Explorer 9 Advisory
Microsoft stopped supporting IE9 on January 12, 2016, and
Google will no longer be supporting IE9 for their Google Maps API's as of April 30, 2016.
IaR uses many Google API's for the services that we provide. There will not be an overnight impact on April 30, but some services may start to degrade after that date for reasons beyond our control if you are using IE9 or earlier. Please upgrade to the most current, non-beta browser available, and keep in mind that we have found the Chrome browser to generally be the most stable browser.
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Tech Support is always available!
If you ever need technical assistance, help is always available. Just call the office at
877-509-0381 (M-F 9am-5:30pm ET), or email [email protected] 24x7x365.
Our customer support team is also available to set up live training webinars for you at your convenience. Whether you have questions about a particular feature, or many features, feel free to call the office (or email [email protected]) to schedule a webinar at a time convenient for you.
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More to come soon!
There is far more on its way this year, some of which you may have learned about before, and some that we've kept tightly under wraps. We typically don't talk about what is to come, but we can assure you that we are very excited about a very long list of new features that are already well along in development for release in 2016!
A
s always, we never charge anything additional for any of these new features! So, stay patient, and keep an eye out for further new release announcements!
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Make easy money!
Good at sales? Want to make money by helping spread IaR's subscriber base, on your own schedule and hours? IaR is expanding its Ambassador Program, which consists of independent, commissioned sales representatives.
Approved IaR Ambassadors earn commissions by promoting the IamResponding system to other departments, agencies and response teams. When new entities subscribe, IaR pays commissions. It is preferred that IaR Ambassadors be current IaR users, with preference to officers, leaders and/or members holding positions of regional or national significance. Experienced sales professionals within the fire/EMS industry are also welcome to join our team.
If you are experienced, motivated and want to make relatively easy money on your own schedule, then please contact Adam Feck, IaR's National Sales Director, at [email protected] with a resume and description of your applicable emergency services industry experience.
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