# Fire & Emergency Services

GPS tracking for fire apparatus that records when the lights and siren are on, so response times are measured, code-3 driving is judged fairly, and every engine, ladder and rescue is maintained on real pump and engine hours.

Source: https://www.highpointgps.com/industries/fire-emergency-services
Last updated: 2026-09-19

A fire department's fleet is small, expensive and judged by minutes. GPS tracking on fire apparatus gives the chief and the dispatcher a live map of every engine, ladder, tanker and rescue, and the same Geotab GO device that reports position also reads the vehicle's own circuits through its auxiliary inputs. Wire the light bar and the siren to those inputs and the platform knows, second by second, when a truck is responding under lights and siren and when it is driving normally. That single fact changes what the data can do: response times are measured from the moment the truck leaves the bay to the moment it arrives on scene, speeding and hard braking during a code-3 response are recorded but not counted against the driver, and the same alerts that would flag a delivery van are held to the standard that applies to emergency driving. Maintenance runs on engine hours and pump hours rather than mileage, DVIR replaces the clipboard for the daily apparatus check, and geofences around every station and mutual-aid boundary produce the records a department needs for NFPA reporting, ISO ratings and the council meeting.

## Common problems

- Response times reconstructed from radio logs and memory rather than measured from wheels-rolling to on-scene
- Driver-behaviour reports that treat a code-3 run like a speeding violation, so the data gets ignored
- No record of when the lights and siren were actually on during a response or a return
- Apparatus maintenance scheduled by the calendar while pumps and engines age by the hour
- Daily apparatus checks on paper, with defects that do not reach the mechanic until the truck fails
- Mutual-aid runs, training and public events that leave no record for cost recovery or reporting

## Highlights

- Live location of every apparatus on one map, with station geofences that time-stamp leaving the bay and returning
- Lights-and-siren detection through the GO device's auxiliary inputs, logged with each trip as a separate status
- Response-time reporting from bay departure to on-scene arrival, per incident, per apparatus
- Exception rules that record code-3 driving events without counting them against the driver's score
- Maintenance reminders on engine hours, pump hours and PTO time, with fault codes read from the engine
- Electronic DVIR for the daily apparatus check, with defects routed to the mechanic the same morning
- Trip history and geofence reports for mutual aid, training, hydrant runs and public events
- Dispatch integration through the open API so the CAD sees the same live position

## How Lights-and-Siren Tracking Works

The Geotab GO device plugs into the apparatus's diagnostic port for position, speed and engine data. An IOX-AUXM expansion module adds eight auxiliary inputs that read whether a vehicle circuit is on or off. A technician wires one input to the emergency light bar and another to the siren, and from then on every trip record carries two extra facts: whether the lights were on, and whether the siren was on, at every point along the route. A third input on the pump engagement or PTO circuit tells the platform when the truck was pumping on scene.

That status is what separates emergency driving from everyday driving in the data. A speeding event, a hard brake or a fast corner that happens with the lights on is recorded as part of the response, not as a driver infraction. The same event on the way back from the call, or on a hydrant run, is treated the way it would be in any fleet. High Point GPS configures the rules and the reports during setup, so the department sees response driving and routine driving in separate columns from day one.

![Diagram of a fire engine with its light bar, siren and pump wired to the GO device's auxiliary inputs, and the response-time, exemption and maintenance records they feed](https://www.highpointgps.com/images/guides/fire-emergency-services.webp)

*Three auxiliary inputs on the GO device read the light bar, the siren and the pump. Each trip then carries those states, which is what separates a code-3 response from a routine drive in the reports.*

## Measuring Response Time Instead of Estimating It

A geofence around each station marks the moment the apparatus leaves the bay. The lights-on status marks when it went into response mode. The address of the call, entered from dispatch or matched from the CAD through the API, marks the arrival on scene. Between those points, the platform holds the turnout time, the travel time and the total response time for each apparatus on each incident, with the route it took. Chiefs use those figures for NFPA 1710 and 1720 reporting, for the annual report to council and for ISO fire-suppression rating documentation, without a captain reconstructing the timeline from the radio log afterwards.

The same records answer the questions that come up after a difficult call. Which apparatus went, which route it took, how long it sat at a rail crossing, when it cleared. Trip replay shows the response on a map with the lights status alongside, which settles disputes with a resident or a neighbouring department in minutes rather than weeks.

## Maintaining Apparatus on Hours, Not Miles

A fire engine may drive a few thousand kilometres a year and still work its pump and engine hard, idling at scenes and pumping for hours at a fire. Mileage-based maintenance misses that wear. The GO device reads engine hours and, through the PTO or pump input, pump hours, so MyGeotab schedules the pump test, oil changes and other intervals on the hours NFPA 1911 actually specifies. Engine fault codes reach the fleet mechanic as they are logged, which matters most on the apparatus that rarely leaves the bay.

Electronic DVIR replaces the paper checklist for the daily and weekly apparatus check. The firefighter on duty runs the inspection in the Geotab Drive app, a defect is routed to maintenance with a time stamp, and the repair and sign-off are recorded before the truck goes back in service. That record is what an auditor or an investigator asks for after an incident, and it is complete without anyone chasing paper.

## Records for Mutual Aid, Training and the Public

Not every run is a call. Departments log training drives, hydrant flushing, public-education visits and mutual-aid responses into neighbouring districts, each of which has a cost and, in the case of mutual aid, often a reimbursement. Geofences around the district boundary, the training ground and neighbouring stations put those trips in their own reports, so the finance office has the distance, the hours and the apparatus for each one without a separate log.

Because the platform is open, the same data feeds the department's other systems. High Point GPS connects the live position to the CAD or records-management system through the API, exports reports to the municipality's fleet software, and builds custom add-ins when a department wants a specific view, such as a station wall board showing which apparatus is in quarters and which is out. Departments already running a municipal fleet on the same platform add the apparatus to the same MyGeotab database rather than standing up a separate system.

## FAQ

### How does the system know when the lights and siren are on?

Through the GO device's auxiliary inputs. An IOX-AUXM module adds eight inputs that read whether a circuit is on or off. The installer wires the light bar and the siren to two of them, and every trip then carries the lights-on and siren-on status at each point along the route. A pump or PTO circuit can be wired the same way.

### Will code-3 driving count against the driver's safety score?

No. High Point GPS sets up exception rules so that speeding, hard braking and cornering events recorded while the lights are on are logged as part of the response and excluded from the driver's score. The same events with the lights off are scored the way they would be in any fleet.

### Can it measure turnout and travel time for NFPA reporting?

Yes. A station geofence marks bay departure, the lights-on status marks response mode, and the incident address, entered or matched from the CAD, marks arrival. The report gives turnout, travel and total response time per apparatus and per incident, with the route, which is what NFPA 1710 and 1720 reporting and ISO documentation ask for.

### Does it integrate with our CAD or records system?

The platform has an open API, so live position and trip data can be connected to a CAD, an RMS or the municipality's fleet software. High Point GPS builds the connection when no standard connector exists, and can build a custom add-in such as a station wall board.

### Is the hardware suited to a fire engine?

Yes. The GO device connects to the apparatus's diagnostic port, and the GO RUGGED version is used for open-cab or harsh-environment units. The IOX-AUXM module is designed for exactly this kind of circuit sensing and is installed by High Point GPS's installer network, scheduled around the apparatus's in-service hours.