Charlottesville replaced spreadsheets with real-time inventory and staffing accountability
Charlottesville Fire Department (VA) is expanding First Due beyond Mobile Responder and pre-plans to streamline inventory, scheduling, and leadership reporting—so accountability and real-time answers are always available.
"The old way is the battalion chief scrambling at 6:30 in the morning — calls don’t stop. With First Due, we hope to automate a lot of that and eliminate some of that headache."
Measurable impact
1
1 System of Record Replacing Excel
6:30
6:30 AM Vacancy Scramble Reduced
1
1-Tap Answers for Leadership
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The Story
Background
When Deputy Fire Chief Will Broscious joined Charlottesville, the department was already using First Due for Mobile Responder and Pre-Incident Planning and saw an opportunity to expand into a broader connected operations platform.
Challenge
Core workflows still relied on manual processes: assets and inventory were tracked in Excel, scheduling required time-consuming coordination during early-morning call-outs, and leadership needed fast answers for council and staffing questions that weren’t always available on demand.
Solution
Charlottesville began onboarding additional modules focused on Assets & Inventory Management, Scheduling & Personnel Management, and Dashboards / Data & Analytics to establish accountability, streamline vacancy notifications, and deliver real-time decision support.
Results
With rollout underway, the department is building toward measurable budget control and reduced operational friction for battalion chiefs, while dashboards provide live staffing and demographic metrics for leadership conversations.
About
Charlottesville Fire Department
Quick facts
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Build accountability across every issued item
Move beyond spreadsheets and build a system of record for uniforms, equipment, and consumables — with checks, work orders, and real-time visibility.
In their own words:
- What did Charlottesville have in place when you arrived?
- Mobile Responder and pre-plan were implemented when leadership arrived, and the department looked to expand from there.
- What’s the biggest immediate gain when moving into First Due?
- Customer service and responsiveness—getting quick replies via phone or text.
- Why are Assets & Inventory a priority right now?
- Accountability—the department needed a way to track what was being issued and used.
- What was the old system for tracking assets?
- Excel spreadsheets.
- How does inventory tracking translate into budget impact?
- The goal is to save money and budget appropriately for each employee based on visibility and policy.
- What’s the scheduling problem you want to solve first?
- Early-morning call-outs where battalion chiefs scramble to fill staffing gaps.
- What does better scheduling look like for your crews?
- Mobile access so firefighters can pick vacations and see information from their phones instead of pen and paper.
- What’s the value of dashboards for leadership?
- On-the-go data so leadership can answer elected-official questions with live metrics during council conversations.
Ready to modernize operations end-to-end?
See how First Due can help your agency streamline staffing, improve accountability, and put real-time data in leadership’s hands.
