Background

Fairfax County Fire & Rescue is a large, all-hazards fire and EMS agency where leaders often need real-time awareness across multiple battalions and incident types.

As Operational Medical Director, Dr. Scott Weir supports field EMS operations and dispatch/EMD work, and uses mobile tools to stay situationally aware even when off duty.

Challenge

High-acuity incidents don’t wait for perfect timing. It can be difficult to filter radio traffic spanning multiple battalions and identify when a physician can add value by responding in person—especially when off duty.

Without targeted alerting, staying aware can mean information overload or missing the specific calls where proximity and expertise could change the early minutes of care.

Solution

Dr. Weir uses First Due Mobile Responder with custom alerts based on incident and asset type. On off days, he limits notifications to the calls that matter most—like CPR events—so he’s informed without being overwhelmed.

The app surfaces CAD-driven context, including pending events, so leadership can recognize relevant incidents earlier and decide whether to add on.

Results

On a Sunday morning, a CPR alert appeared as a pending event at a location two doors down, giving earlier awareness than traditional dispatch notifications.

Dr. Weir and his wife responded immediately and initiated bystander care—CPR, AED use, and ventilation—before the first unit arrived.

Exact time-to-alert and patient outcome metrics were not provided for publication (MISSING), but the operational impact was earlier awareness leading to earlier intervention.