Ferguson consolidated tools and generated reports in five minutes
Ferguson Fire Department (MO) replaced multiple disconnected systems with First Due—making scheduling, reporting, inspections, training, and fleet workflows faster to manage and easier for crews to adopt.
"If there’s any data that I need, it takes me 5 minutes to generate a report."
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Measurable impact
5
5-Minute Admin Reports
3–4
3–4 Systems Consolidated
4,200
4,200 Calls Per Year Supported
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The Story
Background
Ferguson Fire Department is a municipal, career fire department serving the City of Ferguson, Missouri from two stations and providing 24/7 fire suppression, EMS response, and prevention inspections.
For years, day-to-day operations were spread across multiple vendors, which made it difficult to pull a clean picture of what the department was doing.
Challenge
With different tools for scheduling, reporting, and inspections, data lived in multiple places and reporting required manual re-entry—if it was possible at all.
Operational workflows like trade time, vacation requests, and logs were still paper-based, consuming time and limiting visibility for chief officers.
Solution
Ferguson adopted First Due with a clear objective: one vendor for everything. The department used a committee approach, assigning module ownership to the people closest to each workflow (e.g., inspectors for Inspections and a battalion chief for Scheduling & Personnel).
Today, Ferguson runs a broad set of workflows in one platform—including Scheduling, Personnel, Incident Reporting (ePCR + NFIRS), Inspections, Pre-Incident Planning, CAD integration, Assets & Inventory, training records, and more.
Results
Adoption improved quickly as crews saw how easy scheduling configuration and daily workflows could be.
Leadership can generate admin-ready reports in about five minutes and share monthly run numbers without spreadsheets.
Digitizing scheduling reduced paper processes and improved daily operational confidence by making coverage and staffing visibility easier.
About
Ferguson Fire Department
Quick facts
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Modernize staffing and eliminate the paper trail
Ferguson’s biggest early wins came from simplifying day-to-day staffing workflows—trades, time-off requests, daily coverage checks, and visibility for chief officers. First Due Scheduling & Personnel helps departments move from paper and patchwork tools to a single, transparent system crews actually use.
We used to do all of our trade time, all of our vacation requests—everything was on paper… it’s made it 10 times easier on everybody.
By digitizing scheduling workflows, Ferguson reduced time spent verifying trades, coverage, and payback and replaced manual tracking with real-time visibility.
In their own words:
- What was the biggest problem with your previous software setup?
- Multiple vendors meant you could never collect department data in one place.
- What made you consider switching again after only a year with another vendor?
- Customer service and usability issues made even basic changes slow and frustrating.
- What convinced you First Due could work for your crews?
- The goal was a platform anyone could feel comfortable using—even for members less comfortable with technology.
- How did you approach implementation?
- A committee approach with module owners helped build the system to match how the department actually works.
- How quickly did adoption change?
- Skeptics became advocates after seeing how quickly scheduling could be configured and how easy the transition was.
- What’s the biggest day-to-day impact for administrators?
- Reporting. If data is needed, it can be generated in about five minutes instead of manual compilation.
- What changed in scheduling and paper processes?
- Trade time, vacation requests, and tracking moved electronic, reducing time spent hunting through files and binders.
- What other workflows improved beyond scheduling and reporting?
- Truck checks and maintenance improved because work orders route to a single person instead of getting lost on paper.
Ready to modernize your department?
See how First Due can help you consolidate tools, speed up reporting, and modernize scheduling—without losing the workflows your crews trust.
