Fine Tuning Supporting Agencies
Maine EMS and the Fire Marshals' Office maintain the list of agencies in MEFIRS. However, members of one of the Agency Admin permissions groups can fine-tune the agencies, reducing the number of items in the lists users select from when entering data, as well as setting sort orders for the items in the lists. This article explains how to do so.
Agency Admins are able to modify the supporting agencies for use within their own agency and define whether agencies are:
- A Contracting agency - This is used for agencies that are paid to cover another location and is part of the NFIRS Fire dataset Contract Response (FD1.57). This option is only available if an agency is a Fire Department. If it is not the radio buttons are disabled.
- A Mutual Aid agency - This is used for agencies that have an agreement to give or receive aid on a call, and is part of the NFIRS fire dataset, specifically, Aid Given Department (FD1.23) and Aid Received Department(s) (FD1.80) fields on fire incidents. This option is only available if an agency is a Fire Department. If it is not the radio buttons are disabled.
- An Other Agency at Scene agency - This is used for agencies that you consider as possible to be on the scene of an EMS activation. This is part of the NEMSIS EMS dataset, specifically for use in Other Agency at Scene (eScene.02)
- A Transfer/Transport agency - This is used for agencies that transfer to, receive from, and/or transport. This is an ImageTrend custom element used in EMS reporting, specifically, in the Transferred to Agency ID (itDisposition.035), the Received from Agency ID, the (itDisposition.032), and Transporting Agency (itDisposition.038) fields
In addition, each of the above may have an agency-specific sort order set for use within your agency.
To modify the Supporting Agencies for your agency, start by clicking the Resource button on the button bar at the top of the MEFIRS screen and then clicking the link named Supporting Agencies & Units.
This will display a screen similar to the one below, which lists all the agencies in the system.
Showing or hiding Contract agencies and setting display order.
For each agency in the list, you can toggle the radio buttons under the Contract Response Department column header
- Yes: The agency is available to select in the Contract Response Department field on fire incidents
- No: The agency is not available to select in the Contract Response Department field.
Alternatively, you can set all Contract agencies in the list using the Select All in the column header beneath the Yes and No Labels
To set the sort order of the Contract agencies, click on the column header 'Contract Response Dept.' and an additional column named 'Order' will be displayed. The numbers you enter in this column will be used to determine the sort order in which the agencies appear to the user for selection.
Showing or hiding Mutual Aid agencies and setting display order.
For each agency in the list, you can toggle the radio buttons under the Aid Dept. column header
- Yes: The agency is available to select in the Aid Given Department (FD1.23) field or in Aid Received Department(s) (FD1.80) in fire incidents
- No: The agency is not available in the Aid Given Department (FD1.23) field or in Aid Received Department(s) (FD1.80) in fire incidents.
Alternatively, you can set all Contract agencies in the list using the Select All in the column header beneath the Yes and No Labels
To set the sort order of the Mutual Aid agencies, click on the column header 'Aid Dept.' and an additional column named 'Order' will be displayed. The numbers you enter in this column will be used to determine the sort order in which the agencies appear to the user for selection.
Showing or hiding Other Agencies At Scene and setting display order.
For each agency in the list, you can toggle the radio buttons under the Other Agency at Scene column header
- Yes: The agency is available to select in EMS incidents in the Other Agency at Scene (eScene.02) field
- No: The agency is not available to select in EMS incidents in the Other Agency at Scene (eScene.02) field
Alternatively, you can set all Other Agencies at Scene in the list using the Select All in the column header beneath the Yes and No Labels
To set the sort order of the Other Agency at Scene agencies, click on the column header 'Other Agency at Scene' and an additional column named 'Order' will be displayed. The numbers you enter in this column will be used to determine the sort order in which the agencies appear to the user for selection.
Showing or hiding Transfer/Transport agencies and setting display order.
For each agency in the list, you can toggle the radio buttons under the Transfer/Transport column header
- Yes: The agency is available to select in these fields in EMS incidents:
- Transferred to Agency ID (itDisposition.035)
- Received from Agency ID (itDisposition.032)
- Transporting Agency (itDisposition.038)
- No: The agency is not available to select in EMS incidents in the fields:
- Transferred to Agency ID (itDisposition.035)
- Received from Agency ID (itDisposition.032)
- Transporting Agency (itDisposition.038)
Alternatively, you can set all Transfer/Transport agencies in the list using the Select All in the column header beneath the Yes and No Labels
To set the sort order of the Transfer/Transport agencies, click on the column header 'Transfer/Transport' and an additional column named 'Order' will be displayed. The numbers you enter in this column will be used to determine the sort order in which the agencies appear to the user for selection.
Activating and deactivating agencies.
The status column can be used to mark agencies as Active or Inactive.
- Active: Supporting agencies may appear on your agency's incidents in the specified lists or fields for selection as per the rules established in the other columns and visibility rules
- Inactive: Supporting agencies do not appear on your agency's incidents, and the settings in the other columns are ignored