ZFIRS

Call, Dispatch & Occurrence System

Operations Center Water Utility Portal

System Documentation

Digital Fire Brigade - Call, Dispatch & Occurrence System (DFB-CDOS)

This document serves as the official operational guide for the Zambia Fire Incident Response System (ZFIRS). It details the system architecture, operational workflows, and integration points designed to modernize the Fire Services Department.

1. System Architecture

The ecosystem consists of two primary portals and a centralized API layer:

Operations Center (Ops Portal)

The command center for all fire service operations.

  • URL: /ops
  • Users: Control Room Operators, OICs, Station Admins, Firefighters, Regional Commanders.
  • Key Functions: Incident logging, Dispatch management, Shift handovers, Reporting.

Water Utility Portal

A dedicated interface for water companies to manage infrastructure.

  • URL: /water
  • Users: Water Company Engineers, Maintenance Staff.
  • Key Functions: Hydrant mapping, Inspection logging, Pressure status updates.

2. Operational Workflows

1. Incident Intake & Logging

When an emergency call is received (via 993 or direct station line), the system initiates the Incident Creation workflow.

  1. Incoming Call: The system integrates with the FreePBX/Asterisk server via Webhooks.
  2. Caller Identification: The caller's number is parsed to retrieve history and potential location.
  3. Operator Action: The Call Taker (Control Room Operator) logs the incident details:
    • Type: Fire, Rescue, HAZMAT, False Alarm.
    • Location: Automatically populated (Province, District, City) based on the Station's jurisdiction, with manual override.
    • Severity: Critical, High, Medium, Low.
  4. Resource Lookup: The system automatically identifies and stores the Three Nearest Operational Hydrants to the call record to ensure critical water source data is available during dispatch.

Speed & Focus: Console vs. Admin

  • Call Taker Console (/ops/{station}/call-taker): Designed for emergency speed. It has fewer fields, stays on the same page after submission (ready for the next call), and automatically shows nearest hydrants. It acts as an "Active Workspace".
  • Create Incident Page (/ops/{station}/emergency-calls/create): A standard database form. It requires more clicks, redirects away after saving, and offers no real-time assistance. It is intended for "Admin Work" (back-filling data, corrections).

Workflow Rule: Use the Call Taker Console when the phone rings. Use Emergency Calls to edit mistakes, review history, or dispatch a pending call.

2. Resource Dispatch & Notification

Once an incident is logged, it transitions to the Dispatch Phase.

  1. Unit Assignment: The Control Room / OIC selects available appliances (vehicles) and assigns a crew (optional).
  2. Digital Dispatch: A notification (SMS) encoded with incident details and nearest hydrant locations is automatically sent to the Station Commander/OIC and designated field officers.
  3. Status Tracking: The system updates the call status to "Dispatched", recording the timestamp in the audit log.

3. Field Operations & Logging

The system digitizes the traditional "Daily Occurrence Book" (DOB) to ensure accountability.

  1. Event Logging: All station activities, including "Book Opened", "Call Received", and "Unit Deployment", are automatically logged into the Daily Occurrence Book.
  2. Incident Reporting: Post-incident, details such as water/foam usage, casualties, and hydrant conditions are recorded in the comprehensive Incident Report.

4. Shift Management

To ensure continuity between shifts:

  • The outgoing Team Leader compiles a Handover Report (Equipment status, Pending incidents).
  • The incoming Team Leader must digitally sign and accept the handover.
  • Unresolved issues are flagged on the Station Dashboard.

5. Reporting & Analytics

  • Station Dashboard: Real-time view ofactive incidents, unit availability, and shift roster.
  • Regional Dashboard (Super Admin): Aggregated heatmap of incidents across all stations to identify high-risk zones.
  • Export: Daily and Weekly reports can be generated in PDF/CSV formats for the Ministry.

3. Module Reference

Detailed documentation for each system module available in the Operations Portal.

Operational Modules

  • Call Taker Console: A simplified, high-speed interface for logging 993 calls. Features automatic hydrant lookup and minimizes data entry for rapid response.
  • Emergency Calls: The master database of all received alarms. Use this for dispatching pending calls, reviewing history, or editing call details.
  • Daily Occurrence Books: The digital version of the "Station Log". Automatically logs "Book Opened" events and user actions. Records every event (incidents, shift changes, equipment checks) legally and immutably.
  • Incident Reports: Comprehensive post-incident analysis forms, capturing casualty data, water usage (including Jets/Hose Reels used), and response timelines.
  • Shift Handovers: Formal digital process for transferring command between shifts, ensuring equipment accountability and communicating pending tasks.
  • Casualties: Dedicated records for injuries or fatalities associated with incidents, required for national statistics.

Dashboards & Analytics

  • Dashboard: The central hub showing live incident queues, active appliances, and daily stats for the current station.
  • Reports & Analytics: Advanced reporting tools to visualize response times, incident types, and export data in PDF/CSV formats.
  • Station Profile: Management of the current station's contact details, location, and administrative settings.

Resource & Personnel Management

  • Fire Appliances: Management of the vehicle fleet (Fire Trucks, Ambulances, Utility Vehicles). Tracks operational status (Available, Defective, On Scene).
  • Officers: Personnel records including rank, service number, and phone number (crucial for SMS dispatch integration).
  • GPS Devices: Registry of tracking hardware installed in appliances for real-time location monitoring.
  • Users: System access accounts for software operators and administrators.

Configuration & Lookups

  • Stations: Registry of all fire stations in the region/nation.
  • Ranks: Hierarchy definitions (e.g., Station Officer, Leading Firefighter) used for personnel organization.
  • Calling Methods: Standardized list of alarm sources (e.g., Phone, Radio, Walk-in, Alarm System).
  • Emergency Categories: Classifications for incidents (e.g., Structural Fire, RTA, Hazmat, Special Service).
  • Fire Causes: Standardized list for fire investigation conclusions (e.g., Arson, Electrical Fault, Unattended Candle).
  • Premises Types: Classifications for incident locations (e.g., Residential, Industrial, Educational, Health).
  • Fire Protection Equipments: Inventory of safety gear types (e.g., Hydrants, Extinguishers, Hose Reels).

4. Water Infrastructure Management

Reliable water access is critical for fire suppression. The Water Utility Portal allows for collaborative infrastructure management.

  • Hydrant Mapping: Water companies upload and maintain geolocated data of all fire hydrants.
  • Status Reporting: Fire crews report "Defective" hydrants during operations. These flags appear instantly on the Water Company's dashboard for repair.
  • IoT Telemetry: The system supports API ingestion of pressure and flow rate data from smart hydrant sensors.

5. Technical Integration (API Reference)

The system exposes a RESTful API for external integrations. Authentication relies on Bearer Tokens.

Endpoint Method Description
/api/v1/incidents POST Create a new incident record programmatically.
/api/v1/calls/inbound POST Webhook for Asterisk/FreePBX call events.
/api/v1/ack POST Acknowledge a dispatch order (Field Unit).
/api/v1/incidents/{id}/location POST Update incident location (MNO Triangulation).
/api/v1/hydrants/nearby GET Retrieve nearest hydrants (Lat/Lon parameters).
/api/v1/hydrants/{id}/status POST Update operational status (Field Ops).
/api/v1/hydrants/{id}/telemetry POST Ingest IoT sensor data (Pressure/Flow).

6. User Roles & Access Control

Access is strictly governed by the Spatie RBAC implementation.

  • Super Admin: Full visibility. System configuration. Regional oversight.
  • Regional Commander: Read-only access to all stations in their region. Analytics view.
  • Station Admin: Full control over a specific station's assets, personnel, and records.
  • OIC (Officer In Charge): Shift management, incident command, and approval authority.
  • Control Room: Restricted to the "Call Taker Console" for rapid emergency call logging.
  • Team Leader: Manages operational teams and field incident reporting.
  • Firefighter: Basic access to view dispatch orders and update personal status.
  • Viewer: External auditors (e.g., Auditor General) with read-only audit log access.

Security Notice: This system contains sensitive government data. All actions are logged in the immutable Audit Trail. Unauthorized access attempts are monitored and reported.

7. Future & Scalability

The ZFIRS platform is built on a modular architecture to support future enhancements and national-scale rollouts.

Planned Modules (Phase 4+)

  1. Mobile Field App (iOS/Android): dedicated app for firefighters for offline-first reporting and push notifications.
  2. Predictive AI Analysis: Using historical incident data to predict high-risk zones and optimize proactive unit deployment.
  3. Drone Integration: Live video feed ingestion from response drones directly into the Ops Dashboard.
  4. National Disaster Integration: API bridges to the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU) for multi-agency coordination during large-scale calamities.

Scalability

  • Multi-Tenant Design: The system currently supports unlimited unique stations, each with segregated data boundaries.
  • Database Partitioning: Historical data (Occurrence Books) can be archived or partitioned for performance optimization.
  • Microservices Ready: The API-first design allows specific modules (e.g., Dispatch Engine) to be extracted into independent services if load increases.