Emergency plans and assessments for local, state, and federal communities
SPC's TriData division is one of the nation’s leading public safety consulting firms. We specialize in research, analyses, and management studies in fire protection and emergency medical services, prevention and preparedness, and homeland security. Our array of fire and emergency research extends across the U.S., supporting the federal government; state, municipal, and local governments; and the private sector.
TriData develops practical indicators to measure the performance of government services, and provides fire protection expertise to a number of foreign governments and international fire service organizations.
Philip Schaenman, president of TriData, is a nationally recognized expert in emergency preparedness and response. Our staff members use their technical expertise and experiences in the field to provide comprehensive analysis of emergency-related issues. Many have served as first responders, including chief officers.
We provide consulting and research on public safety and management for local governments and the public sector. We are recognized leaders in the areas of fire department operations, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, and emergency management and contingency planning. We specialize in analyzing data to facilitate strategic planning decisions.
We have performed comprehensive public safety studies for municipalities ranging from 8,000 to 3 million in population. We have performed more than 130 studies of local fire departments, of which about 35 were large metropolitan fire departments (e.g., Chicago, Seattle, Houston, and Jacksonville).
Implementation of TriData recommendations has resulted in reduced response times, improved ISO ratings, optimized allocation of manpower and leadership resources, and adoption of National Fire Protection Association standards, resulting in cost savings, and improvements in effectiveness.
Our primary focus is on research and data analyses of fire and emergency services. We support the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), by analyzing information in the world’s largest fire database—the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). We have authored the last six editions of Fire in the United States, the definitive report on national fire statistics and fire trends. We have written topical research reports on diverse fire-related problems and issues (e.g., candle fires, smoking fires, seasonal fires, fires to high-risk groups), and performed comprehensive research on a variety of subjects such as a 10-year study of firefighter fatalities in the U.S., and the economic cost of fires and fire injuries.
Our data analysis has resulted in a wide range of reports on public fire education programs, volunteer firefighter issues, product safety issues, juvenile-set fires, smoke alarm usage in urban lower socioeconomic areas, and fire deaths in U.S. hotels and motels. For the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), we produced seminal research on the status, knowledge gaps, and issues pertaining to firefighter radio communications systems. For the National Institute of Standards and Technology, we authored The Economic Consequences of Firefighter Injuries and Their Prevention.
Our goal is to enhance the readiness of state and local public safety agencies to handle both traditional and emerging threats, including acts of terrorism, mass casualty incidents, natural disasters, cyber crime, and threats to infrastructure security.
We focus on building strong, successful partnerships among all levels of government to protect the American public from natural and man-made threats. We have assessed major incidents to offer lessons learned, and developed strategic task forces to improve public safety and disaster response. Experience in this field is invaluable in studies dealing with unified command, technology insertion, and communications interoperability. Our combined staff experience in both the public and the private sectors allows us to provide systems architecture for civilian agency and DoD interface.
We also provide risk assessment and mitigation planning for a wide range of clients as well as homeland security policy development.
TriData has undertaken in-depth research on how nations differ in their approaches to fire protection, injury prevention, and emergency management. We consult internationally on these issues for various nations and international organizations seeking to understand the variance of fire death rates and losses between nations and the total cost of fire within nations.
We have undertaken international surveys of fire prevention concepts and firefighter safety programs. We also provide consulting on performance measurement of local government services.
Our staff and affiliated consultants have conducted seminars, produced presentations, and undertaken consultations in many nations and with a number of international organizations in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Topics have included fire investigation, fire data analysis, wildland firefighting, and the development and measurement of successful public fire education programs. We have provided training in performance measurement in Russia, Georgia, and Albania.
We offer forensic data analysis research and expert witness testimony for law firms, fire departments, labor unions, and insurance companies involved in legal proceedings. TriData has assisted over 20 law firms and many associations with fire data analyses, research on product fire safety, expert testimony on fire department management practices, fire investigations, and special data collection and analyses.
We are experienced in the fields of fire department operations, emergency medical services, fire data and trends analysis, and defining the "community standard." TriData has a superior group of talented professionals who can provide expert legal testimony, data analysis, research, and consulting.
To access a full listing of TriData publications, articles, and video materials.