Why this exists

I’m a working fire captain. Shift Size Up started on my own crew.

As a new captain I was slow to see that my driver was cooked — and I was riding the same 48s with him. If the person on the rig can miss it, a battalion chief on the morning call has almost no chance unless someone spends the social capital to put the crew’s load on the table. A lot of captains won’t. I often don’t.

Everyone already knows which engine is busy. Reputation sticks to the apparatus. What a chief needs in the morning is the cumulative load on this company — the people actually on that rig today — after last night and the stretch they’ve been carrying. Those two pictures diverge all the time.

Shift Size Up is a morning screen that joins last night’s CAD with who was actually on the rig, so load is visible without waiting for that text. Counts a captain would recognize. Not turnout times, not compliance scores, not a wellness app. It doesn’t tell a chief what to do — it gives them a picture to shape priorities from.

There’s also a personal record for every firefighter — their own nights and year. Command sees crews. People keep their own numbers.

I’m early. The demo uses public call data so you can see the shape of the thing. What I’m looking for next is a few departments willing to pilot it — try the morning picture with their own people and provide me feedback.

If you want to talk, there’s a short form at the end of the home story, or open the morning screen.

— Michael McCartneyFire Captain