Despite the digital resources available, emergency planning and management is largely an archaic task.
When fire and police departments strategize for a major incident or weather event, their first move is often to grab the binders.
Stuffed in multiple three-ring binders, you'll find all the strategies needed to assess and rectify the problem at hand. But, when were those binders last updated? How accurate are they to this specific situation?
Jarret Winkelman said this is still an all-too-common occurrence.
“Unfortunately, a lot of organizations still use binders of paper for pre-plans or a white board to manage incidents and events as they unfold,” he said.
So, Winkelman, a former dispatcher, has developed a digital solution for emergency management planning and response.
He launched Incident Response Technologies (IRT) in 2005 and created the company’s flagship product, the Rhodium Incident Management Suite.
Rhodium provides a command and control solution allowing users to quickly consolidate information, coordinate assets and act.
Plans can be accessed on multiple devices, allowing numerous stakeholders to contribute to emergency management efforts. Plans can also be continually updated, unlike Rhodium's paper and whiteboard counterparts.
Users can set up perimeters and track available resources and personnel using GIS mapping and GPS tracking during events.
Rhodium is used by police and fire departments for incident response and planning, by colleges for event and athletics planning, and by K-12 school districts for active shooter situations, among other things.
The product has been used at the Super Bowl and Clemson football games, in response to the Charleston church shooting and during Hurricane Matthew preparation and cleanup efforts.
IRT is used by hundreds of organizations in 40 states across the country, and Winkelman said the company has had well over 100 percent year-over-year growth.
The 13-person team works out of the Denver Tech Center and Winkelman said it is time for IRT to expand the team.
“Right now, we’re seeing tremendous traction, there is a real need for what we do out in the community. We’re looking at expanding our headcount, growing our team and setting up for our next stage of growth. This will allow us to continue the growth rates into next year,” he said.
IRT raised a formal seed round of $1.4 million in October 2017, and will look to go back out for Series A fundraising in early 2019.
As the company continues to grow, Winkelman said IRT is focused on getting Rhodium in front of as many stakeholders as possible to showcase its benefits.
“A lot of customers in our market are hungry and need a solution,” he said. “We’re focused on getting it out in front of the right audience and allowing the product to do its work.”
