Behind the Scenes: The Public Safety Experience
Guest blog written by
Jeff Waid, Senior Project Manager | RapidDeploy
A first responder is someone with specialized training who is among the first to answer or arrive and provide assistance in an emergency situation. All first responders share the desire to continue helping people even after leaving the frontlines. We’re taking you behind the scenes to meet those who aren’t done yet. These are their stories.
Meet Jeff Waid, Senior Project Manager
Coming home from the army, I made a decision that framed the next 35 years of my life.My father and uncle owned an ambulance service in Atlanta and needed help in the start-up phase, so that is where my journey started.
I learned billing, dispatch, supply, maintenance, and anything else that needed to be done but I quickly found my true love was in the dispatch center. Even though EMT school made sense and being on the road was fun and challenging, anytime I could be behind the radios, I was happiest. From call-taking cards to excel spreadsheets all the way to proprietary software, there was always a desire for the dispatch tool to be more of what I needed and less of what someone else thought I needed. When my family sold the ambulance service, another choice was upon me, leave the industry or continue with the new owner. I guess it’s no secret what I did. I was a dispatcher on 12hr shifts, 4 on 4 off at $12,900 per year. Riding as an EMT on 24-hour 9-1-1 ambulance shifts on my days off from dispatch became my new normal.
I soon discovered that technology and teaching new hires were my favorite parts of the job. Using a “real” Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and learning about databases and workflow was interesting and teaching was just fun! As the years passed, technology evolved and uniforms changed colors, but my love for Public Safety, EMS, and 9-1-1 never faded. As I moved into leadership roles it became very clear that the software we used every day just missed the mark in one way or another. My desire to make the job easier for my dispatchers was always met with extraordinary costs and maintenance fees. It also came with having 200 options I didn’t need and custom support for the 20 things I did need were non-existent or too expensive.
A partner career in software development and implementation working for Coca-Cola, led me to the realization that software didn’t have to be the limiting force I was always told it was in Public Safety. If you know what you want and how it should work, you just need the right people to listen and act. I had heard about RapidDeploy through some LinkedIn connections and when the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance to join the two things I love most, software and Public Safety.
I am now the Senior Project Manager here at RapidDeploy. My goal is to help 9-1-1 center directors and leaders in the public and private communications space abandon all the bloated legacy systems costing them millions and holding them back. I want them to see that there is a really great option out there that will help them do what they do every day, SAVE LIVES!
Are you looking for an opportunity to be part of a purpose-driven, fast-growing enterprise software company? Now is a great opportunity to join the RapidDeploy team. Check out our open roles here.