SmartSource Rentals Provides Critical Technology to Help Fight Wildfires in Western U.S.

September 17, 2015

Most people trade show professionals know SmartSource Computer & Audio Visual Rentals as a technology provider within the trade show industry, but for the past 17 years,  they also have been providing service for something completely outside the business.

The company has been playing a critical role providing its technology to the National Interagency Wildland Firefighting Teams, who are leading the battle against  wildfires that have been raging in several U.S. Western states.

“So far this year, 39,254 wildfires have burned nearly 6.4 million acres in the U.S.,” according to the USDA Office of Communications.

SmartSource Rentals President and CEO Peter Handal said, “We are extremely proud of the confidence the National Interagency Wildland Firefighting Teams have placed in SmartSource Rentals and its ability to deliver technology that is helping this vital agency in its mission to protect and preserve the nation’s forests and grasslands.”

He added, “While its elite wildland firefighting team members are in a vigorous battle against intense wildfires, being able to help with the right equipment, delivered on a just in time (JIT) basis, is clearly something in which we take great pride. We are fortunate to have a team of people on staff willing to go above and beyond standard operations to support firefighters during this unprecedented wildfire season.”

For its part, SmartSource Rentals and its team of experienced Information Technology (IT) technicians, logistics experts and account managers, has been responding with a 24-hour turnaround in an estimated 85 percent of requests for equipment ranging from laptops and iPads to printers, related networking components and customization services.

The technology, all of which is custom-imaged and labeled for the National Wildland Incident Management Teams, includes a plug-and-play product that is used to provide dynamic and responsive planning in terms of updating GIS software to speed up reaction time in order to save lives, structures and acreage.

This product, and other technology provided by SmartSource Rentals, has been deployed across the U.S., from Alaska to Florida, and New York to California. Currently, it is being deployed by multiple National Incident Management Teams directing the firefighting effort across the five Western states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Nevada.

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