Why we built Scene SizeUp
Scene SizeUp started with a pretty simple observation: there should be a better way to train for incident command.
Matt has spent more than 15 years in the fire service, and throughout his career he kept running into the same limitations. Realistic incident command training is valuable, but it can also be difficult to organize. Getting multiple companies together takes time. Mutual-aid partners may be miles apart. And many of the software tools available for this kind of training either feel dated, are difficult to use, or don't go far enough.
We believed technology could make that training easier to run without taking away the part that actually matters: firefighters communicating, making decisions, assigning resources, and working through an incident together.
So we built Scene SizeUp.
The goal was never to replace hands-on training. It was to make realistic command training something departments can do more often, with fewer logistical barriers, using the people, places, and situations their crews actually encounter.
Why us
We're brothers, but we came into Scene SizeUp from two very different directions.
Matt Murphy
More than 15 years in the fire service
Matt has served in both volunteer and career departments, so he knows what each of them needs and where the two are not the same. He understands how departments train, how incidents unfold, and where technology helps versus where it simply gets in the way.
Joe Murphy
Roughly 20 years in product and engineering
Joe started out in engineering roles in Silicon Valley, moved into product over time, and eventually moved to the East Coast. He likes making things, figuring out how they work, and turning an idea into something people can actually use.
Scene SizeUp sits right in the middle of those two backgrounds.
Every feature has to pass both tests:
Does this make sense in the fire service? And does the technology make the experience better?
That combination has shaped the platform from the beginning, and we continue to build it the same way: by listening to firefighters, understanding the problem first, and then figuring out the simplest way technology can help solve it.
Built for something that matters
Training software isn't something we take lightly. Departments are using Scene SizeUp to practice decisions they may someday have to make during a real incident.
That means the platform needs to be dependable, understandable, and easy enough to use that the software doesn't become the focus of the training.
We're directly involved in building and supporting Scene SizeUp. There isn't a distant product team deciding what firefighters need or a layer of people between customer feedback and the people building the product. When departments tell us something could be better, we're the people hearing it, discussing it, and working on it.
We're going to keep improving Scene SizeUp the same way we started it: with real fire service experience on one side, thoughtful product and engineering work on the other, and a lot of conversations with the people actually using it in between.