Community Connect

What Community Connect does

Community Connect is a cloud-based public safety engagement platform operated by Locality Media, Inc., which does business as First Due. Headquartered in New York City with a legal entity address in Garden City, NY, the company enables residents to voluntarily create secure life safety profiles containing property details, occupant information, functional needs, and pet information, which are then made available to local fire and EMS agencies at the time of dispatch. The platform integrates with Esri's ArcGIS for geographic visualization of community data, employs bank-level encryption, and includes a HIPAA-compliant COVID-19 self-reporting module launched in March 2020.

The business operates a hybrid revenue model in which residents access the service free of charge while fire departments, EMS agencies, and municipal governments pay recurring subscriptions to deploy Community Connect in their jurisdictions. A specialized COVID-19 version was offered at no cost nationwide during the pandemic. Go-to-market combines field sales to fire chiefs and emergency management officials, a referral network built on partner fire departments, and an official alliance with the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). Additional product capabilities include a Mass Notification Platform and a Community Interaction Tool for permits, smoke detector installations, and plan reviews.

Community Connect has been adopted by numerous U.S. fire departments including Spokane Valley FD, Reno Fire, Ocala Fire Rescue, Asheville FD, Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, Mat-Su Borough, Hutto Fire Rescue, and the City of Salem. The company is backed by Teamworthy Ventures, Collate Capital, New York Angels, HBSAANY, and TechNexus, with Co-founder and CEO Andreas Huber leading an organization of approximately 15 employees.

Name

Community Connect

Legal name

Locality Media, Inc.

Website

https://communityconnect.io

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community Connect, operated by Locality Media Inc. (First Due), is a cloud-based public safety platform that enables residents to voluntarily share life safety profiles with fire departments and EMS agencies to improve emergency response outcomes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Safety Software

NAICS

Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Neighborhood Communities (BPAMABAG)

Keywords

• Public safety software
• Life safety profiles
• Emergency response platform
• First responder data
• Community risk reduction

Headquarters

HQ city

New York City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Free Resident Access: Community Connect provides free accounts to residents who create life safety profiles. The platform is offered at no cost to individual users, funded through agency partnerships.
2. Public Safety Agency Subscriptions: Fire departments, EMS agencies, and municipal governments pay to deploy Community Connect in their jurisdictions. During COVID-19, the platform was provided free nationwide to combat the pandemic.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Community Connect is a cloud-based, voluntary platform that enables residents to create and share life safety profiles containing property details, occupant information, functional needs, and pet data with their local fire departments and first responders at time of dispatch. Public safety agencies subscribe to deploy the platform within their jurisdictions and gain tools for pre-incident planning, GIS-based community risk analysis, mass notification, and resident permit management. A specialized COVID-19 self-reporting version was released free nationwide in March 2020 in partnership with the IAFC and Esri.

Product overview

Community Connect is a cloud-based public safety engagement platform consisting of a core product and specialized versions. The core Community Connect platform enables residents to voluntarily create and maintain life safety profiles containing property information, occupant details, functional needs, and pet information that is shared with first responder agencies at time of dispatch. A specialized COVID-19 version was released in March 2020 in partnership with the IAFC. The platform also includes a Health & Life Safety Profile Database, a Community Interaction Tool for managing permits and services, and Mass Notification capabilities. All services are accessed through a web-based portal with bank-level encryption and security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Connect for COVID-19: A dedicated version of Community Connect launched in March 2020 for COVID-19 self-reporting, provided free to residents and agencies nationwide during the health crisis.

Products and services

• Community Connect A secure, voluntary platform that enables residents to share critical household information (property details, occupant information, special needs, pets) with first responder agencies to improve emergency response outcomes. Fire departments and EMS agencies subscribe to deploy the platform in their jurisdictions.
• Community Connect for COVID-19 A specialized version of Community Connect released during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling residents to self-report COVID-19 related health status, symptoms, test results, and high-risk information to first responders at no cost. HIPAA-compliant and provided free nationwide.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cut high-rise response times nearly in half
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2020The IAFC partnered with First Due and Esri to release the National Self-Reporting System for COVID-19, allowing the public to self-report critical COVID-19 related information directly to their respective First Responder Agencies. IAFC President Fire Chief Gary Ludwig endorsed the platform as a crucial tool for first responder safety and community protection.
• EsricoreTechnology or IntegrationEsri, a leading provider of GIS software, partnered with First Due and IAFC to integrate Community Connect data with Esri's ArcGIS platform. This integration allows public safety agencies to visualize and analyze community data geographically for resource planning and emergency management.
• Hutto Fire RescueregionalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHutto Fire Rescue in Texas partnered with First Due to deploy Community Connect in their jurisdiction. The fire department promotes the platform to local residents to improve emergency response outcomes.
• Mat-Su Borough Emergency ServicesregionalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerMat-Su Borough Emergency Services in Alaska partnered with First Due to release Community Connect. Multiple fire departments including Butte, Central Mat-Su, Sutton, Talkeetna, West Lakes, Willow, Caswell, City of Houston, and Greater Palmer Fire participated in the deployment.
• City of Salem Fire DepartmentregionalImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCity of Salem and Salem Fire Department partnered with First Due to deploy Community Connect in Oregon's capital city, focusing on protecting residents and their property during incidents or major disasters.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ESO (ESO Solutions): ESO provides software for EMS, fire, and public safety agencies including incident reporting, pre-incident planning, and community health tools — directly competing with Community Connect and First Due for the same agency customers.
• Rave Mobile Safety (Rave Alert): Rave provides mass notification and resident-engagement tools for municipalities and 911/emergency communications centers, overlapping Community Connect's mass-notification and resident-profile features.
• ImageTrend: ImageTrend offers EMS, fire, and trauma registry software for public safety agencies, including community risk reduction and pre-incident planning modules that overlap with Community Connect's value proposition.
• Active 911: Active 911 provides alerting and response tools used by fire and EMS agencies, with overlapping workflows in dispatch and resident/pre-plan information sharing relevant to Community Connect.
• PulsePoint: PulsePoint operates a citizen-engagement platform connecting residents with nearby CPR-trained responders and emergency notifications, sharing Community Connect's emphasis on resident-to-first-responder information sharing.

Broad incumbents

• Lexipol: Lexipol provides policy management, training, and community risk reduction content for public safety agencies, serving many of the same fire and EMS customers as Community Connect with adjacent capabilities.
• Tyler Technologies (New World Public Safety): Tyler Technologies sells public safety software suites (CAD, RMS, mobile) to municipalities that often serve the same fire/EMS agencies that adopt Community Connect, presenting a bundled-suite alternative.
• CentralSquare Technologies: CentralSquare (formed from TriTech/Tiburon/APCO's CAD/records suites) sells a broad public-safety software platform to fire, EMS, and police agencies that competes with First Due's broader suite and could bundle community-engagement features.
• Motorola Solutions (CommandCentral): Motorola Solutions offers CommandCentral public safety software (CAD, records, community engagement) and competes broadly with First Due / Community Connect for the same agency budgets.

Emerging players

• Vector Solutions: Vector Solutions offers training, operational, and community risk reduction software for public safety agencies, with adjacent capability to Community Connect's risk-reduction and resident-engagement focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/comm_connect_io
• Facebookfacebook.com/communityconnect.io
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/community-connect-io

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Community Connect