❓ Streetwise Software Online Fire Tracker — Help & Operating Manual

This manual covers the public Fire Tracker, field tools, reporting tools, administrative Command Center, data population, security, passkeys, campaigns, backups and optional API services.

1. Public Fire Tracker

National Fire Map & State Navigation

The national map is the main operational view. Use ALL 50 STATES to open state navigation, then select a state to narrow incidents, perimeters and related resources. Incident markers and perimeter data are supplemental situational-awareness tools; official evacuation and life-safety instructions always take priority.

Command Bar

The command bar opens Evacuation Notices, National Fire Map, Live Cameras, Reporter on Scene, Fire Gallery, Emergency Services, Reporter directory, donations, sharing, sponsors, Help and the Admin Panel where supported. On phones the Admin Panel is also available discreetly in the footer.

Smoke / AQI

The Smoke/AQI area combines available smoke analysis and air-quality information. Smoke-polygons describe analyzed smoke extent/density; they are not a personal exposure measurement. AQI observations can differ by time and station.

Archive

The archive preserves incident history after active records age out. Use it for reference rather than current emergency decisions.

Evacuation Notices

Notices can be populated from supported feeds or entered by administrators. State filters reduce the list. Read-aloud controls are intended for hands-free accessibility; always compare time stamps and issuing authority.

Live Cameras

Camera records can be imported from supported public networks or maintained as approved links/previews. Camera availability and partner display rights vary by provider.

Emergency Services & Assistance

The Emergency Services directory can locate nearby known services when location permission is granted. Shelter/assistance records cover human shelters, pet/livestock resources and related support locations. For immediate danger call 911 directly.

2. Field Tools

My Current Location

Requests browser geolocation permission, displays coordinates, allows copying coordinates and can open the position in the device's map application. Location accuracy depends on the device, GPS/Wi‑Fi/cellular signals and permission settings.

Compass

The compass uses device-orientation sensors when the browser exposes them. On iPhone/iPad a permission prompt may appear. The heading can be disturbed by cases, vehicles, speakers, magnets and nearby metal. Treat it as supplemental and verify direction with another source when safety depends on it.

Share

Uses the native Web Share interface when supported and falls back to link-copy behavior. Share incident/state pages rather than screenshots when the recipient needs the most current information.

Phone Emergency Dock

On phone handsets the emergency dock includes a 911 control. Fire Tracker displays a confirmation before handing the call to the phone dialer.

3. Reporter on Scene, Gallery & Reporters

Reporter on Scene can collect text, GPS, live photos, video and multiple existing files. Uploaded media is MIME-validated. Supported images may contribute EXIF capture/location metadata. New reports enter moderation rather than publishing automatically.

Moderators can publish or hide individual report sections, preview the public result, approve/unpublish/reject reports, delete individual media, select gallery media and remove complete reports. Recurring reporters can have profiles and public directory entries. Fire Gallery provides large view, previous/next navigation and touch swipe.

4. Administrative Command Center

Dashboard

Shows live counts, population status, source health and shortcuts to populate the database or view the public website.

Populate

Runs source adapters immediately. Each source has its own cadence and may report LIVE, READY, DIRECTORY, OPTIONAL KEY NOT SET or ERROR. An optional key source being skipped does not mean the whole Fire Tracker is down.

Cron Setup

For automated updates, configure the hosting scheduler to call the Fire Tracker cron endpoint. A five-minute scheduler launch interval is recommended for near-current evacuation checks; each source still honors its configured refresh interval.

Sources

Defines upstream organizations, API/feed URLs, attribution, trust level, display mode, refresh interval and enabled state. Do not remove source attribution when displaying third-party data.

Hero Media

Controls default, slideshow and video hero presentation. Keep media optimized for web delivery so the iPhone/iPad interface remains responsive.

Moderation & Reporters

Use Moderation for community submissions. Reporter profiles support recurring field contributors and public directory sorting.

Evacuations / Assistance / Emergency Services

Administrators can add, edit, verify and disable records. Include source URLs and verification times whenever possible.

Sponsors & Donation Ledger

Sponsors can be published with controlled address visibility. Donation providers are configured by URL. The public ledger supports transparent received/assistance entries without requiring private donor data to be exposed.

Backup / Restore

Create a full global backup before upgrades or major changes. Backups have SHA-256 history. Restore performs validation and creates a pre-restore safety backup. Treat exported backups as confidential because they may contain configuration and private records.

Settings

System Settings control contact email, Streetwise branding, population intervals, media limits, donation-provider links and optional API keys. Secret keys are stored encrypted using the installation-specific application secret.

5. Security, Accounts, Face ID & Passkeys

V.723 Final Build retains the requested one-time credential recovery and fixes the owner-creation SQL error present in 1.4.0. On the first upgrade from the affected build, existing Fire Tracker administrator accounts are cleared and the admin area enters an obvious unlocked recovery state. Create a new owner account immediately. Once the owner is created, the recovery setting closes automatically and re-uploading the same build does not clear the credentials again.

Each account can use Password Only, Face ID / Passkey Only, or Username + Password + Face ID / Passkey. Passkeys use WebAuthn and require HTTPS. On compatible Apple devices Safari asks the operating system for user verification, normally Face ID on a Face ID iPad/iPhone. Apple may permit its normal device-authentication fallback. Fire Tracker never receives or stores facial images, Touch ID data, the device passcode or a private passkey key; it stores only the public credential needed to verify signed challenges.

For the strongest owner configuration, enroll at least two passkeys on trusted devices and choose Username + Password + Face ID / Passkey. Do not delete the final passkey while the account requires passkeys.

Security Center

Tracks failed login/rate-limit/honeypot/passkey events and summarizes active CSRF, session, upload and security-header protections. Public browser-delivered HTML/CSS/JavaScript is inherently viewable; server-side PHP, database configuration and private directories are the protected application layer.

6. Campaign Banners

Admin → Campaigns supports unlimited fundraising or assistance campaigns. Each campaign has an internal name, public headline/message, optional image, target URL/button, priority, optional start/end times and independent Show Above Header / Show Above Footer switches. Top and footer can both run simultaneously and can show different campaigns. When multiple campaigns qualify for one position, the highest priority active campaign is displayed.

7. Optional API Keys — Where to Get Them

NASA FIRMS MAP_KEY: request a free key at https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/api/map_key/. Enter it in Admin → Settings → NASA FIRMS MAP_KEY.

YouTube Data API: create/select a Google Cloud project, enable YouTube Data API v3, then create an API key in Google Cloud credentials. Start at https://developers.google.com/youtube/v3/getting-started. The Fire Tracker can also use selected no-key official video feeds, so this key is an enhancement.

AirNow API: create an account/key through https://docs.airnowapi.org/ and enter it in Admin → Settings.

OpenAI API: create/manage a secret API key through the OpenAI API platform key page. Keep it private and enter it only in the masked Admin → Settings field. A ChatGPT subscription is separate from API billing/access.

Never paste secret API keys into public pages, screenshots, source descriptions or support posts. If a secret is exposed, revoke it at the provider and replace it in Fire Tracker.

8. iPad / iPhone Troubleshooting

Passkey button does nothing: confirm the site is loaded over HTTPS, Safari is current, JavaScript is enabled and the device supports passkeys. Passkeys are bound to the site's hostname/RP ID, so changing the Fire Tracker to another domain can require new passkey enrollment.

Face ID is not offered: verify Face ID/device authentication is configured in iPadOS. Safari controls the authentication sheet; Fire Tracker cannot access Face ID directly.

Camera says select a file: mobile browsers may offer both camera capture and existing media. Confirm Safari camera permission in Settings and use the live capture control when present.

Location or compass denied: enable Safari location/orientation permissions, reload the page and request the tool again.

Admin password suddenly fails after this upgrade: that is expected only once for this specifically requested recovery build. Open Admin → Accounts, create the new owner, then enroll passkeys and choose the desired sign-in policy.

Source shows ERROR: open Admin → Sources and Population history. Check the source URL, optional API key, network status and provider availability before changing Fire Tracker code.

9. Operating Rule

Fire Tracker is a situational-awareness and information platform. It supplements—not replaces—911, local emergency management, fire agencies, law enforcement, official evacuation orders or direct instructions from incident command.