Log Books: Daily Logs, Shift Pass-Ons & Department Communications

Every fire department has information that needs to flow between shifts, stations, and members — apparatus issues found during daily checks, notes from an incident follow-up, a heads-up from the chief about a policy change. Log books in Command Established give that information a permanent, searchable home with clear attribution, so nothing gets lost in a group text or buried in an email thread.

Choosing the Right Scope

Every log book is tied to a scope that determines how it's organized and filtered. All members with log book read permission can see any book in the department — scopes are organizational categories, not access controls.

• Department — for announcements, policy updates, and information that crosses station boundaries.
• Station — for station-specific activity logs, building maintenance notes, and local information. Members can filter the log book list by station.
• Apparatus — tied to a specific rig. For apparatus-specific notes, recurring issues, and equipment status that travels with the unit.
• Shift — tied to a platoon and optionally a station. For shift pass-on reports where the outgoing crew hands off to the incoming crew.

The scope type is locked when you create the book — you can't change a station book into an apparatus book or vice versa. However, you can change which station, apparatus, or platoon the book is tied to after creation (e.g., move a station book from Station 1 to Station 2).

Creating a Log Book

1. Go to Log Books in the sidebar
2. Click New log book
3. Give it a clear, specific name — "Station 1 Daily Log" is better than "Daily Log" because members should know at a glance what they're reading
4. Choose the scope and select the associated station, apparatus, or platoon
5. Optionally add a description explaining the book's purpose
6. Save

Tip: Start with a small number of well-scoped books rather than creating one for every possible use case. You can always add more as your department's needs become clearer. A station daily log, a shift pass-on book, and a department announcements book cover most departments' needs.

Writing Entries

Open a log book and click New entry to compose. Each entry includes:

• Rich text body — full formatting support including headings, lists, tables, bold, italics, links, and block quotes. Drag and drop or paste images directly into the entry.
• Entry date and time — defaults to now, but you can backdate if you're catching up on a previous day's notes.
• Entry type — categorize the entry so it's filterable later:
  • Note — general observations and routine activity
  • Pass-on — shift turnover handoffs
  • Drill — training notes and evolutions
  • Maintenance — equipment and facility issues
  • Incident follow-up — post-incident debriefs and notes
  • Announcement — department-wide notices

Using @-Mentions

Type @ in the editor to link to people, apparatus, incidents, trainings, work orders, SOPs, pre-plans, hydrants, and more. Mentions create two-way references — the mention links to the referenced item, and that item's record shows a back-reference to your log entry.

When mention notifications are enabled on the book (the default), mentioned members receive a notification so they know to read the entry.

Inline Images

Drag and drop photos directly into the entry body, or paste from your clipboard. This is useful for documenting conditions — a photo of a damaged hose coupling, a whiteboard diagram from a training session, or the state of a piece of equipment.

Shift Pass-Ons and Read Acknowledgements

The pass-on workflow is one of the most valuable uses of log books. Here's how it works:

1. Create a shift-scoped log book tied to a platoon (and optionally a station)
2. Outgoing crew writes a pass-on entry summarizing what happened during their shift — calls, apparatus issues, tasks left incomplete, anything the incoming crew needs to know
3. Check "Request acknowledgement" on the entry (this is pre-checked automatically for shift-scoped books and pass-on entry types)
4. Incoming crew reads the entry and taps Acknowledge to confirm they've read it

The acknowledgement is a read receipt, not a legal signature — it records who acknowledged and when, creating a clear record that the information was received. Officers can see at a glance whether pass-ons have been acknowledged.

Tip: If your department doesn't use formal platoons, you can still use the pass-on workflow with a station-scoped book. The acknowledgement feature works in any book — just check "Request acknowledgement" when you write the entry.

Entry Templates

If your crews write the same kind of entry repeatedly — a daily activity summary with the same sections, a shift pass-on with standard categories — set up a template on the book so new entries start pre-filled.

1. Open the log book and click Edit
2. Open the Template panel
3. Build out the template using the same rich text editor — add headings, sections, placeholder text, or a checklist structure
4. Save

Every new entry in that book will start with the template content. Members can edit freely from there — the template is a starting point, not a constraint.

Example: Station Daily Log Template

## Shift Summary
[Summarize activity, calls, and notable events]

## Apparatus Status
[Note any issues, out-of-service rigs, or maintenance needs]

## Facilities
[Building issues, supply needs, cleaning tasks]

## Pass-On Items
[Anything the next shift needs to know or follow up on]

Controlling Who Can Write

By default, any member with the department-level log entry permission can write in any book. For members who don't have that department-wide permission, you can grant them write access to specific books using a per-book editor list.

1. Open the log book and click Edit
2. Under Editors, add specific users or groups who should be allowed to write in this book
3. Save

The editor list adds access — it does not restrict it. Members with department-level write permission can always write in any book regardless of the editor list. The editor list is useful for granting write access to specific books without giving someone department-wide write permission.

Finding What You Need

Within a Book

The entry listing supports:

• Search — full-text search across entry previews and mention labels
• Filter by entry type — narrow to just pass-ons, just maintenance notes, etc.
• Filter by author — see only entries written by a specific member
• Date grouping — entries are grouped by calendar day (Today, Yesterday, then dates) for easy scanning

Across Books

When you view a personnel record, apparatus detail, or other entity, a Mentioned in section shows all log entries that @-mention that item — across every book in the department. This makes log entries discoverable from the context where they're most relevant.

Common Setups

Station Daily Log

Scope: Station Template: Shift summary, apparatus status, facilities, pass-on items Entry types used: Note, maintenance, incident follow-up Acknowledgement: Optional — useful if officers want to confirm they've reviewed daily activity

Shift Pass-On Book

Scope: Shift (tied to a platoon and station) Template: Calls run, apparatus issues, tasks in progress, incoming crew action items Entry types used: Pass-on Acknowledgement: Always — incoming crew acknowledges to confirm handoff

Department Announcements

Scope: Department Editor list: Chiefs and admin staff only Entry types used: Announcement Acknowledgement: Optional — useful for policy changes where you need confirmation that members have read the update

Apparatus Log

Scope: Apparatus (tied to a specific rig) Entry types used: Maintenance, note Acknowledgement: Rarely needed Use case: Ongoing notes about a rig's condition, recurring issues, quirks that crews should know about — complements the formal work order system with informal institutional knowledge

Frequently Asked Questions