Last updated: August 22, 2026
Ference Software Systems LLC ("Ference Software Systems," "we," "us," or "our") operates Fire Department Stipend Manager (the "Platform").
This Privacy Policy explains how information is collected, used, stored, shared, and protected when a fire department or other authorized fire service organization (the "Department"), its administrators, and its members use the Platform.
The Department determines what information is entered into the Platform, who is authorized to access it, and how that information is used for the Department's operations. Ference Software Systems processes and stores that information as necessary to provide, maintain, secure, and support the Platform.
The Platform may collect or store information provided by the Department or its authorized users during normal use, including:
Member information — names, contact information, usernames, account information, roles, permissions, and other personnel-related information.
Certification records — certification types, issue dates, expiration dates, status information, and related documentation.
Call and incident records — call logs, response times, apparatus assignments, personnel assignments, attendance, timestamps, and related incident information.
Training records — training events, attendance, hours, credits, and custom training values maintained by the Department.
Inventory and equipment data — equipment, inventory items, assignments, status information, and custom values associated with Department property.
Stipend and compensation data — hours, credits, rates, eligibility information, calculated stipend amounts, and other compensation-related records maintained by the Department.
Account and authentication information — information used to create and secure user accounts. Passwords are not stored in plain text and are protected using appropriate credential-security practices.
Usage and technical data — information such as IP address, browser type, device information, timestamps, pages or features accessed, error logs, and similar technical information used to operate, troubleshoot, and secure the Platform.
The exact information stored in the Platform may vary depending on the features and configuration selected by the Department.
Information collected or stored through the Platform is used to provide services to the Department, including to:
We do not sell Department or member personal information.
We do not use Department or member information for third-party advertising or targeted advertising.
The Department is responsible for determining:
Department administrators may access information maintained within their Department's account according to the permissions configured by the Department.
Individual members who have questions regarding information maintained about them should generally contact an authorized Department administrator.
We do not disclose Department information to third parties except as necessary to provide or protect the Platform, as directed by the Department, or as required by law.
Information may be shared with:
Service providers and subprocessors that assist with hosting, cloud infrastructure, databases, storage, email delivery, monitoring, security, backups, or other services necessary to operate the Platform. This includes DigitalOcean, which may provide cloud infrastructure, managed database hosting, storage, backups, and related infrastructure services. These providers are permitted to process information only as necessary to provide their services to us and are expected to protect the information they handle.
The Department and its authorized personnel, according to the roles, permissions, and access controls configured by the Department.
Government authorities, courts, regulators, or law enforcement when disclosure is required by applicable law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other valid legal process.
Professional advisers, such as attorneys, accountants, insurers, or security professionals, when reasonably necessary to protect our legal or business interests or respond to an incident.
Successors or acquirers in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, sale of assets, or similar business transaction, subject to appropriate protections for the information involved.
We may also disclose information when reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, property, or security of Ference Software Systems, the Platform, a Department, Platform users, or others.
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information maintained within the Platform.
Depending on the applicable system or service, these safeguards may include:
No system, method of transmission, or method of electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Accordingly, while we take reasonable measures to protect information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
If we become aware of a security incident involving Department information, we will investigate the incident and take reasonable steps to contain, mitigate, and remediate it.
Where required by applicable law or contract, we will notify the affected Department or other appropriate parties of a qualifying security breach and provide available information reasonably necessary for the Department to meet its own legal or regulatory obligations.
Departments are responsible for maintaining accurate administrative and contact information so that we can provide account-related or security-related communications when necessary.
Department information is generally retained while the Department maintains an active account with the Platform.
Following expiration or termination of an account, information may be retained for a limited period where reasonably necessary to:
Where applicable, a Department may request an export or deletion of its data, subject to technical limitations, backup retention periods, legal obligations, and any applicable contractual requirements.
Information that is no longer required for legitimate business, legal, security, or record-retention purposes may be deleted, anonymized, or otherwise securely disposed of in accordance with our applicable data-retention practices.
The Platform may maintain backups for disaster recovery, system restoration, business continuity, and security purposes.
Because backup systems are designed to protect against accidental loss or corruption, information deleted from an active production system may remain in backup systems for a limited period before being automatically overwritten or removed through normal backup-retention processes.
Backup data is not intended to be used for ordinary business operations and may remain subject to restricted access.
Subject to the Department's service agreement, applicable law, and the functionality available within the Platform, Department administrators may be able to export certain Department records.
When a Department terminates its use of the Platform, the Department should request any required data exports before final deletion or expiration of the applicable retention period.
Ference Software Systems may retain limited records relating to billing, contracts, account history, security, legal compliance, or dispute resolution even after Platform operational data has been deleted.
Authorized Department administrators may access, update, correct, or manage Department and member information through the Platform, subject to assigned permissions.
Members who believe information maintained about them is inaccurate should contact their Department administrator.
Requests concerning access, correction, deletion, or export of Department-controlled information may need to be submitted through an authorized Department administrator so that we can verify that the request is authorized.
The Platform is designed for use by fire departments and other authorized fire service organizations and is not directed to children for independent personal use.
Some Departments may maintain records concerning junior firefighters, cadets, explorers, or other members who are minors. When such information is entered into the Platform, the Department is responsible for ensuring that its collection and use of that information is lawful and appropriately authorized.
The Platform is not intended for independent use by children under 13 without authorization and supervision from the applicable Department or another legally authorized party.
The Platform may rely on or integrate with third-party services that provide infrastructure, communications, authentication, hosting, analytics, or other technical functionality.
Those third-party services may process limited information as necessary to provide their services. Their handling of information may also be governed by their own privacy and security practices.
Ference Software Systems LLC uses third-party service providers to host, operate, secure, and support the Platform. These providers may process or store Department information only as necessary to provide their services to us.
Current major infrastructure providers may include:
DigitalOcean — cloud infrastructure, managed PostgreSQL database hosting, storage, backups, networking, and related infrastructure services.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) — application hosting and related cloud infrastructure services used to deliver portions of the Platform.
These providers maintain their own privacy, security, and contractual obligations regarding the information they process on our behalf.
Service providers may change over time as the Platform's infrastructure evolves. We may update this Privacy Policy when material changes are made to the service providers used to host or process Department information.
Fire departments and other public or governmental entities may be subject to laws, regulations, collective bargaining obligations, public-record requirements, personnel-record requirements, or record-retention schedules that do not apply to Ference Software Systems generally.
Each Department is responsible for determining the requirements that apply to its use of the Platform and for configuring and using the Platform in a manner consistent with those requirements.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in:
When we update this Privacy Policy, we will revise the Last updated date shown at the top of the policy.
Material changes may also be communicated through the Platform, by email, or through another reasonable method when appropriate.
Questions about a Department's records or the accuracy of member information should generally be directed to the applicable Department administrator.
For questions regarding this Privacy Policy, the security or privacy practices of the Platform, or Ference Software Systems LLC's handling of information, contact:
Ference Software Systems LLC
Fire Department Stipend Manager Support
Email: tference@ferencesoftwaresystems.com