The ICDSoft Fire Brigade is an entirely voluntary organization funded and maintained by ICDSoft, an internet business established in 2001. ICDSoft was a successful project from the beginning, and the CEO and founder, Dimitar Dimitrov, had to think about how to thank tens of thousands of customers worldwide for their loyalty. Sending a Christmas or year-end gift? That would be a logistic challenge. Also, the annual profit per customer was less than ten dollars, so that wouldn't cover even the postal fees. Then Dimitar came up with a free delivery idea: oxygen, O2. He decided to "invest" the profit in forest firefighting and prevention. ICDSoft maintains a doomsday office in the Bulgarian countryside. The county where that facility was built did not have a fire brigade. Yes, 439 square kilometres (about 169 square miles), primarily forests, without a fire brigade. The forests in the area were also a subject of abuse by the greedy wood mafia and their corrupted partners holding government jobs.
Then ICDSoft stepped there, purchasing over a dozen amphibious vehicles and all-terrain trucks for firefighting purposes, trucks and heavy construction machinery, hiring and training workers for that project, building underground and open water reservoirs, kilometres of pipelines, with fire hydrants on every 100 meters along these pipelines. We dug water wells and pools for the farmers in our area, for free, with only one condition - to supply water if needed in firefighting operations. If these pools get empty because of drought, the farmers call us, and we deliver water through our fleet of water trucks. Year by year, our area gets more prepared to battle forest fires.
We already maintain a fleet of firefighting drone units and invest in developing new strategies and tactics in drone firefighting.
ICDSoft also developed an online ticketing system for forestry purposes. Of course - for free. The government institutions eventually adopted the system. Now, not a single truck loaded with wood can leave the Bulgarian forests without an online ticket, submitted by a forest guard, with information about the vehicle and the cargo. Then, anyone can download the application and check whether a truck loaded with wood is legal. If the shipment is not permitted/registered, the application triggers an alert to the police and to the forestry authorities. Many vehicles have been confiscated from the wood mafia as a result.
Since its establishment, ICDSoft has followed a strict policy against bothering its customers with messages, save for those informing them about the upcoming expiration of their services. Following that rule, the ICDSoft Fire Brigade has been operating since 2012 without making any noise about it.
Now, in 2024, we decided to be loud about the ICDSoft Fire Brigade, because the world needs this example as fast as possible. We would be happy if other businesses copy what we do. Because no matter where we live, our children breathe the same air. That's why no matter where we work to prevent or battle forest fires, our efforts will benefit everyone on Earth.
The purpose of this page is to share our expertise and to serve as an example to others.
Of course, we have the hardware and the expertise to help in rescue operations - earthquakes, floods, search and rescue missions.