Accessibility

The standard we aim for

We aim to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA. This is the level Canadian governments generally ask for in web and software accessibility.

“Partially conforms” means most of Firecache meets the standard, but a few parts don’t yet. They’re listed under What’s still limited, each with another way to get the same thing done.

What Firecache does

• Everything except the fire map works with a keyboard alone. Focus is always visible. The signature box and photo viewer keep focus inside them, and put it back where you were when they close.
• Buttons, fields, tables and status badges have names a screen reader can announce. Pages use real headings, so you can jump between sections.
• You can sign by typing your full name instead of drawing a signature.
• Text and controls meet AA colour contrast in all ten colour schemes, in light and dark. A High contrast scheme goes further.
• Status is never shown by colour alone. Every badge also says it in words: Overdue, Missing, Not contained.
• Pages zoom and reflow down to a narrow phone screen without sideways scrolling. Wide tables scroll inside their own box, which you can reach with the keyboard.
• Equipment tags can be typed instead of scanned with the camera, and every printed label shows the tag number in plain text.
• Animation is turned off when your device asks for reduced motion.
• The page is marked as Canadian English, so screen readers use the right pronunciation.

What’s still limited

• The paper form in PDF copies

  The first page of a daily’s PDF is a picture of the paper form, so a screen reader can’t read it. The same PDF has a text record page with every entry, and every daily can also be read in full on its own page in Firecache.

• The fire map

  The satellite map is hard to use with a screen reader or a keyboard. Every fire on the map is also in the list beside it, with the same stage, size and location.

• Uploaded photos and documents

  Condition photos, receipts and documents that people upload don’t have written descriptions. Notes typed with them are shown alongside.

• Testing with assistive technology

  We haven’t yet tested with people who use screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver and TalkBack) or voice control. That’s planned before Firecache is used for real work.

How we checked

• Automated checks with axe-core against every WCAG 2.1 A and AA rule, on 15 key screens. That covered sign-in, dailies, approvals, equipment, trucks, settings and notifications, at desktop and phone width, in light, dark, High contrast and Modern ’78. No violations were found.
• Keyboard-only walkthroughs of signing, the signature box, the photo viewer, menus and notifications.
• Contrast measured for every colour scheme.

Automated tools find only some accessibility problems, which is why we still list the limits above.

Tell us about a barrier

If something in Firecache doesn’t work for you, or you need information in another format, please tell us. Say what you were trying to do and what got in the way.

Email demo@firecache.ca or call 368-380-1262.