FirefightingInterconnected technologies to make firefighters safer

Published 22 June 2015

When responding to the more than 1.2 million blazes reported annually, the nation’s firefighters usually start with a dangerous disadvantage: They often lack critical information — even something as basic as a floor plan — that could be vitally important in mounting the most effective and safest attack. That information gap could be erased with today’s communication, computing, sensor and networking technologies.

When responding to the more than 1.2 million blazes reported annually, the nation’s firefighters usually start with a dangerous disadvantage: They often lack critical information — even something as basic as a floor plan — that could be vitally important in mounting the most effective and safest attack.

That information gap could be erased with today’s communication, computing, sensor and networking technologies according to a new Research Roadmap for Smart Fire Fighting. Prepared by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Fire Protection Research Foundation(FPRF), the roadmap charts the path toward overcoming technical obstacles so that those interconnected technologies, known collectively as cyberphysical systems, or CPS, can be harnessed to greatly improve fire-protection and fire-fighting capabilities.

The ultimate aim of the roadmap is to enable real-time delivery of useful information before, during and after a fire incident or other emergency — to get actionable intelligence to the first responders who need it, when they need it,” explains Anthony Hamins, the head of NIST’s Fire Research Division.

NIST says that a CPS wirelessly connects information technologies and physical objects that incorporate computer chips or other devices that can capture, store and transmit data in ways that yield useful information to support timely decision-making.

Examples of current CPS applications are early manifestations of the so-called Internet of Things. They include “smart homes” with programmable thermostats, appliances that can be controlled with a cell phone, and systems that remotely diagnose and repair industrial machinery.

Far more ambitious CPS endeavors, from “smart” buildings and “smart” highways to “smart” bridges and “smart” cities, are underway.

Among the many possible CPS applications, smart firefighting should rank among the most compelling,” says Casey Grant, executive director of FPRF, the research affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association(NFPA). “It can help to protect and improve the safety and effectiveness of the nation’s 1.1 million fire fighters and, as a result, greatly reduce the national fire problem.”

Smart fire fighting, the roadmap explains, can capitalize on growing collections of community and building-related data — from inspection reports to digital building information models — and the increasing adoption of computer-controlled building management systems. For example, units responding to a high-rise fire could access information on current traffic conditions to determine the fastest route to the scene. And while en route, fire fighters could go over building drawings and floor plans, scan surveillance cameras to locate occupants, check whether hazardous materials are