I recently had a well respected fire service colleague and friend ask me and other colleagues a question that caused me to pause and reflect on a vision of technological futurism of the fire service. The question, a fairly straight forward one was, “what will the fire service look like a decade from now?”
Reflecting on where we have been is often a great opportunity to create a vision where we are heading. Technology wise, desktops have been replaced by tablet and smart phone technology. Firefighter locator and tracking technologies have and will continue to evolve.
Additionally, robotics has made great advances in all aspects of our lives some seen and some unseen, such as manufacturing and assembly to surgical operating rooms. Robotics in some homes even has assumed such mundane tasks as vacuuming the floor. Recently, a well respected innovator discussed a custom made robot to clear buildings in law enforcement tactical operations, more robust and sturdy than currently available and even armed. The innovation was simple; if you can dream it we can build it.
That started me thinking we have become a national militarily that is heavily reliant on drones aimed at accomplishing high risk, complex missions under the command of skilled and trained humans but without the risk to them. This evolution of technology may have futurist applications on the fireground in risk adverse environments. The American Fire Service culture continues to evolve with regards to determination acceptable risk for engaging in interior fire operations under immedtiately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environments.
The work of the International Association of Fire Chief’s “Rules of Engagement” focusing on engaging firefighters in interior operations based on risk determination in “go and no go” decision making continues to take hold. Concepts such as “occupant survivability profiling” are being talked about to assess the likelihood of trapped civilians even having a probability of surviving an IDLH environment, if successfully rescued.
One piece of investigative reporting, conducted by the Boston Globe, on firefighter line of duty deaths and civilian profiling revealed over the past decade we are losing our firefighters in structures where there was no civilian threat to life. This calls into question that bomb squads and law enforcement tactics work with robotics to clear structures of threats prior to or in advance of human forces. The U.S. military utilizes drones to provide “surgical” attacks in lieu of placing troops in hostile environments and manufacturing and medical tasks that are repetitive and prone to human fatigue error have also been introduced to robotics.
Does robotics have a place on the fireground of the future? Can robotics be built to withstand the hostile environment of a structure fire and advance with remote human guidance armed with thermal imaging technology, grappling hook for rescue and even extinguishing capabilities? Sound farfetched? No doubt so did the concept of robots in operating theaters and running a global war on terror with predator drones from a command center thousands of miles away.
The U.S. fire service must innovate its own need for technology for the advancement of safety and welfare of our fire service members. If not currently available or practical, fire service minds in partnership with innovators and builders can guide the future of the fire service to a safer and more technologically driven environment aimed at maximization of human firefighter resources.
