DRONES AND THE FUTURE OF FIRE RESPONSE

FIFTY YEARS AGO, flashover – the point at which a room gets so hot its contents ignite, engulfing anyone inside – took 20 to 30 minutes. But changes in home design and the increased use of synthetic materials have dropped it to fewer than five minutes. The average arrival time for firefighters in the US is six and a half. But a new set of technologically enhanced protocols – some already rolling out, others not far off – will help firefighters deploy more efficiently.

THE CALL Present

You notice a candle has toppled and lit the couch on fire. You call 911 and explain what you see, doing your best to describe the size of the fire, the type of couch, and anything else that might be relevant.

Future

You call 911. The dispatcher takes down your information. The dispatcher then accesses your phone’s camera and mic. They then transmit live video of the fire to the personnel who will be responding to it.

THE DISPATCH Present

A computer-aided dispatch system (CAD) orders the trucks and special expertise (such as hazmat or medical resources) suggested by the information the dispatcher collected. At the firehouse, a crew determines a route and leaves

Future

As the CAD determines what resources to send, an autonomous drone – the one docked in the closest of many ‘drone nests’ around the city – takes off and flies to the coordinates transmitted by your cellphone...

THE SIZE-UP Present

The captain in the passenger seat of the first unit on scene gives a visual description over the radio. Upon arrival, the officer gets out and does a ‘360,’ literally running the perimeter of the structure on fire and reporting conditions.

Future

The drone locks its cameras on the structure and flies repeated circles around it, offering an ongoing loop of 360s. It utilises standard cameras, but also things such as infrared, which pick up hotspots not visible to a human fire captain.

THE FIREFIGHT Present

Upon arrival, firefighters connect to a hydrant and start fighting the fire. Tactics and strategy are determined by the initial size-up, and are then adjusted based on the experiences of the personnel inside.

Future

Firefighters jack into the fibre hydrant – a connection to the neighbourhood’s broadband network. This provides the bandwidth to fly drones, send live video to the people inside, and run AI or machine learning on data they send out.