With the right apps, broadband will make a difference to fire sector

Almost from the moment that the notion of dedicated public-safety broadband network was proposed, first-responder representatives were able to identify potential applications that would be useful to the law-enforcement and EMS sectors, both of which benefit greatly from access to detailed records and multimedia, when available.

There was considerably less enthusiasm from the firefighting community. Of course, there were exceptions—Jeff Johnson (former International Association of Fire Chiefs president and now a FirstNet board member) and Charlottesville, Va., Fire Chief Charles Werner being two notable examples—but many in the firefighting sector asked, “What would we use broadband for?”

While on the scene of an incident, firefighters wear bulky gloves that make all but the simplest dexterity movements difficult, which is why push-to-talk functionality and “man down” buttons on LMR portables are valued so much in the sector. Before getting to a scene, firefighters have precious little time to get their gear on and prepare mentally for the response effort, so fumbling with a handheld device to access information while en route to the scene is not practical.

One of our trusted sources informed us that two members of the firefighting community indicated during a recent public-safety meeting regarding next-generation 911 that having access to an observer’s video of a blaze would not provide any significant benefit to the response effort.

“They have too much going on in planning such as locations of hydrants, hose lay routes, weather and other factors than to look at video that shows what, a building burning?” our source e-mailed us. “Maps, floor plans and the other touted uses don't mean anything to the responder, but they may mean something to the battalion chief or other officer acting as an incident commander.”

Indeed, a close-up video of a fire is of little value. But video taken from some distance away (ensuring the videographer’s safety) could be very valuable, especially if normal environment in the location can be accessed easily.

How close is the fire to a power hub or hazardous materials storage? Has the blaze rendered key fire hydrants unusable or blocked important access points? With the help of appropriate site information and video taken from the proper perspective, these are just a few of the questions that could be answered for an incident commander before arriving on the scene, so adjustments to the pre-plan for the location can be made as quickly as possible.