Every year new technology and equipment in the firefighting industry are emerging. Having the knowledge and understanding the trends is important because they impact the fire service.
In our society, we continually hear the words “innovation” and “improvement,” and they still apply to what is trending in firefighting. What do you want to see as far as new products and new technologies? These are some of new products favorites that are improving the field and where the most significant change is being made.
First, is fire suppression equipment. Task Force Tips (TFT) created the Hemisphere Portable Monitor.1 This is a versatile, lightweight and quick to deploy portable monitor that allows for rapid water flow in locations where ground monitors cannot. It’s flexible in how it can secure to pipes, handrails, and receivers on a pick-up truck. It’s known as being incredibly versatile and stable portable master stream device. Also, it only weighs 23 pounds, flows up to 500 gpm, and has 90-degree swiveling capabilities among many other unique features.
Second, cloud-based technology is a new topic in the firefighting industry.2 This can help with organizational management and allow your fire station to work more efficiently with automated communications. Ultimately, saving your fire station time and money—especially with the growing demand for management options and tasks. A frequent discussion in fire stations is the need to modernize administrative functions and transition away from the paper systems. There are multiple options, and they are helping the industry by being designed by firefighters for firefighters.
Third, firefighter training is also changing the industry. Training fire responders to manage large-scale events when the number of events is down while EMS calls are up is essential. Virtual reality training is now making a big difference in the industry. Flaim Trainer is an immersive virtual reality using a haptic feedback system and real equipment.3 This allows for an incredibly unique training experience. This VR experience provides the firefighters at your fire station the ability to train in situations and in different scenarios that are considered unsafe and difficult to reproduce. It’s unique because this VR experience can put your firefighters into situations that are no longer possible to produce due to environmental, community and regulatory constraints.
Fourth, the fire station use of drone technology and robotics are revolutionizing the industry.4 Mainly because the options are becoming more affordable for lower budget departments. The use of drones, known as unmanned aircraft systems, are quickly increasing for departments of all sizes across the country. It is quickly becoming one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The public safety sector is also using drone technology for emergency scenes and large-area searches.
While these items are only a few of the positive developments and trends so far in 2018, they are revolutionizing the industry. Imagine how these could advance your fire station and impact the training of your firefighters and the service they provide.
1http://www.tft.com/productsearch/product_details.cfm?product=HPM111A
2https://www.ems1.com/paramedic-chief/articles/89344048-EMS-agencies-turn-to-cloud-based-integrated-software-packages-to-improve-efficiency/
3http://flaimtrainer.com/
4https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-169/issue-10/features/drones-and-the-fire-service.html