Radio, FirstNet and broadband: what is different
Where each one is the right tool, and why 'we have FirstNet' does not answer an interoperability question.
Connected fireground
Accountability, indoor positioning, telemetry from SCBA and wearables, and the systems that put all of it on one board. This is the area with the widest gap between what is demonstrated at conferences and what actually survives a working fire.
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Problems in this area
We cannot account for crews on the fire floor
PAR checks rely on radio traffic and a passport board. On a high-rise or a large-area building, the picture at the command post lags what is actually happening by minutes.
The command post has no read on interior conditions
Withdrawal decisions get made on radio reports from crews who are task-saturated, and the information arrives after the conditions have already changed.
Learning
Learning LabStill in development
Innovation LabIndoor firefighter positioning
Tracking a firefighter's position inside a structure without GPS, using inertial sensors, ultra-wideband anchors, or a hybrid of both.
Why it matters
This is the missing piece under most accountability systems. Everything else on a command board is guessing at location. Twenty years of research and it is still not solved reliably — which is itself worth knowing before you buy something that claims it is.
Physiological monitoring
Wearables tracking heart rate, core temperature and exertion, used for rehab decisions and long-term health surveillance.
Why it matters
Cardiac events remain a leading cause of line-of-duty death. The technology works; the unresolved questions are who sees the data, what happens when it flags someone, and how that interacts with labor agreements.
Peer experience
Mutual AidWhat RFID system are departments using for apparatus inventory?
Losing equipment between stations and apparatus. Looking at RFID versus barcode. Interested in what has survived contact with actual crews rather than what demonstrated well.