Is big data analytics the secret to successful firefighting?
First responders know that every emergency is different, from the fastest route to the available tools on the scene. But linked data through the Internet of Things could hold the key to improving response times and preparation by sharing this information ahead of time. In this article from Forbes, fire departments are leveraging data from mobile devices, social media, and even sensors on firehoses to arrive on the scene ready to tackle any emergency.
Fire departments fight fires, but they also deal with an awful lot of other incidents. Often this is by virtue of being the only ones with the training and tools to get the job done. On route to an incident in a large city, they may have an average of around four minutes to prepare for what they are likely to encounter when they arrive.
Data comes to them from multiple sources simultaneously – radio contact from the control room, alerts via mobile devices and tablets, a touch screen information panel mounted in the response vehicle, or a mountain of technical manuals and literature on firefighting regulations and procedure.
Now, forward-thinking fire services are looking at how this information can be best used to make sure that firefighters arrive at the scene fully equipped not just with the right tools, but the right data to get the job done.
Bart Van Leeuwen, a senior firefighter with the City of Amsterdam Fire Department, who also runs the data consultancy Netage, says “What I’m afraid of is that something will happen to me or one of my colleagues and we will find out that we had the data to stop it happening.
“Unfortunately, I’ve come across several cases where firefighters were sent into blazes and it was later found that they had no business being there – but they didn’t know that because they didn’t have access to the data.”
For around seven years Bart has championed the use of “linked data” in firefighting. The concept is now just that fire departments be collecting as much data as possible through the technology which is becoming available — for example Internet of Things sensors attached to firefighting tools like engines and pumps.
Also, Van Leeuwen believes, as much of this data as possible should be made available in an open and readable format to the public, so creative minds will devise life-saving new applications.
As an example, he likes to use a routine call-out to one of his city’s most famous landmarks – the house of Anne Frank. The average arrival time from the nearest fire station is 59 seconds. During this time, firefighters are expected to grab their equipment, load into the fire engine or ladder vehicle and arrive ready for action. As a famous landmark, an official fire risk document exists for the Anne Frank house, containing five pages of information, as well as references to another document containing regulations for fighting fires in “complex buildings.”
“So, in 59 seconds I have to put on my coat, read five pages, and then grab another book. All this information is not really connected.”
In reality, this is often fine — firefighters generally manage to safely and efficiently tackle the most common emergencies they are called to, with a minimum of waste. But problems most often arise during “black swan” events. Rather than a ballet reference, this relates to the black swan economic theory which postulates we are often taken by surprise when events are not as they appear. The theory is named after the fact that 18th-century European naturalists initially refused to believe that black swans they discovered in the southern hemisphere were in fact swans because all the swans they had previously seen had been white.
“So in that four minutes driving to an incident … I want information that is way more structured – I want to be able to put up a red flag which says ‘you are going somewhere which may not be the standard – which may be something you haven’t encountered before. That’s what I’m trying to pursue.”
One of the first projects, initiated a number of years ago, involved putting together what became termed the Firebrary – a standard library or glossary of firefighting terms and definitions, which can be shared between departments to ensure they are literally speaking the same language.
This was a vital step, Van Leeuwen explains, because otherwise no matter how big and exciting their dataset gets, everyone has to be interpreting it through the same lens, or insights and predictions could be based on a flawed analysis.
Predictive modeling can be used to build up a picture of the risk profile of the area where the incident is taking place. Data taken from fire hose sensors and personal protective equipment, to build models which can be used to assess risk.
When his fire department commissioned new engines two years ago, one of the primary requisites was that they should be “open data fire engines,” able to collect and feed information on how much water they are using, how full tanks are, how much diesel is left, and the gas composition of the air. The task now is to put all of this to work and come up with more effective models for getting information to the firefighters who need it.
There have been obstacles of course – as Van Leeuwen puts it, no one wants to see firefighters arriving at a fire and then reading their pads for five minutes before they get out of the engine.
This is where the concept of linked data becomes so clearly useful. Firefighters need to have an authoritative, reconciled stream of information, telling them exactly what they need to know at the right time, in a way that can be digested as quickly as possible.
One solution currently being put to use by the Amsterdam Fire Service is Twitter. The service tweets all of its incidents in real-time, along with operational codes which can be read by the firefighters themselves.
“This is so real-time that if I get a priority three alarm at my station I can take out my phone, check Twitter, and before the alarm has stopped I can tell my colleagues where we go,” says Van Leeuwen. All of the data tweeted out contains links to the “Firebrary” so members of the public – who are not firefighters but may, for example, be app developers – can understand the content if it includes technical terms.
Sharing and understanding data is undoubtedly an essential part of the process when it comes to using Big Data and analytics to make the world a better place. Firefighting is just one of the thousands of fields where Big Data can clearly make a difference. The data is out there and we have the tools to collect it, so now the race is on to find the best ways to put it to use before more lives are wasted.
This article was written by Bernard Marr from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
