Standardization for fire service electronics
The pervasiveness and evolution of this equipment is causing complications
We live in a world dominated by electronics-based technology. In fact, many of us have become obsessed with any new gadget that offers us greater capability to do our jobs and greater connectivity to others.
Therefore, it is no surprise that these technologies have been making their way into the fire service personal protective equipment industry over the past couple of decades. There is now an enormous number of electronics items that can be considered. Yet, the pervasiveness and evolution of this equipment is causing complications.
We were involved with the International Association of Fire Fighters in a recent project to look at new generation SCBA based on a new type of pressure vessel. As part of this effort, representatives from a number of large metro fire departments served as a technical-advisory committee.
In discussing new SCBA developments, some complained that SCBA were becoming too complicated and that each new required device added to the SCBA was like hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree. The point was that equipment is getting more sophisticated and adding more capability, but the advantages are not always realized.
How many of us actually use all the functions on our television remotes or each new feature for a revamped software system. The message was not that fire-service electronics was a bad thing, but that it must remain simple, practical, functional and coordinated.
Finding consistency
The other area of concern is that there is no consistency in how electronic devices are developed and consequently how these devices interface with the firefighter, consume power, and are positioned in the ensemble.
Imagine if every computer supplier decided to create the peripherals and connections in their own way. Without standard USB, printer, monitor, and other types of connections, and software that allow these items to run smoothly for the most part, there would be chaos and systems could not be easily integrated.
The same is true for electronics for the fire service. Firefighters have a personal alert safety system (PASS), which may be standalone or integrated with their SCBA. The SCBA are now required to include a heads up display and some companies offer other features, electronic in nature.
Add to this other emerging equipment such as position locating/tracking devices, physiological monitors, and environmental sensors, and it is the firefighter who begins to look like a Christmas tree. Each of these systems must have a power supply and each of these systems must provide some interface with the wearer to communicate the necessary output information.
However, without any standards for locating and interconnecting these devices, potential problems ensue, with devices competing for power, space, and a means for conveying the information in the ensemble, the electronic firefighter does indeed become a complexity.
There are already issues arising from having multiple electronics devices as part of the firefighter ensemble. The oldest electronics device firefighters use, the portable radio, requires specific channels for communicating information. PASS devices are increasingly being offered with wireless capabilities.
Certain SCBA monitoring capabilities are also becoming wireless. After all, anything that eliminates the possible jumble of cables and connections is considered an improvement.
Working together
But all of this interconnectivity increases the possible problems with interoperability. If a portable radio interferes with a PASS device or vice versa, or for that matter, if interferences cause poor or unreliable performance of the electronics, then firefighters who rely on these devices could have their health and safety jeopardized.
As amazing as it might seem, there is no standard on firefighter portable radios. The U.S. Fire Administration tried some time ago to put together standards in this area, but the effort failed to gain any traction. We even had a small contract to attempt to create criteria for radios much like PASS, but this information did not go anywhere.
Just this year, the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Electronics Safety Equipment petitioned the NFPA to develop a standard on portable radios, but the outcome of this request is uncertain. The same committee has been working on a general “umbrella” standard for fire-service electronics, but the effort has stalled as the committee has had to address significant revisions of the performance standard for PASS and the development of a new standard on thermal imaging cameras, another fire service electronics device.
Standards are needed to establish equipment interoperability, but just as in the computer industry, standards are also necessary for setting basic parameters for power consumption, ensemble location, connectivity and human interface.
The Fire Protection Research Foundation at NFPA recognizes this need. Facilitating projects and research that support the development of NFPA standards is one of its principal functions. Sometimes it conducts studies internally. In other cases, it enlists contractor support to perform a particular study.
For example, it recently supported a project to more fully develop the test method and criteria for discerning the quality of images provided by a thermal imaging camera, and thus help correct a problem in the relatively new NFPA 1801 standard on thermal imaging cameras.
Work is under way
While the NFPA Research Foundation has limited funds, it often acquires resources by cooperating with other organizations with stakeholder interests in a particular area. In this case, the National Institute for Standards and Technology has provided funding and direction for a small project to help the industry understand this complex topic.
The new project, “Performance Requirements for Compatible and Interoperable Fire Fighter Electronic Equipment”, is scheduled for completion late this year. Among its objectives are an inventory of existing and emerging electronic equipment categorized by key areas of interest to the fire service, a documentation of equipment performance requirements relevant to interoperability including communications and power requirements, and an action plan to develop requirements to meet the needs of emergency responders.
Ultimately this project’s goal is to identify the approaches and recommendations to standardize this evolving part of the PPE industry to avoid the potential downfalls that could make new electronic devices less effective than intended.
Fortunately, this effort does not have to start from scratch. The NFPA Research Foundation has identified other industries and is reviewing their successes and failures as possible approaches for creating a template for fire-service electronics. Other obvious applications with similar equipment needs operating in hostile environments include the military, aviation, underwater exploration, and the space program.
By categorizing the types of safety equipment into areas of communications, environmental monitoring, physiological monitoring, sensory support, and tracking/location, and overlaying these device technologies with specific generic requirements for environmental influences, different exposure conditions, mechanical threats, and electrical impacts, a systems approach can begin to gel. With a framework in place, it is then possible to address issues such as compatibility and interoperability between equipment providing the basis for the standardized electronic platform in which different electronic-device configurations can be established.
Regardless of any potential problems that ensue in this growing area, the concept for an electronic firefighter is soon to become a reality. The relative success of this endeavor is made manifest on how the industry sets its standards and creates the development environment in which capability is balanced with practicality with assurance of reliability. The NFPA Research Foundation project is an important first step in this process.
Post Note
February is observed throughout many countries around the world as a celebration in which children, wives, husbands, and friends express their love for each other in giving and receiving confectionary and other gifts.
However, we should always remember to show our love for our firefighters who are willing to put themselves at risk for the well-being and safety of others. Our affection goes to firefighters everywhere. God bless you all.