Virtual command technology provides firefighters a virtual presence within an affected building. A facility so equipped has security and fire sensors integrated directly to fire department dispatch and operations centers. Every responding entity is notified simultaneously, eliminating time-consuming rerouting.
 Photo courtesy of NetTalon. |
Emergency notification reaches the fire responders directly; in seconds they can view the inside of the building, virtually “looking at” the emergency. The alarm control panel in such a building has a database containing all floor plans with icons representing sensors. In a fire emergency, sensor conditions are updated every second by changing their color, from green (“not in alarm”), to orange (“early warning”), to red (“alarm”). The color change shows the nature of the developing emergency.
Facilities equipped with this technology are directly networked to police and fire dispatch centers, for immediate notification and visual emergency validation, and are also networked to tactical monitoring stations, for situational awareness backup of a developing security incident.
Responders on fire apparatus en route view the same information remotely using a hardened notebook networked to the facility with commercial broadband wireless connectivity. They can see the incident, complete preliminary incident planning, assign firefighters, and begin mitigating the incident immediately on arrival.
The test. To test and validate the value of virtual command technology, exercises were staged in the A.Z. Young Building in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Performance was measured among a number of attributes that would correlate firefighter safety, victim rescue, and property loss reduction. The building was equipped with the NetTalon System 3000 Security/Fire Alarm Control Panel; its existing conventional fire system used a conventional DACT connected to POTS for communication to a central monitoring station. During the test, the conventional system operated in test mode.
Four fire scenarios were developed; each included two exercises. One used the new technology (experimental) and one did not (control). Two officers commanded the exercises; each commanded two exercises using the technology and two without it to obtain unbiased comparable performance data.
A rotational plan kept the crews intact so they would experience the exercises with and without the virtual command technology. In each exercise, a different incident commander and crew responded. The rotation developed to meet the test criteria involved two shifts A (Red) and B (Black). Police and fire exercises were held in October 2006, concluding with a public demonstration.
All training scenarios were limited to 30 minutes or concluded when the fire was suppressed at its point of origin or at the leading edge of fire spread (fire knocked down) and all victims were located and rescued (All Clear).
Responder apparatus departed from the staging area timed according to average runtimes from their respective firehouses.
Refuge rooms established on each floor allowed victims to seek refuge when they became trapped. Each refuge room was equipped with a life safety button, to alert incident commanders that victims were trapped, and a video camera that allowed responding units to validate en route the presence of victims. Each refuge marked by a green cross was equipped with a blue strobe light that was activated by pushing the life safety button. Smoke detectors and digital temperature sensors throughout the building enabled the commander to prioritize rescue operations according to where the fire and smoke were closest to the refuge rooms.
Results. The test provided the following findings:
- Significant time advantage through instant alarm notification and immediate dispatch.
- Incident commander could immediately validate a working fire and request additional personnel.
- Improved ability to locate fire and track its spread for excellent situational awareness.
- Responders performed initial size-up en route.
- Responders rescued trapped victims quickly using the refuge rooms.
- Firefighter safety was enhanced.
The test results in strong support from Baton Rouge fire officials to introduce virtual command technology. Preliminary statistics indicate that substantial time saved and increased officer safety resulted whenever incident commanders used tactical information provided by mobile data computers en route to the facility. Detailed statistics will be published as soon as they become available.
RONALD DUBOIS, PH.D., is NetTalon’s director of administration/finance, corporate secretary/treasurer, and a member of the board of directors.
DONALD R. JONES JR. is NetTalon’s director of corporate development.
DAVID E. KIMMEL is NetTalon’s director of engineering.
