Bay Area firefighters develop game-changing wildfire technology

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. – Given that the to start with main firestorms of 2017, large technology has been improving tools for firefighters, who still predominantly operate on the ground and frequently with little data about how the over-all fight is heading.

Two Bay Region firefighters have developed an over-all predicament awareness application that other firefighters enjoy — and say should unfold to other departments.

Whether or not on an iPad or other pill, the Bay-Location-developed “Tablet Command” method is very little a lot less than a technological activity changer for firefighters, by firefighters.

Contra Costa County firefighters William Pidgeon, who is also a computer system science professional, and Andy Bozzo, a functioning firefighter, made use of their authentic world encounters to come up with the Pill Command application.

The software program is now used by 265 fireplace departments throughout North The united states, and its user amount is expanding day by day.

“I was not ready to build a mission significant application. So we lifted some funds with mates and spouse and children, produced a corporation and partnered with a program improvement corporation to develop the first variation of the application,” explained Pidgeon.

The app is all about the situational consciousness of the complete hearth incident, offering information and facts obtainable to all incident commanders and initially responders.

“The nice detail about this, it is on an iPad, which, for most departments, they can afford to pay for to buy,” stated Chief Costa.

In advance of Tablet Command, laptop computer laptop methods that did fifty percent as substantially had been, at least, 2 times the price. To this day, any departments continue to have only paper notes, paper maps and a radio, with tiny access to the major photograph.

Two Sonoma County firefighters observed the program perform whilst they had been on mutual help incidents, and they fought challenging to provide it to the Bay Spot.

“I was blown absent. I was like, ‘Wow, we seriously have to have to bring this to Sonoma County,’” explained Petaluma Hearth Department Assistant Main Chad Costa.

“It is, by significantly, fingers down, one of the very best technology tools I have at any time utilized,” extra Sonoma Valley Fire Battalion Main Spencer Andreis.

Pill Command consists of any area’s hearth history, all streets statewide (which include back roads and hearth roads), the site of each and every piece of equipment and thousands of cameras (together with remote utility cameras), nearby fire temperature and is infinitely expandable.

From the discipline, firefighters can input facts in genuine time, substantially rushing up and improving upon responses.

If there is certainly any weak point to this method at all, it occurs in distant places in which there is minor or no Wi-Fi. But, with business, world-wide-web satellite Wi-Fi now on the market, that difficulty will probably be cleared up as well.