Fire departments and equipment manufacturers are still seeking the Holy Grail in firefighter accountability—that is, the ability to locate and track firefighters on fire scenes, especially inside buildings and on different floors.
A number of systems have made inroads in the ability to accomplish that task and are closer than ever to developing viable locating and tracking systems that could become operational in the near future.
Paul Couston, co-founder and chief executive officer of Ascent Integrated Tech, says his company has developed the Shield platform, which with its ShieldPortal™, ShieldModule™, and BioComm™ modules, allows the system to track firefighters on a fire scene and in a multiple-story building along the X, Y, and Z axes—that is, north to south, east to west, and vertically. “We are working with the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute and W.S. Darley & Company to launch a pilot program in March of 2022 for training use where we can test out the equipment in training exercises and get bigger data sets to allow us to improve the system,” Couston says. “We envision the pilot program to last a year and anticipate a launch of the product for general use in March of 2023.”
1 Ascent Integrated Tech has developed the Shield platform that includes the ShieldPortal™, which allows the system to track firefighters in a multiple-story building on the X, Y, and Z axes. (Photos 1-2 courtesy of Ascent Integrated Tech.)
2 ShieldPortal also can show an IC the track of a firefighter in a building.
Alex Gorsuch, co-founder and chief technology officer for the company, says the Shield platform’s mapping function gives simultaneous localization in real time, using 12 points of data in mapping the environment, including GPS, LIDAR (light detection and ranging), accelerometers, an IMU (inertial measurement unit), and pressure sensors. “We track movement through an accelerometer on X, Y, and Z axes and also use LIDAR to track though the structure and combine that data with data from the IMU and other sources,” Gorsuch says. “We can’t rely on one source of data, so it’s the combination of multiple sensors that allow us to pinpoint a firefighter on all three axes.”
The ShieldPortal control screen shows an incident commander (IC) all firefighters’ locations and tracks, a floor plan view, a satellite view, and Mayday alerts. Besides the location and tracking function, the Shield system also provides health and environmental alerts to the IC, including heart rate, body temperature, hazardous gases, and Mayday alerts and also incorporates a thermal imaging camera.
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) successfully tested the Precision Outdoor and Indoor Navigation and Tracking for Emergency Responders (POINTER) technology that would give firefighters more accurate guidance in locating other firefighters in emergency situations. S&T deployed a POINTER command station, transmitters, and receivers in a five-level, 8,000-square-foot structure meant to represent a residential home. The system tracked multiple first responders from a standoff distance of up to 70 meters.
S&T says POINTER was able to accurately locate the responders in 3-D within one meter and, in many cases, within centimeters throughout all levels of the building. The receiver technology worn by the testers is the size of a cell phone that’s powered by a small, rechargeable lithium battery. Instead of using GPS, Ultra-Wideband, or other identification methods that rely solely on radio position location, POINTER uses magnetoquasistatic fields to three dimensionally orient and track responders, helping ICs to pinpoint their locations.
S&T says it expects to move to operational field testing with several fire response agencies across the country, focusing on POINTER’s tracking, visualization, and data collection capabilities. It expects to develop a commercial product early in 2022.
Matt Quigley, global product group manager of fire service technology for MSA Safety, says MSA’s LUNAR platform is part of the company’s Connected Firefighter Platform that has Firefighting Assisting Search Technology (FAST), personal thermal imaging, a connection to MSA’s FireGrid cloud, and accountability functions. “In the very immediate future, we will release capability of GPS data to be transmitted from LUNAR, where a firefighter’s location will be shown on an IC’s map,” Quigley says. “As of today, the firefighter locator is point to point, but we are adding distance measurement technology that’s specialized for indoor environments. An IMU inside the LUNAR device is a big part of our technology roadmap to provide additional location-based services where we are putting firefighters on a map.”
3 MSA’s LUNAR will soon have the capability of transmitting GPS data that can show a firefighter’s location on an IC’s map. (Photo 3 courtesy of MSA Safety.)
Quigley notes that LUNAR’s FAST combines direction and distance information with thermal imaging to help find separated teammates and decrease response time. “The personal thermal imaging with edge detection identifies hot spots and ventilation points and improves situational awareness, making it easier to navigate through environments with low visibility,” he says. “LUNAR has a direct cloud connection that enables an always-connected experience for individuals on scene and remote and to provide accountability and visibility to all users.”
John Graves, global product marketer for 3M™ Scott™ Fire & Safety, says 3M Scott’s SEMS II Pro Wireless SCBA Telemetry System enables communication between responders and incident command through a patented mesh network that functions in both commercial and residential structures. Graves notes that SCBA telemetry is transmitted to a base station that can be displayed in an application, giving the IC an enhanced view of the fireground.
“SEMS II incorporates an electronic personnel accountability report (ePAR) where the IC can check the PAR status of a firefighter without the need to broadcast over the radio network,” Graves says. “With a simple click of a button on the SCBA PASS console, the firefighter sends an acknowledgment back to the IC. Our SEMS II Pro Hazmat option gives a department the ability to deploy SCBA for activities that do not require an automatic motion-sensing PASS while maintaining the capability to remotely monitor air, alarm, and other status.”
While GPS location and tracking are not currently included in the SEMS II system, Graves points out that 3M Scott is currently investigating technology that will provide firefighters and ICs with the information needed on the fireground. “Like the bone conduction headphone in our Vision C5 face piece, we continue to implement technology new to the fire services to enhance our users’ capabilities.” Graves says. “Firefighter location and tracking using a variety of wireless technologies, including GPS, are actively in development. X and Y axis location data has been in use in 3M Scott Pak-Tracker for over a decade; work to incorporate the Z axis, the vertical one, will further enhance ranging and location solutions we can provide.”
Michael Meyers, deputy assistant chief, chief of safety for the Fire Department of New York, notes that several manufacturers have location devices that track on the same level or grade. “The problem for us in New York City, or for any department with multistory buildings, is that you can’t tell what floor the firefighters are on, so it’s difficult to search for a lost firefighter or someone down,” Meyers says. “We use the Scott Pak-Tracker, which will lead us to a firefighter on the same floor, but tracking on the Z axis, the vertical, is a problem. And when we have a fourth or fifth alarm, we can have 350 firefighters on the scene, so it’s difficult to monitor them in a five-story building.”
4 3M™ Scott™ Fire & Safety makes the Pak-Tracker, which provides X and Y axis location to an IC and is working to incorporate the vertical Z axis in the future. (Photo 4 courtesy of 3M Scott Fire & Safety.)
5 Slate Safety is planning on adding a GPS function to its remote physiological wearable device to enable an IC to see firefighters on the X and Y axes. (Photo 5 courtesy of Slate Safety.)
Chris Ward, vice president of growth for Slate Safety (formerly FireHUD), says the company makes a remote physiological wearable device that sits on a firefighter’s upper arm and transmits biometrics such as heart rate, core temperature, and exertion level. “The next version of our device, which we expect to produce in the summer of 2022, will have a GPS function that will transmit location data to an IC’s screen, who will be able to see them on the X and Y axes,” Ward says. “With more advanced technology and techniques, we will be able to develop the Z axis.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
