Smart Fire Fighting, "Where Big Data and Fire Service Unite"

The fire service and other emergency first responders are currently benefiting from enhanced-existing and newly-developed electronic technologies. Fire fighters are now operating in an ever increasing sensor rich environment that is creating vast amounts of potentially useful data. The "Smart" fire fighting of tomorrow is envisioned as being able to fully exploit select data to perform work tasks in a highly effective and efficient manner. Behind the advances of the new sensor and tool enhanced fire fighter of tomorrow are profound questions of how to best enable effective use of this deluge of valuable information. This is an area that is informed by the field of "cyber-physical systems" and which promises to change the world of firefighting as we know it.

This workshop is part of a collaborative effort between NIST and NFPA/FPRF to develop a "Research Roadmap for Smart Fire Fighting". The Workshop is focused on addressing how best to effectively use the immense quantity of data available from buildings, communities and on the fire ground, the computational power to compute and communicate that data, the knowledge base and algorithms to most effectively process the data, converting it into significant knowledge/beneficial decision tools, and effectively communicate the information to those who need it, when they need it --- on the fire ground and elsewhere.

WORKSHOP GOALS AND OUTCOMES:

1. Establish dialogue among subject matter experts familiar with the unique characteristics of fire fighting and cyber physical systems.
2. Promote a better understanding of data opportunities available to the fire service.
3. Clarify the collective vision of the ultimate research roadmap expected as a deliverable from this project.