Why it is urgent to professionalize and modernize fire protection in China – just take a look and you’ll understand

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This post was last edited by wang*nhua77020 on 2016-12-1 at 12:42. Being a firefighter is one of the most dangerous professions in the world; after the accident in Tianjin, the topic of caring for and protecting firefighters also became a hot issue for a while. While we are moved and pray, can we not also take some practical actions to help firefighters and improve the safety of their missions? Amid the widespread public opinion following the accident, some people once again raised the question: Is it appropriate to send young firefighters into such flammable and explosive warehouses after they explode? Can firefighters be professionalized, rather than having young soldiers who serve for just two years before retiring being sent to the front lines? Professionalization of firefighting is urgent. “Professionalizing firefighting” makes sense to some extent, but it is by no means the whole picture. By comparing the handling of major accidents by many professional fire services abroad, such as 911 in the United States, it is difficult to conclude whether a professional firefighter system is better or having active-duty personnel serve as firefighters is preferable. “\"Specialization in firefighting\" is an urgent matter. The first aspect of specialization is professional equipment, the second is professional supervision, and the third is professional systems. When our firefighters operate under professional protocols, use specialized equipment, and receive real-time professional guidance, casualties and losses can certainly be minimized. How can technology equip firefighting forces? Working in the high-tech industry, aside from the questions mentioned above, our most immediate thought is: why isn’t our high-tech expertise put to use to equip these highly respected firefighters? If there had been a cloud-based fire control center and intelligent individual helmets for firefighters prior to the explosion in Tianjin, then at 22:50 on August 12th, when the fire alarm was triggered, the city’s cloud-based fire control center would have immediately learned that the fire originated in a warehouse storing hazardous materials. It could then have connected with experts in handling such materials and worked in real time via video with the firefighters on the ground. With the rapid development of cloud computing technology and smart hardware, what we still see is firefighters using command systems from the walkie-talkie era as well as cold, ineffective equipment. Cloud Fire Command Center: 1) Establish fire command centers on a city-by-city basis, adding Internet of Things for firefighting and video collaboration functions to those already available in existing fire command systems. Among them, the video collaboration system enables coordination between the command center and field commanders, as well as the exchange of videos, voices, and data among firefighters ； Enable real-time collaboration between the command center and experts required for various firefighting tasks related to hazardous chemicals, biological threats, explosion prevention, etc., in terms of video, voice, and data ； Interconnection between the command center and the surveillance systems of public security, transportation, property management, etc. The fire IoT function enables the collection and connection of GIS information related to all fire stations, fire equipment locations, potential accident sites, hazardous material storage areas, and other key fire-related elements in the city. 2) Establish basic cloud fire stations at the level of fire departments, or even individual firefighters, to be responsible for the daily inspection of all fire-fighting equipment, potential fire hazards, and hazardous material storage sites within their jurisdiction, as well as for entering relevant information such as images, videos, and documentation related to these elements. These stations are also tasked with responding to fire alarms and extinguishing fires in accordance with instructions from the cloud command center. Schematic diagram of the cloud-based fire command center. The cloud-based fire command center can display in real time videos from the firefighters’ perspective at the fire scene, surveillance videos from the surrounding area, videos of remote experts connected to the system, as well as videos containing information about the incident site. Based on a series of pieces of information, fire experts at the command center make real-time judgments and remotely direct the actions of firefighters on the ground. In addition to the traditional functions of impact resistance, insulation, flame resistance, and toxicity protection, intelligent individual helmets for firefighters also possess the following features: 1) A wireless device that allows them to receive and send information via telecommunications operator bases. 2) Multifunctional camera with thermal imaging and video collaboration capabilities. 3) LBS functions such as GPS and base station positioning, which can accurately determine the location of each firefighter. Schematic diagram of intelligent firefighter individual helmets; Advantages of the cloud-based fire command center: 1) Professionalized fire command. Regardless of which fire department or what fire situation, there are professional commanders who can provide command through a cloud platform without any geographical restrictions, right away. 2) Professionalization of fire safety assessment. Based on the videos transmitted via firefighters’ cameras and surrounding surveillance systems, various experts can determine the likely causes of the fire and the effectiveness of the current firefighting measures, thereby enabling timely deployment of further firefighting actions. 3) Transparency of fire safety information. All fire-related information and details on the firefighters on duty are fully transparent to the commanders, which facilitates better decision-making. Furthermore, in the event that a fire gets out of control or firefighters act improperly, the cloud platform can restore all real-time data, which is of great significance for identifying those responsible and improving fire-fighting procedures. 4) Firefighter safety protection. The intelligent firefighter helmet transmits in real time videos of the fire situation that the firefighter is facing as well as the LBS location, so that the command center can decide whether to order the firefighter to advance or retreat ； Firefighters can receive instructions in real time and act according to the correct commands, thereby ensuring greater safety.