We’ve gotten through the holidays, the ball has dropped in Times Square, and now it’s time to get moving on 2019.

All our fire apparatus is a year older as well as the myriad items we use every time the whistle blows or the bell rings.

Certain things are consumable, while other pieces of equipment, like our self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), must be tested and results recorded, including fit testing for each firefighter. The cycle begins anew at the beginning of every year. Atmospheric monitors must be tested, and personal protective equipment inventories must be reviewed to remove turnout gear that has reached its 10-year limit.

No doubt, there are countless departments across the nation preparing to replace their fire apparatus. It might be in bulk; it might be one at a time. But as we move into 2019, understand that we are now experiencing the next evolution in fire apparatus design, and it’s not something you can take a picture of. It’s about communication.

There is no shortage of ideas from firefighters for how to make our apparatus more efficient. Tool placement, crosslay and rear hosebed heights, ladder locations—these are all things that firefighters can tweak to ensure fireground efficiency. They keep things within easy reach so the crew can deploy quickly to get the job done. But if the trucks can’t get off the front apron, then all these practical features won’t do the crew a bit of good.

It’s about technology but beyond touch screen pump panels—which I’d love to try, by the way. I’ve seen them on rigs but haven’t had a chance to operate them. However, the technology I’m talking about is beyond that. We are beyond wirelessly talking to computers back at the station as we back in but not quite at a point where we are regularly communicating real-time information as the trucks operate at the fireground. We can do it, but we are not doing it across the board yet.

During 2018, we started to hear and read a lot about smart cities. At the highest level, the concept can be difficult to completely understand. But, it’s a little easier when considering what we already can do. We can monitor firefighter physiology in some cases, firefighter air consumption, firefighter location, etc. on the fireground. We can keep track of what firefighters are on scene. Vehicle systems allow us to monitor major components on a fire truck. Now consider tying all of these separate systems together and sending information back and forth to your municipality. With some truck systems, critical components are constantly monitored not only for preventive maintenance but also for predictive maintenance. Consider what that means for firefighters if everything is tied together. Firefighter cancer is getting a lot of deserved attention. Exposure tracking is an area that can assist in documenting when and how often firefighters have been exposed to the