A number of different types of emerging technologies are affecting the fire service in general and its apparatus and equipment specifically.

These initiatives include the Captium™ Vehicle Platform, AXIS™ Smart Truck Technology, CZConnect, HAAS Alert, connected vehicles, automated fire pumps, augmented reality equipment, and personnel data collection through self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), among others.

IDEX FIRE & SAFETY CAPTIUM

IDEX Fire & Safety introduced Captium earlier this year, which it calls “the first-ever connected vehicle platform built specifically to meet the unique needs of fire and emergency medical services (EMS).” Jeffrey Zook, IDEX marketing manager for connected solutions, says that IDEX heard from apparatus users that they wanted to be able to access all the electronics being used on a truck on a single platform to increase their apparatus uptime. “We developed a new piece of hardware to be the backbone of the system, essentially the central brain for all the different vehicle networks, like the pumps, valves, pressure governor, engine, and multiplex network, which all plug into the brain,” Zook says.

At the same time, IDEX worked with Microsoft to build cloud access for all the data captured by Captium. “Not only did it have to be captured and stored, it also had to be available in an accessible fashion,” Zook points out. “The third part of the system is presenting the information to users, which is the dashboard at Captiumconnect.com. Users log into their accounts, which they can access by a laptop, tablet, or mobile device.”

Zook says that Captium is meant to be a passive experience. “You don’t have to look at the truck data daily,” he says. “If the truck has no diagnostic alerts, you don’t need to check. However, if you press a button on the truck and something doesn’t turn on, Captium will identify the issue and alert you to what is going on.”

He points out that Captium is a turnkey cellular-based product that is furnished with a cellular capability built in for a certain period of time. “The modem uses a SIM card prepositioned for AT&T cellular in the United States and Rogers Wireless in Canada,” Zook says. “And, Captium is an open architecture system that will function with other manufacturers’ software. For example, REV Group’s AXIS™ is building on the Captium platform. We want Captium to be the integration point for fire departments.”

REV GROUP AXIS

AXIS Smart Truck Technology is a secure, intelligent truck system engineered specifically for E-ONE, Ferrara Fire Apparatus, and KME emergency response vehicles, according to Joe Hedges, E-ONE’s product manager for chassis and aerials. AXIS connects to the components used on emergency vehicles to provide streamlined operations, increased uptime, and improved vehicle health, he says. “This technology monitors the status of the chassis and also the multiplexing systems and relevant water flow components on th