fama forum Paul C. Darley

For many years, numerous speakers at virtually every major fire service gathering have focused on data and data analytics.

Interpreting and using data have become routine in fire service management. Decisions on a wide range of critical issues such as funding, apparatus purchases, station placement, and staffing are backed and validated using data obtained from a wide variety of sources. The famous British politician Benjamin Disraeli once said, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” He was referencing the statistical interpretation of data, today referred to as data analytics. Understanding how to correctly and effectively analyze data is mandatory to good management today.

Today, the ability to analyze data has evolved greatly and improved dramatically. Data analytics is the task of extracting meaning from raw data using customized computer systems. These systems segregate, organize, and model the data to draw conclusions and identify patterns. While data analytics is generally used when referring to big data, it can be used with any type of historical data.

Even the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute reported on the data they have been collecting on fire behavior. I encourage you to check out their cutting-edge research at https://ulfirefightersafety.org/ and https://www.nist.gov/el/fire-research-division-73300/firegov-fire-service.

Unlike any time in history, the influx of data today has influenced decisions and literally transformed the world. The whole world is focused on data and extracting meaningful information from them. The fire service is no exception. Sifting through the data can be overwhelming, and this is where data analytics comes in.

In January 2017, Forbes published an article titled, “Is Big Data Analytics the Secret to Successful Fire Fighting?” It was written by Bernard Marr, author of Data Strategy. In the article, Marr makes the following point: “Firefighters generally manage to safely and efficiently tackle the most common emergencies they are called to with a minimum of waste. But, problems most often arise during ‘black swan’ events. So, in that four minutes driving to an incident, I want information that is way more structured—I want to be able to put up a red flag which says, ‘You are going somewhere which may not be the standard—which may be something you haven’t encountered before.’ ”

In his article, Marr talks about starting a “Firebrary,” which he describes as a standard library or glossary of firefighting terms and definitions that can be shared between departments to ensure they are literally speaking the same language. “This was a vital step, because otherwise no matter how big and exciting their data set gets, everyone has to be interpreting it through the same lens, or insights and predictions could be based on a flawed analysis,” he wrote.

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