By Alan M. Petrillo

Cameras have become ubiquitous in the civilian world, and their use on fire scenes has increased but not as widely as for civilian use.

Some departments are allowing helmet and turnout gear camera use on the fireground, while others prohibit their use because of legal, privacy, or liability issues. While there are a number of types of cameras available to suit firematic purposes, the pro and con issues of helmet and body cameras used by firefighters and officers continue to be discussed in fire departments around the country.

1 The Smart Interface Si500, made by Motorola Solutions Inc., can take videos and photos of a scene, has a visual control screen, and can integrate with computer aided dispatch (CAD) and department records systems. (Photo courtesy of Motorola Solutions Inc.)

Capturing Data

Nathan Rowe, director of intelligence-led public safety for Motorola Solutions Inc., says that the company offers the Smart Interface Si300 and Si500 video speaker microphone (VSM) units that combine voice communication, video, still images, and emergency alerting in a single easy-to-use device. “An extension of the Motorola APX™ radio, the Si300 and Si500 use a smart interface with an integrated remote speaker microphone and body-worn camera in one unit,” he says. “It assures reliable and mission-critical sight, sound, and security by combining audio and video into a single system.”

Rowe notes that the Smart Interface allows the Si300 and Si500 devices to take video or photos of a scene, interview witnesses, and document actions, with all the content being seamlessly integrated into a single workflow that establishes an unbroken chain of continuity.

2 The Tachyon Inc. Full-HD 1080p helmet camera has high dynamic sensors and wide-angle lenses that work well even in low-light situations. (Photo courtesy of Tachyon Inc.)

To preserve that continuity chain, Motorola Solutions offers the Command Central Vault, a series of apps that can be seamlessly integrated with computer aided dispatch (CAD) and department records systems to tie into a specific incident. “Command Central Vault is a cloud-based storage solution that offers synergies and benefits significant enough to be more cost-effective than for fire agencies to try to do it themselves-especially with the amount of data they might generate,” Rowe points out.

Rowe says that Motorola Solutions worked with midsized fire departments to help develop the Si300 and Si500 units. “We wanted to build products that meet the needs of the fire service,” he notes, “where they are able to use the devices in such a way to enable them to take their paper processes and turn them into digital records. SceneDoc, one of our apps, is designed to run on the Smart Interface devices and allow them to accomplish that transition.”

Training and at the Scene

Raymond Ling, president of Tachyon Inc., says a number o

By Robert Tutterow

It is the fire station fire. Earlier in the year, I received an inquiry on this subject from an architect who specializes in fire station design. His inquiry was as follows: “It turns out that, on average, 50 fire stations burn each year. Recently a two-year-old station burned. I imagine that the fires begin in a fire truck. Do you think it is possible to put enough water in the bay to stop a fire that starts in a truck?”

I wasn’t exactly clear what he meant about “enough water in the bay,” but fire departments should always be in “prevention” mode when it comes to fire station fires. To underscore this issue, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports: “In 2009-2013, an average of 86 structure fires per year were reported at fire stations, resulting in an average property loss of $2.4 million per year.”

It is certainly not unusual to hear about a station fire, and there are probably a lot of station fires that never make the news and are not reported. But, based on the known numbers, this is 1.65 fire station fires a week-way too many!

During my career, my fire department (with 42 fire stations) had one working fire in a fire station. The cause was unattended food on the stove. The crew was “in quarters” but outside grilling and forgot about the pot on the kitchen stove, which happened to be on the second story of the two-story station. The company was able to extinguish the fire without calling for assistance, but the kitchen cabinetry was charred and there was minor smoke damage on the second floor. The incident never made the news. As the safety officer, I was notified; when I arrived, the crew had cleaned all the smoke damage and, except for the charring, the kitchen would have received the highest of food sanitation ratings. It was clearly obvious, the crew wanted the damage to look (and be) as minimal as possible!

I’ve often heard that an automotive mechanic may have the worst maintained vehicle. Far too often, we in the fire service have some of the most egregious fire safety violations in our stations. The fire station fire is not only embarrassing, but it puts the community’s fire protection at risk.

The fire incident described in my department was not exactly as described in the inquiry from the architect. I think he is probably correct in that most fires start in apparatus and spread to the station. The catastrophic losses are likely in stations that are unattended, primarily volunteer and combination fire departments.

Prevention Measures

So, what are the prevention measures? The short answer is a sprinkler system. Yet, the reality is that unless the station was built in the past 25 years, it probably does not have a sprinkler system, and many built today still do not have sprinkler systems. A fire that starts in the cab of an apparatus will not initially benefit from a sprinkler system because of the cab roof, so consider an onboard extinguishment system and/or alerting system.

As with all fires, early detection is crucial. All fire stations should have a detection system that immediately notifies the fire dispatch system of a fire or potential fire in a fire station. The longer a station is left unattended, the more important this system is to prevent a catastrophic loss.

NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, has an entire chapter on “Facility Safety” (Chapter 9). Among the requirements are compliance with the life safety code and sprinkler systems for all new fire stations. There are requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as all federal, state, and local fire code requirements

By Robert Tutterow

It is the fire station fire. Earlier in the year, I received an inquiry on this subject from an architect who specializes in fire station design. His inquiry was as follows: “It turns out that, on average, 50 fire stations burn each year. Recently a two-year-old station burned. I imagine that the fires begin in a fire truck. Do you think it is possible to put enough water in the bay to stop a fire that starts in a truck?”

I wasn’t exactly clear what he meant about “enough water in the bay,” but fire departments should always be in “prevention” mode when it comes to fire station fires. To underscore this issue, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports: “In 2009-2013, an average of 86 structure fires per year were reported at fire stations, resulting in an average property loss of $2.4 million per year.”

It is certainly not unusual to hear about a station fire, and there are probably a lot of station fires that never make the news and are not reported. But, based on the known numbers, this is 1.65 fire station fires a week-way too many!

During my career, my fire department (with 42 fire stations) had one working fire in a fire station. The cause was unattended food on the stove. The crew was “in quarters” but outside grilling and forgot about the pot on the kitchen stove, which happened to be on the second story of the two-story station. The company was able to extinguish the fire without calling for assistance, but the kitchen cabinetry was charred and there was minor smoke damage on the second floor. The incident never made the news. As the safety officer, I was notified; when I arrived, the crew had cleaned all the smoke damage and, except for the charring, the kitchen would have received the highest of food sanitation ratings. It was clearly obvious, the crew wanted the damage to look (and be) as minimal as possible!

I’ve often heard that an automotive mechanic may have the worst maintained vehicle. Far too often, we in the fire service have some of the most egregious fire safety violations in our stations. The fire station fire is not only embarrassing, but it puts the community’s fire protection at risk.

The fire incident described in my department was not exactly as described in the inquiry from the architect. I think he is probably correct in that most fires start in apparatus and spread to the station. The catastrophic losses are likely in stations that are unattended, primarily volunteer and combination fire departments.

Prevention Measures

So, what are the prevention measures? The short answer is a sprinkler system. Yet, the reality is that unless the station was built in the past 25 years, it probably does not have a sprinkler system, and many built today still do not have sprinkler systems. A fire that starts in the cab of an apparatus will not initially benefit from a sprinkler system because of the cab roof, so consider an onboard extinguishment system and/or alerting system.

As with all fires, early detection is crucial. All fire stations should have a detection system that immediately notifies the fire dispatch system of a fire or potential fire in a fire station. The longer a station is left unattended, the more important this system is to prevent a catastrophic loss.

NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, has an entire chapter on “Facility Safety” (Chapter 9). Among the requirements are compliance with the life safety code and sprinkler systems for all new fire stations. There are requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as all federal, state, and local fire code requirements

By Robert Tutterow

It is the fire station fire. Earlier in the year, I received an inquiry on this subject from an architect who specializes in fire station design. His inquiry was as follows: “It turns out that, on average, 50 fire stations burn each year. Recently a two-year-old station burned. I imagine that the fires begin in a fire truck. Do you think it is possible to put enough water in the bay to stop a fire that starts in a truck?”

I wasn’t exactly clear what he meant about “enough water in the bay,” but fire departments should always be in “prevention” mode when it comes to fire station fires. To underscore this issue, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports: “In 2009-2013, an average of 86 structure fires per year were reported at fire stations, resulting in an average property loss of $2.4 million per year.”

It is certainly not unusual to hear about a station fire, and there are probably a lot of station fires that never make the news and are not reported. But, based on the known numbers, this is 1.65 fire station fires a week-way too many!

During my career, my fire department (with 42 fire stations) had one working fire in a fire station. The cause was unattended food on the stove. The crew was “in quarters” but outside grilling and forgot about the pot on the kitchen stove, which happened to be on the second story of the two-story station. The company was able to extinguish the fire without calling for assistance, but the kitchen cabinetry was charred and there was minor smoke damage on the second floor. The incident never made the news. As the safety officer, I was notified; when I arrived, the crew had cleaned all the smoke damage and, except for the charring, the kitchen would have received the highest of food sanitation ratings. It was clearly obvious, the crew wanted the damage to look (and be) as minimal as possible!

I’ve often heard that an automotive mechanic may have the worst maintained vehicle. Far too often, we in the fire service have some of the most egregious fire safety violations in our stations. The fire station fire is not only embarrassing, but it puts the community’s fire protection at risk.

The fire incident described in my department was not exactly as described in the inquiry from the architect. I think he is probably correct in that most fires start in apparatus and spread to the station. The catastrophic losses are likely in stations that are unattended, primarily volunteer and combination fire departments.

Prevention Measures

So, what are the prevention measures? The short answer is a sprinkler system. Yet, the reality is that unless the station was built in the past 25 years, it probably does not have a sprinkler system, and many built today still do not have sprinkler systems. A fire that starts in the cab of an apparatus will not initially benefit from a sprinkler system because of the cab roof, so consider an onboard extinguishment system and/or alerting system.

As with all fires, early detection is crucial. All fire stations should have a detection system that immediately notifies the fire dispatch system of a fire or potential fire in a fire station. The longer a station is left unattended, the more important this system is to prevent a catastrophic loss.

NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, has an entire chapter on “Facility Safety” (Chapter 9). Among the requirements are compliance with the life safety code and sprinkler systems for all new fire stations. There are requirements for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as well as all federal, state, and local fire code requirements