By Bill Adams

“Scene Lighting Viewed from the Crew Cab, Part 1” (May 2015) illustrated the history of apparatus scene lighting leading up to today’s acceptance of 12-volt light emitting diode (LED) lights.

Part 2 was intended to provide manufacturers’ and apparatus vendors’ perspectives of LED lighting, the products they make and use, and what they recommend for scene lights-all in simple terms. It’s not going to happen. Understanding LED technology must be the first step in evaluating product and vendor presentations. This part will attempt to explain LED lighting in terms firefighters can understand. Apparatus dealers and OEMs can have their say later.

Technospeak (highly technical terminology) and advertising’s glitz and glitter can cloud judgment and play on emotions. It’s challenging to write purchasing specifications for scene lighting because of the ambiguities in regulatory standards, confusing advertising, and what I perceive to be a general misunderstanding of LEDs. Apparatus vendors not well versed in lighting products and terminology can find themselves in an uncomfortable position. It isn’t fair to them and the purchasers. Why spend so much time on scene lights? A halogen scene light can cost around $200. A similar sized (physical) LED scene light is about twice as much. Or, you can spend $2,000 for the brightest LED offered.

LED Lighting

The first accredited LED in an infrared (invisible) spectrum was developed in 1927 by Oleg Losev. In 1962, Nick Holonyak received a U.S. patent for an LED with a visible red light. Originally used as indicator lights in electronics, LEDs have been accepted by the fire service as an industry standard. Halogen lighting is following two-stage pumps into obscurity the same way incandescent lighting followed piston pumps into irrelevance.

I predict a transformation in the advertising and demeanor of scene light suppliers for several reasons. The first reason is that when LEDs were initially introduced to the fire service, light manufacturers compared them to halogen and incandescent lights. Now that LED technology is the norm, manufacturers will have to compare their own product to their competitors’ to retain or gain market share. The second reason is the educated consumer. Apparatus vendors shouldn’t assume purchasers will carte blanche accept their lighting sales pitches. Via social media and the Web, firefighters have unlimited access to product information from multiple sources. Vendors accustomed to purchasers dutifully accepting their every word as gospel may be in for a rude awakening.

The third, and most important, reason is the entrance of new players. Early suppliers of LEDs to the fire service were manufacturers of warning lights and sirens and other fire-related products. LED technology isn’t exclusive to the fire service. The electronics, aviation, and mining industries have embraced the concept for more than 50 years. They have been supplied by specialty manufacturers whose sole product lines are optics and lighting. Those suppliers are entering the fire service market. They speak a different language; they’re aggressive; they attend trade shows; and they’re willing to educate the end user-the firefighter. Jockeying for market share may become interesting at the least and ugly at the most. My objective is to help purchasers understand the product and make sound purchasing decisions by deciphering some of the LED technospeak. I have no preference for any type of lighting or manufacturer.

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