Roles

Group Manager: Eddie Leung

Software Lead: Michael M. Toomim

Documentation Lead: Eddie Leung

Design (Visual/Interaction) Lead: Corey D. Chandler

Testing Lead: Doantam Phan

Problem and Solution Overview

When firefighters are actually fighting a fire, there is no system that provides a clear picture of the current situation. In addition, valuable information such as the building's layout, its construction materials, access points, and possible occupants is not centralized and is difficult to access in an emergency. Finally, the chaotic nature of the fire makes it difficult to recognize if a group of firefighters are in danger. It is difficult to effectively coordinate groups to contain and extinguish a fire. We propose to build a system that would assist the Incident Commander during the fire by providing information about firefighters' location and status on a detailed electronic map of the structure they would be in. The system would also be used by firefighters en route in order to get a quick overview of the situation and the physical environment in which they would be operating.

Contextual Inquiry Interview Descriptions and Results

Focus for Fire Fighting Project

Since we were unable to physically accompany firefighters into fires and ask them questions as they worked, we interviewed them at the station. We conducted our interviews with the members of the Berkeley Fire Department and spoke with the chief of the station, officers in charge of smaller operational groups, as well as firefighters new on the job. Initially we wanted to develop a system firefighters would use as they were actually fighting fire. However, we learned that any assistance requiring interaction would be unhelpful because it would distract the firefighter. Though we considered sensory enhancements where interaction between the firefighter and the system would be minimal, we decided to focus instead on systems for command and control.

Current Limitations of GPS

The chief described command and control systems used on wildfires and what kind of equipment is currently available. Due to the sprawl of wildfire GPS systems are used, though the systems’ bulk and power needs require that they be mounted to vehicles. However, electronics cannot survive the environment inside structure fires so individual firefighters do not carry GPS systems with them into buildings. GIS (Geographical Information Systems) combine satellite imagery with GPS systems on the crews and vehicles, but are only used for wildfires.

Dispatch

The officers described what happened when a dispatch came in. They receive the address and possibly a printout with information the dispatcher received from the call. The printout lists the map grid the address will be found on, and may have more information about the call. Experienced crews often remember the structure and the surrounding neighborhood of a given address. However, they only know generalities and not specifics. In some instances they may know special information about an address because they keep at the station a chalkboard with useful tidbits they have accumulated over time. For instance, they record the names and addresses of people who are bedridden, or blind so that they know there are special circumstances at that address. Occasionally they may have to consult the map books carried in their vehicles in order to find the address of the structure.

Firefighting Command and Control System

An Incident Commander (IC) assigns and coordinates the actions of all firefighters at the scene. Usually the first officer on the scene serves as IC until the chief arrived. The IC gives radio orders to the officers of operational groups with general descriptions of tasks, such as “secure the second floor,” or “ventilate the building.” Officers are responsible for the moment-to-moment actions of a group, such as “go up these stairs,” or “cut a hole in the ceiling.” Operational groups are either geographically or task oriented such as the “first floor group,” or the “fire attack group.” Though groups can be as much as 8 people in size, they usually consist of two firefighters and one officer. Inside the operational groups radios are rarely used since the members are usually in close enough proximity to one another that shouting suffices.

Tracking Firefighters

Each firefighter has a nametag with Velcro backing. These nametags are attached to a Velcro badge that represents the groups they are working with. Firefighters in the same vehicle are usually in the same group. At a fire, the group gives the Velcro badges to the chief who keeps a green board that represents all the possible locations at the scene of the fire (ie, “roof,” “first floor,” etc). By moving badges around on the board, the chief keeps track of the movements of a firefighter, although the exact location of any group, once in the building, is unknown.

Task Analysis Questions & Answers

Q: Who are the users?

A: During the fire, Incident Commanders would use the system to keep track of firefighters’ position and status in order to make more informed decisions. Officers of smaller operational groups would use the system before arriving on the scene to brief themselves and their groups on the geographical and structural details of the fire’s location.

Q: What tasks do they now perform?

A: Incident Commanders currently coordinate groups based on task or geographical location. Officers of operational groups are responsible for translating Incident Commander's orders into discrete actions, such as moving up the stairs, cutting down the door here, putting water on the fire there.

Q: What tasks are desired?

A: Incident Commanders want a real-time map that shows where all their people are and what they are doing. Officers want an easy-to-use system that gives them information about the address they are going to, ranging from aerial photographs of the region to blueprints that detail where bedrooms are in a structure.

Q: What is the relationship between user and data?

A: The data would be details on the building’s structure, age, materials used, blueprints of the original structure, and modifications made by the owner. This data would be from a public database. There might also be voluntary information given by the residents or owners of a building providing information about the building’s occupants (ie special handicaps) or other miscellaneous information that might be of use to the firefighters (hazardous chemicals stored in the back of a warehouse, for example).

Q: What other tools do users have?

A: Radios are used for communication, but not everyone has one. A Velcro board system keeps track of where groups are in the house. When in distress, operational groups can trigger their PASS (Personal Alert Safety System), emergency locators that use sound.

Q: How do users communicate with each other?

A: Incident Commanders have radios that they use to communicate with Officers of operational groups. Other members of a group may not have a radio, and instead communicate by yelling very loudly to one another.

Q: How often are the tasks performed?

A: Incident Commanders may give tasks to the operational groups every few minutes depending on how fast the situation is developing. Fires take anywhere from one to ten hours to combat.

Q: What are the time constraints on the task?

A: Incident Commanders need to respond as fast as possible. Officers who are briefing themselves using the system need to do so in under four minutes - that is how long the ride to the scene takes.

Q: What happens when things go wrong?

A: One concern with our system is that, should something go wrong, false information may be given to the IC. However, this should become evident fairly quickly because the IC’s commands won’t make sense to the responding firefighters. Should the system ever crash, the IC can always use the Velcro boards to monitor and plan the activity of the firefighters.

Analysis of new and existing tasks

1. Get directions to the address of the call. (Easy)

Existing: Before arriving on the scene, the officer must have searched for the correct map either at the station or in the truck. In addition to the official maps, various hand-written maps sometimes fill in necessary details that were found missing on previous missions.

New: The system knows where the firefighters’ vehicle is and the destination. Directions can be automatically provided.

2. Move Don from the Ventilation Group into the Medical Group. (Easy)

Existing: The representation used to indicate the organization of groups is a

whiteboard with nametags attached via Velcro to different group categories.

New: The new system uses the same system of group organization – any

change made to the Velcro board updates the digital system accordingly.

3. Brief a newly arriving officer on the current situation. (Medium)

Existing: If a new official arrives on the scene, the chief must verbally describe the situation of the fire, perhaps using a white-board to assist the explanation by drawing events and conditions by hand.

New: The current state is always available on-screen. Verbalization would only be necessary to fill in the gaps.

4. Indicate access points on level 3 of Soda Hall are now inaccessible. (Medium)

Existing: Currently the chief either remembers details of the building’s condition, or collects random notes on a whiteboard.

New: Architectural annotations that the chief wishes to make can be put directly

onto the map where they are relevant.

5. Monitor firefighters, making sure no one is in trouble (Hard)

Existing: Firefighters have a wearable alarm, but it is not always loud enough

to be heard over background noise. In fact, not all firefighters have radios.

Firefighters can’t always call for help. Constant checks are necessary.

New: Stats such as air supply can be monitored by the system. A command-center alarm can sound if certain constraints are not met. All firefighters’ alarms have the capability to send requests for aid in any condition. The locations of request originations can be viewed on the digital map.

6. Gather information about special circumstances at the destination. (Hard)

Existing: Information is recorded on a chalkboard at the station about different locations if, for example, someone is bedridden at the location, or to get to the location, an access code is required at a gate. Firefighters would need to look at this information in the rush before leaving. This information could be overwritten since it is in chalk.

New: The new system automatically retrieved the relevant information because it will be stored electronically. By the time personnel enter their vehicle, this information can be on the vehicle’s screen. Special circumstances could be communicated via in-vehicle radios.

Interface Design

Rationale

Firefighting strategies cannot be dependent upon a computer system. Consequently, our system is designed to augment current standard firefighting practices instead of replacing them.

Our system is based upon a digital whiteboard. The whiteboard is integrated with a Velcro ‘group wall’, a GPS-like firefighter location system, and a database of building details. These three items provide all of the data input to the digital whiteboard. From this information, the whiteboard displays a map or multi-dimensional view of the scene of the fire, along with the real-time position of groups of firefighters. There is also auxiliary information displayed on the board consisting of attributes of the fire-scene relevant to firefighting, attributes of firefighters, and freeform notes drawn on the board.

Functionality

· Information access at various levels of detail/complexity

· Addition of new information and user notes

· Emergency alerts from the system

User Interface:

Digital whiteboard consisting of (see Figure 1):

1. Map
2. Personnel section-firefighter groups and their members
3. Map view-3D, overhead, floor-by-floor, strategic
4. Map options-toggle of annotations, units, key points/object

In addition to seeing personnel location on the map, the IC can also examine specific unit details like heart rate or the level of air remaining in his/her tank (see Figure 2).

The system also has access to pertinent building details, such as material make-up of the building in regards to flammability, toxicity, etc (see Figure 3).

All other IC tasks will be performed as per current firefighting methods. A notable example is the process of assigning a task to a group. The existing Velcro-board used for this shall be instrumented with sensors so that all placements of Velcro-groups are paralleled on the digital whiteboard system. Placing the Velcro strip representing “Company Three” upon the “ventilation” column would inform the board that all members of company three should be marked with a “ventilation” icon.

Scenario 1: Annotation of architectural changes (Task 2 - Easy)

The fire station gets a call that a warehouse is on fire. They use the system to get the blueprints of the warehouse. On the way over, the officer who will be IC annotates the blueprints to formulate the plan of attack and sets up the groups and their initial positions. However, groups discover upon arrival that to prevent burglars, the back entrance, which was to be the primary access point, has been barricaded with steel bars. The IC must clear the annotations of the plan of attack, and add annotations about the barricaded door, and assign people to different groups to deal with the barricaded door.

Tasks:

1) Create groups and assign people to groups by using the Velcro board system.

2) Annotate map to indicate which group will go where by selecting representative icons

for groups and drawing arrows to indicate routes (see Figure 4).

3) Upon discovery of barricaded door, annotate the door as inaccessible on map.

4) Reassign people to new groups.

Scenario 2: Gathering information about destination (Task 4 - Medium)

A store on Main Street has caught fire. The fire is called in by dispatch, and it is officer Ash’s responsibility to tell his group about the building they will be working with as well as the area around it. Specifically, he wants to know what materials the building is made of, when it was built, what kinds of streets surround the building (ie one way or two way), where the nearest fire hydrant is to the building, and whether there are any special considerations that his group should take into account once they confront the fire.

Tasks:

1) Ash may choose the perspective on the building that he prefers.

2) He should then select “Show Resources,” so that information about the building is

provided for him. This will tell him the building materials, when it was built, the kinds

of streets around the building, and the nearest fire hydrants.

3) Finally, Ash should then looks at the annotations to see if any past fire fighters had written anything about the building.

Scenario 3: A firefighter collapses during a fire in Dwinelle (Task 5 - Hard)

The system automatically detects the emergency state of the downed fireman’s vital signs, and notifies the Incident Commander. This notification takes place through an alarm and a dialogue box that requires a confirmation from the IC, asking if the map should be centered on the fireman.

Tasks:

1) The incident commander chooses to center the map on the downed fireman.

2) From that map he sees that no one else is on the same floor so he switches to 3D view

to locate the nearest firemen who are in a position to switch their task to rescue.

3) The IC then radios those firemen and, if necessary, by following their path on the dynamic map, continually directs the rescuers to the downed fireman.