A Study of Firefighting in the Coming Age of Ubiquitous Computing

Xiaodong JiangLeila A. TakayamaJason I. HongJames A. Landay

G r o u p f o rUser Interface Research

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Nov 20 2002 2

Research Motivation

• Emergencies are a fact of life– 1,755,000 fires in the United States in 1998– 4000 deaths, 22000 injuries, 100 firefighter deaths / year– $9 billion+ in property losses / year

• Difficult to make coordinated decisions under stress– Assessment, tracking, communication, and planning– "Fire fig hting is m aking a lo t o f d e c is io ns o n little

info rm a tio n"• Improvements can save lives and minimize damage

– Every second counts

Nov 20 2002 3

Research Motivation

• Relatively unexplored domain in HCI– Very far away from desktop computing– High-stress and chaotic

• Sensor nets– Small cheap sensors for location,

identity, temperature, humidity• Significantly pushes scalability and usability

issues for ubicomp apps

Nov 20 2002 4

Overall Approach (1 of 2)

• Field studies of Firefighters– Understand existing tools, processes, language,

structure of emergency responders– Understand the problems and constraints they have

• What we learned– Incident Command System for managing and

coordinating resources– Accountability– Assessment– Communication– Inside the Fire

Nov 20 2002 5

Overall Approach (2 of 2)

• Iterative development of lo-fi prototypes– Understand what kinds of sensor information useful,

who needs to know it, and how to present it– Prototype an electronic board for relaying sensor

info to a specific role, the Incident Commander– Prioritize for "bang for buck" deployment

• What we learned– Location is the most important info– Also wanted support for managing resources– Difficult to scale for large incidents

Nov 20 2002 6

Outline

Motivation Field Studies Low-Fi Prototypes

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Field Studies

• Field studies– Observed and interviewed

participants in "normal" work environment

– Four months, three depts– One field exercise– Two emergency calls

• Participants– 1 Assistant Chief– 5 Battalion Chiefs– 2 Captains, 2 Engineers– Many Firefighters

Nov 20 2002 8

Firefighter Organization

• Basic unit of organization is the Company– "Any piece of equipment having a full complement of

personnel"– Engine, Truck (Ladder), Brush, HazMat– 1 Captain, 1 Engineer or Driver, 1+ Firefighters

• Battalions are a collection of companies

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Field StudiesOrganization

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Organization in Larger Incidents

• Companies are organized hierarchically– Divisions are for geographic regions

• Ex. North or Third Floor– Groups are for specific functions

• Ex. Ventilation, Rescue, Rapid Intervention Team

• Command Post– Officers and staff managing overall response– Planning, Operations, Logistics– Person in overall command is the Incident

Commander (IC)

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Incident Command System (ICS)

• Used by many local, state, and federal agencies

• "[U]nified command, common terminology, comprehensive resource management, and manageable span of control"

• Five roles– Command -> Strategic plan– Operations -> Tactical operations– Planning -> Maps, weather reports– Logistics -> Getting supplies– Administration -> Finances

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Example ICS Forms

• ICS supported by many forms– ICS form 201

• Help visualize and keep track of situation, communicate with others

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Scenario – Single Story House Fire

• 911 Dispatcher notifies nearest Fire Station• Firefighters in first engine size up the situation

– Ex. Layout of building, scope of fire, nearest hydrants

• Engineer sets up hose lines• Highest ranking officer assumes role of IC

Nov 20 2002 18

Scenario – Single Story House Fire

• Battalion Chief arrives– Assumes role of IC– Might also assume

Operations and Logistics• Delegates in larger

incidents– Gets 30-sec assessment

from previous IC• What resources do you

have?• Who is here, where are

they?• Status of fire?• What resources are

needed?

Nov 20 2002 19

Passports

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Scenario – Single Story House Fire

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Scenario – Single Story House Fire

• Figures out a plan– Offensive / Defensive

• Call for more resources– Second alarm, Third alarm, etc

• Once the fire is extinguished, releases resources

Nov 20 2002 22

Key FindingsAccountability

• Accurate count of resources & personnel

• Rapid notification of immediate dangers

• Some approaches– Two-in two-out– Roll calls– Passports– PASS

• Problems– Chaotic, difficult to get good info– Situations change quickly

Nov 20 2002 23

Key FindingsAssessment

• Sizing up the situation correctly– Scope of fire, hidden fires, floorplans, dangers

• Some approaches– Prevention (annual inspections, drills)– Collection of info beforehand

• Material Safety Data Sheets• Floorplans

– Firefighters on scene radioing back info• Problems

– Data out of date– Difficult to find right info– Difficult to get right info

Nov 20 2002 24

Key FindingsCommunication

• Coordinating responders• Some approaches

– Face-to-face– Radio communication

• Problems– Noise intensity– Congestion– Radio dead zones

• Missed orders• Missed abandons

Nov 20 2002 25

Key FindingsInside the Fire

• Carrying 40+ lbs of equipment– Jacket, SCBA, Axe, etc

• Often can't see due to smoke– Crawling on ground– Stay near hose lines, guide

ropes, or right-hand searches• PASS system

– Panic button, motion sensor– Most are audio only

Nov 20 2002 26

Key FindingsInside the Fire

• Flashovers – Simultaneous and sudden

ignition– New dangers due to equipment

• Backdrafts– Oxygen starved fire gets oxygen

• Hidden fires• Structural Collapse• Personal Hazards

– Getting lost, running out of oxygen, disorientation

Nov 20 2002 27

Outline

Motivation Field Studies Low-Fi Prototypes

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Low-fidelity Prototypes

• Initially focus on the IC– Three low-fi prototypes of

electronic board• Understand what kinds of

sensor info are useful, how to present it

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Prototype 1

• Pros– Floor plans very useful– Tracking individual firefighters

useful– Good for small incidents

• Cons– Unsure if could get sensor

info– Some info useful but too

detailed for large incidents– Need better support for

managing resources– History not very useful

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Prototype 2

• Pros– Liked the ICS greaseboard metaphor– Liked having overview map and local map– Sensor data about companies kept on the edge

• Cons– ICS hierarchy not often used, wastes a lot of

space– Hard to see important info when needed

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Prototype 3

• Pros– "Resource-task-location" very well received– Tracking of how long on duty also well received– Notification of critical situations better– Scales better for larger incidents

• Cons– Mixes Command, Planning, Ops– Concerns about cost, implementation

and reliability

Nov 20 2002 35

Summary

• Incident Command System• Accountability, Assessment, Communication,

Inside the Fire• Three low-fidelity prototypes

– Location very useful– Originally wanted sensor-based apps, but basic

resource management very useful– Scale is still a very difficult problem– Also questions of implementation (reliability)

Xiaodong JiangLeila A. Takayama

Jason I. HongJames A. Landay

http://guir.berkeley.edu/emergency

G r o u p f o rUser Interface Research

University of CaliforniaBerkeley

Thanks to:Berkeley Fire DeptEl Cerrito Fire DeptAlameda Fire DeptNSF ITRCITRISNick, the camera man