Electronic Pre-Fire Diagrams: Saving Lives & Reducing Property Damage
Electronic Pre-Fire Diagrams: Saving Lives & Reducing Property Damage
In downtown Chicago, it's 6 o'clock on a crisp fall Tuesday evening and a fire has broken out at a multistorydepartment store. Immediately,two fire stations located northand south of the city's core, where thestore stands, dispatch engines to thescene. Meanwhile, there's a franticrush at each station to locate thedepartment store's pre-fire plan diagram.The north station has located itin a binder bulging with hundreds ofpaper diagrams. But the south stationcannot find its copy, and radios thenorth station to relay the pre-plan'sdetails to it enroute to the fire.
As the north station engine racesto the burning structure, it shares theinformation with the south station'sincident commander. As details are rattledoff, he must quickly visualize thebuilding's layout, alarm panel location,entry and exit doors, location of sprinklers,among many other details, thenshare this with his crew during the 15-minute trip. Ultimately, the enginesarrive on the scene and, thanks toinformation sharing, they contain thefire which only affected the first twofloors, with no loss of lives.
While quick strategizing andteamwork were key factors in preservingmost of the departmentstore's structure, the reliance onpaper diagrams of pre-fire plansproved risky. Most fire chiefs viewpre-fire plan paper diagrams as a necessaryevil when fire calls come in.Yet isn't there a better and quickerway to capture this information?
Software Aids Pre-Plan Inspections
Fortunately, yes. During the pastsix to eight years, software programshave emerged that can producebuilding diagrams,and even include NationalFire Protection Association(NFPA) symbols librariesso that diagramming canbe tailored to fire pre-planningneeds.
This diagramming softwareoffers several advantages.Once entered intothe software program, prefireplans can be kept in acentralized database,which enables fast andeasy retrieval during a fireor an emergency. Also, onthe way to a fire call, the incident commandercan have a copy of the pre-fireplan diagram generated with the software.This enables the chief to studythe floor plan and determine the beststrategy for responding crews.
Diagramming software also justoffers a more clear and accurate preplandiagram, after which updates aresimple and quick versus creating anentirely new diagram each timechanges with a pre-plan occur. TheSouth Elgin, IL, Fire Department, forexample, uses The Fire Zone Version6.0 diagram software from The CADZone Inc. for detailed pre-plans ofbuildings in its community. The softwareis optimal for creating accurateand clear pre-fire, post-incident or fireinvestigationdrawings right from alaptop or desktop computer. A keyadvantage of the software is the abilityto quickly draw building floor plansand other site details to actual measurements.Fire Zone also allows theuser to show emergency exits, alarmcontrol panels, location of hazardousmaterials, and other building characteristicsto prepare fire personnel todeal with any incident.
According to Jason Peters, a paramedicand firefighter with the SouthElgin Fire Department, the diagrammingsoftware is helpful when annualinspections of local businesses areconducted. "Any time we do fireinspections," Peters explained, "we'restarting to do pre-plans of buildings sowe know the layouts of the buildings,permanent walls, means of egress,and location of hazards. We've usedFire Zone a lot for making verydetailed pre-plans just for our safetyand the community's safety."
The department has the softwareprogram loaded into laptop computers."If we have a fire, we can downloadthe pre-plans on our laptops inthe fire engine and figure out wherethe hazards are going to be on theway to a fire," Peters noted.
Diagramming software is easy tolearn, which means no complicatedinstruction courses, thick operator'smanuals or the need to have a computer-aided-design background. "I gota pretty good grasp of the programwithin the first three days of using it,"Peters said. But then he didn't havemuch time to learn it since an arsonfire occurred one day in South Elginand his captain asked Peters to makea drawing using the software.
Since the structure was a houseand not a building, the departmenthad no pre-plan to work with. "Wetook the details from a paper diagramwe made on the scene and put it onThe Fire Zone," Peters explained."The diagram was more realistic lookingand a lot more clear as to whathappened and the origin of the fire."
The South Elgin Fire Departmenthas 55 full-time and part-time firefighters,of whom three are currentlyusing the diagramming software.According to Peters, there are 2,000businesses that require pre-plans. Sofar, close to 400 pre-fire plan diagramsof buildings have been completedwith the software.
Like the South Elgin FireDepartment, the Kitsap Fire & RescueDepartment in Silverdale, WA, saw theneed for a better way to create andmaintain fire pre-plans, and now alsouses The Fire Zone software. ChiefKen Burdette said, "We were doingdrawings on paper, but they reallywere not useful. We were looking for away to create consistent appearing documentsthat everybody could utilize."
Fighting Fires "Smarter"
Kitsap Fire & Rescue surveyedseveral diagramming software products,but the products either weresimple to use yet lacked the specificneeds for pre-plan drawings, or theywere complicated and required hugelearning curves, Burdette said. Thedepartment needed software thataddresses the needs of firefighterspreparing pre-plans.
"We were also looking forward tothe future when we would be able tobring these up on mobile computersin the fire engines," he added. "Manydepartments have computers in theirfire engines where they're able togather information from their dispatchsystems. So, now, a lot of fireagencies are asking how to get buildingdrawings with their computers."
Kitsap Fire & Rescue is gettingclose to having computers mountedinside its apparatus. When thisoccurs, not only can the departmentuse The Fire Zone program to bringup pre-plan diagrams, but it can alsouse another program from The CADZone that it's using, called First LookPro. The First Look Pro softwareallows fire personnel to organize andlocate pre-fire plan diagrams andinformation from The Fire Zone, anddisplay the information in a databasebroken down into specific categories.
Examples of categories includeroof construction and hazardousmaterials. By clicking and pointing onthese categories, fire personnel canimmediately learn what constructionthe roof is, thereby determining if itwill collapse during a fire, and whattypes of hazardous materials are in abuilding and their location.
"First Look Pro gives you the textinformation and allows you to look ata building and help you decide howbest to fight a fire in it," Burdette said."This software gives you the tools youneed to make quick decisions whenyou first arrive on the scene. This isextremely important, because if wedon't set up correctly at the scene tostart with, things just get worse."
Valuable In Court
Diagramming software wins overfire departments because of itstremendous ease of use, superb detail,and overall clear and professional presentationof pre-plan diagram details.
"I like the way the software (FireZone) is laid out," Peters said, "and howeverything transfers from text to symbolsto wherever you want to insert it.The clarity and accuracy of the drawingis a lot better, and it's easy to enter informationand symbols." In addition, hesaid, "Once you start using the software,you realize what kind of information youcan add into it."
One of the biggest benefits of havingthe diagram complete with detailsand NFPA symbols is that it allowseveryone in the department to understandwhat's going on with a buildingin case anyone ever has to enter it."You may not remember all the detailsat a building because there's so muchyou're trying to accomplish at thescene, but the diagramming program'ssymbols remind you of them,"Peters said.
Pre-plan drawings created with thediagramming software also can bevaluable should a fire incident case goto court. Kitsap Fire & Rescue'sBurdette noted that his department'sfire investigators periodically appear incourt on fire incidents. "The diagramswe create with diagramming softwareallow us to present a clear and understandablepost-incident analysis on thefire, and show where that fire was andour apparatus," he said.
The South Elgin Fire Departmentalso has found the diagramming softwarevaluable for possible courtcases. Referring to the home arsoncase for which he was asked to preparea diagram, Peters said, "Therewasn't a whole lot of fire upon ourarrival at the scene, but where the firestarted raised a lot of questions andsuspicion. I walked through thehouse, took measurements, and puteverything accordingly on paper andthen in the electronic diagram that wewould need to support our case if thisinvestigation went to court."
Still another valuable feature ofthe diagramming software is the abilityto import drawings from other programs.Burdette often will import anAutoCAD drawing that he's obtainedfor a building inspection.
"You can download this drawingto Fire Zone and edit out what youdon't need on the drawing," Burdettesaid. "You still have to go out to thebuilding and gather information.That doesn't change. But if you'vealready got a drawing in another programand are able to import that, it'sa whole lot faster than going out andpacing off a building."
Toward Shared Diagrams
Burdette probably speaks for allfire departments when he says helooks forward to the day when alldepartments and their stations canhave programs like Fire Zone and FirstLook Pro so that electronic diagramscan be shared. He feels it would takefirefighting to a whole new level.
"If you have hand drawings forone station," Burdette said, "butneed drawings for another station,by having the software programsloaded on computers installed in firetrucks will enable each engine tohave drawings for all buildings in acity. Even if another department isway outside of the area, but is firstin on a burning structure, they canhave the information. That's not thecase if they're carrying thedrawings in a notebook."
Denver Home Security Systems Owners Enjoy Greater Peace of Mind and Safety Italy probes Google Street View service CCTV from cricklewoodelectronics.com SUV Safety: 5 Important SUV Safety Features The Safety and Security of Online Faxing Three Dating Safety Tips For Women Worried about Cheating or Child Safety? Look to Mobile Phone Tracking UK Investigation Services Looking for a Great Gift Fit for Anyone? Consider These Cool Electronics Safety Glasses USA Coupon Codes for the Best Deals on Protecting Your Eyes Shop Appliances for Your Kitchen with Abt Electronics Promotion Codes Six Safety Tips For Dating Online Why Is It So Important To Ensure Fire Safety? Radiology Websites and Blogs