What Happened?
Fire Chief Randy Bruegman outlined the opportunities modern fire services have to innovate and evolve to play a more integral role in the community. The piece focuses on change and sustainability for modern fire services taking on new responsibilities.
Goal
According to Randy Bruegman, fire chief in Anaheim, California, the modern fire station is equipped with advanced tools and well-educated professionals able to handle more than just fire-related emergencies such as:
- Advanced life support
- Hazmat response
- Urban search and rescue
- Homeland security
Because of the jump in technology and specializations required by fire stations, fire services are becoming an increasingly expensive strain on local budgets. To ensure the expenditure is justified by the returns, Bruegman recommends local fire stations and officials consider the many ways fire services can change and evolve to better serve and protect the community. Bruegman challenges leaders to ask themselves:
If your community’s public safety department quit providing EMS service in the next year, how many private vendors would likely bid to replace it?
Would it cost the local government more or less to outsource the service than what it costs to provide it today?
If the locality bid out all services, could a community compete?
Can your organization adapt to this rapidly changing environment in time to maintain and expand the services that it is now providing to the community?
Looking For Change
In a companion piece, Tony McGuirk, retired fire captain from Merseyside, England, outlined one way fire stations can evolve in line with the latest technology innovations: through fine-tuned regulation and enforcement of fire standards.
McGuirk argues that fire stations are not only tasked with protecting the community from fire-related emergencies, but also following through on fire prevention regulations and standards to help residents better protect themselves from such incidences. Individuals should understand how to maintain safety in local businesses and homes, and have access to the proper equipment to respond to emergency situations when they are first discovered.
Therefore, fire stations should invest in outreach and education programs that educate the public on how to prevent fire hazards. This includes equipping the community with tools to handle emergencies until fire fighters arrive on the scene.
Modern Extinguishers
One tool McGuirk highlighted in his piece was the fire extinguisher, which has evolved significantly over time. If fire stations take a more scientific approach to fire prevention, communities may be able to leverage modern chemical extinguisher tools to reduce the impact of emergency situations, cut costs and increase efficiency. When used in the right circumstances, McGuirk argues that more innovative fire extinguisher substitutes can be extremely effective and cost-efficient.
When selecting a modern fire extinguisher tool, fire stations should consider:
- Ease of training
- Ease of understanding
- Ease of use
- Ease of maintenance
- Cost
- Environmentally sensitive
Because fire stations may be training citizens to use the tools, it is imperative that the technology selected is easy to use and safe is most situations.
Updating Fire Services
Gov1 has kept a close eye on fire station innovations such as consolidation strategies.