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By Greg Bartlett

The dispatcher just told your fire station that there’s a fire out on Fourth Street. Your station quickly locates the nearest vehicle, sends it to the site, and then monitors the firefighters as they work to contain the blaze. Within a short amount of time, the fire is out, the structure is mostly saved, and everyone goes home happy.

That’s the idea, anyway. However, the dispatcher may not know where each vehicle is, so it may not send the nearest vehicle. GPS tracking devices in the vehicles can allow dispatchers to locate any vehicle immediately and determine which is closest to an emergency site. The sooner a vehicle gets to the site, the more likely lives and property can be saved.

So now the dispatcher has found the closest vehicle – yours – and you go off to the fire scene. Everyone gets ready and some rush into the apartment building searching for any trapped people. But now you’re not sure where all your firefighters are. They’re supposed to be following a certain pattern, but a couple of them got turned around in the building or went to check a side hallway. Maybe they ran out of oxygen and maybe they’re coming back out, but maybe you need to send someone in after them.

GPS tracking devices can help solve this problem, too. If firefighters wear tracking devices, then they can be monitored so that you know exactly where each one is. If a couple of them become trapped by falling debris, you can send rescuers to the precise location rather than having to search the building for them. The GPS tracking devices will let you know if a firefighter stops moving, and many of them can also monitor equipment, alerting you, for instance, if oxygen runs low.

When you arrive at the fire, then, you can monitor every firefighter and determine exactly where they are, if any of them need help, and whether or not their air supply is adequate. You don’t have to guess about their location or whether or not to send help. In fact, the GPS devices will often have panic buttons so that if a firefighter realizes that he or she can’t get out of the situation without help, someone on the outside can be alerted at once and can send aid. With GPS tracking devices, your station and firefighters will be safer and can fight fires more effectively.