Government
BY RYAN REYNOLDS
Cy-Fair Fire Department embraces technology to serve community As technological advancements continue to reshape emergency services, Cy-Fair Fire Depart- ment o cials are exploring tools to enhance com- munication, streamline dispatch operations and support real-time decision-making in the eld. Community Impact sat down with department leaders Assistant Chief of Administration Mike Clements and Assistant Chief of EMS Justin Reed in March to learn more about the department’s technology use. How does the Cy-Fair Fire Department approach the use of technology? MC: I think as an industry sometimes we’re slow, but I think we’re pretty progressive in testing out stu . ... We’ve got to test it and really make sure it works because you don’t want the rst time we’re using tech to be on a family’s worst day. ... That’s probably why we might be, as an industry, a little bit slower to adoption, but I think we try and do what we can to be on the front end of things. What are some recent innovations the Cy-Fair Fire Department has been testing out? MC: I think one of the big things is we just n- ished using a program that essentially took all our run data and then the population census data, and it helped use predictive analytics to help us nd the best station locations for all the new stations that we’ve been planning for in the last three or four years, and so that program really helps us to project growth and to say, “Hey, this is exactly where we need to build,” ... so we can provide the best service to the community. How does the Cy-Fair Fire Department utilize drones and arti cial intelligence? JR: It’s kind of hard to coordinate resources [during a wild re]. ... We had a large re on the north side of our territory, and we deployed our drone to essentially track resources and ensure that they didn’t get overrun by the re. ... Where it goes from here has many possibilities, from drone delivery of blood products and drone delivery of [de brillators] to just situation awareness. How fast can we nd a wreck on the freeway? MC: Another thing that we do that probably most people don’t know is we’ve got a new system that, when [our dispatcher is] talking to you on the phone, AI is using that and producing written text on the screen so they’re hearing and seeing what
Mike Clements
Justin Reed
PHOTOS COURTESY CY FAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT
you’re saying. So they don’t have to ask you twice about anything, and that’s a pretty cool deal to use the speech-to-text feature on the dispatch side. How does the Cy-Fair Fire Department go about acquiring and introducing new technology? MC: We might beta test with one or two units to see if it works, but also provide them the redun- dant current technology we use. JR: We could sit here in the o ce and test tech all day long, ... and it may work ne ... when you’re calm, you’re not under pressure, you’re able to sort of rationalize and think things through. But [when] you put it into sort of a chaotic environ- ment that our crews operate in, you have to make sure that ... it actually applies to what they’re doing, and it enhances it. How does the Cy-Fair Fire Department identify needs where technology can improve e ciency? MC: If we see something that’s an emerging trend in the industry, we’re going to be on top of it. ... [With electric vehicle res], essentially, the technology got ahead of where the suppression e orts are and where the industry is, and so the whole industry is trying to just battle with electric vehicle res, and so we know that’s an emerging problem. There’s some technology we’ve gotten to help us with that, but we’re on the hunt. JR: One of the opportunities that we had was aviation manufacturing. ... In EMS, your career only lasts as long as your back does. So, how could we actually make it a safer, better environment for them to work in? We reached out to a local
engineering school [for help testing exoskeletons]. ... How can we actually prove the data so the manufacturers can make a better product that is speci cally formulated to us? How does the Cy-Fair Fire Department see technology evolving in the next ve to 10 years? MC: One of the things that we’re watching and testing is satellite internet connectivity. When the derecho storm came through and knocked out a bunch of cell towers, nobody in the community could get cellphone service. ... We purchased some satellite receivers, and we’re starting to really look at satellite connectivity, Wi-Fi, calling and stu like that over satellite. JR: One that I’m huge on is ... autonomous driving vehicles. ... It opens up [the opportunity to add] an additional person to the patient experience during transport. ... Then, other ways that we can essentially make a seamless reporting structure from when you call 911, all the way until you’re discharged from the hospital. What’s the opportunity there for a single record to follow along with you? ... There’s another opportunity that exists, ... [to bridge] gaps and connect a lot of this data that’s already here.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com.
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