Kevin sits down with Stephen Kerber , Vice President of UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute. Together they discuss the role of UL in the fire industry, different research campaigns UL is involved in, benefits and limitations of technology, evolving fire standards, the challenges of training around the new NFPA 1403 training standards, the false sense of security technology sometimes creates, and more. UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) advances fire research knowledge and devel...
Mar 11, 2020•32 min
Kevin sits down with Paul Speight , Paul is the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Watch Manager. Paul works with emerging technologies such as virtual reality and 360 photography. In this episode they discuss Immersive learning training using 360 videos, the environmental, cost, and health benefits of virtual training. They also dive into interactive photorealistic training for arson investigation, and the case study of Leicestershire’s fire service using VIVE. #VR #VirtualReality #VIVE #360Video #...
Mar 04, 2020•38 min
Kevin sits down with Chief Dan Munsey to talk about technology and where it is leading us. Are we leading technology or following it? How is the next generation of firefighters using this technology? What can a departments leadership do to encourage sustainable technology adoption? All this and more on this episode of the Smart Firefighting Podcast.
Feb 12, 2020•32 min
Kevin and Mike shake up their podcast format to bring you their personal experiences at CES , which includes deepfakes, 360 videos, drones, and more. They talk about recent news in the fire industry, including a partnership between Haas Alert and Pierce. They dive into what they are looking forward to this year and more on this episode of the Smart Firefighting Podcast. To contact Kevin Sofen email KevinSofen@Darley.com and Mike Mocerino at MikeMocerino@Darley.com...
Jan 27, 2020•26 min
Kevin sits down with Joshua Pruitt of Drone Sense to talk about soft ware options for a departments drone program. They discuss Drone Sense and the features they provide to make maintaining a drone program easier. DroneSense is a comprehensive solution that empowers public safety organizations to build, manage, and scale its drone program. DroneSense have partnered with first responders from day one to design a mission-critical software platform that enables you to leverage the full capabilities...
Nov 14, 2019•6 min
Kevin sits down with Brian Murray and Mark Scott of The Hickory Fire Department . They discuss how pre-incident planning has changed over the years from 3-ring binders and handwritten notes to modern computer programs that gather and store data. Brian and Mark talk about how user-friendly their programs have been and how invaluable they are to get the job done. They discuss the need for fire departments to embrace technology and continue to push for better and safer solutions. Brian and Mark ima...
Nov 06, 2019•12 min
At FRI, Kevin had a chance to sit down with Bart van Leeuwen CEO of Netage B.V . In this episode, Kevin and Bart discuss data in the fire industry and using it in real-time. Bart believes that getting the right information to first responders is more important than giving all the information available. Bart describes the challenge of data management of first responders. The data is available, but getting it to first responders in real-time is the real challenge. Bart talks about focusing on the ...
Oct 30, 2019•12 min
At FRI, Kevin had a chance to sit down with Divy Shrivastava of Paladin Drones . In this episode, Kevin and Divy talk about the need for greater situational awareness for first responders and how Paladin Drones has a solution to answer that need. 70% of the time, first responders do not know an emergency's exact location. On top of that, they know almost no details about the situation until after they've arrived on scene. Paladin Drones built a simple system to give first responders instant situ...
Oct 22, 2019•12 min
At FRI, Kevin had a chance to sit down with Paige Day of E.M.I.L.Y Robot . In this episode, Kevin and Paige discuss water rescue and how drones designed to be used in water can save lives without putting first responders at risk. With much of the talk on Drones, often the water robotics get lost in translation. The EMILY water robot is being deployed across the world and bringing widespread value to people around the world. EMILY offers an interoperable water platform that gives fire responders ...
Oct 15, 2019•10 min
At FRI , Kevin had a chance to sit down with Douglas Baily of Levrum Data Technologies . In this episode, Kevin and Doug discuss data technology for first responders and how it is collected, stored, and used. Kevin asks the questions. How can we visualize data and turn it into action? How can first responders make better decisions during an incident? How can decision-makers be better informed on how to use their budget and use data to improve staffing? Find out on this episode of the Smart Firef...
Oct 03, 2019•9 min
At FRI Kevin had a chance to sit down with Jeff Powell of Autel Robotics . In this episode, Kevin and Jeff discuss the drone industry and the benefits Autel offers first responders. Autel Robotics is a US-headquartered drone manufacturer. They offer a wide range of platforms from fixed-wing, quadcopter, VTOL. They are dedicated to delivering ground-breaking solutions for new aerial exploration through our market-leading quadcopter and camera drone technology....
Sep 24, 2019•6 min
At FRI Kevin had a chance to sit down with Matt Sloan of SkyFire Consulting . They discuss the difference between owning a drone and owning a drone program. They also dive into what SkyFire does to help fire departments take their program to the next level; on this episode of the Smart Firefighting Podcast. SkyFire Consulting is an organization that trains first responders in drone operation. They work with departments to understand their needs and create a program that will work for them. Depar...
Sep 16, 2019•12 min
Kevin sits down with John Tippett of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to talk about the history of the foundation, the 16 firefighter lifesaving initiatives, and innovations changing the fire services. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is an organization whose mission is to honor and remember America’s fallen fire heroes, to provide resources to assist their families in rebuilding their lives and work within the fire service community to reduce firefighter deaths and injurie...
Sep 05, 2019•21 min
At FRI Kevin had a chance to sit down with Brett Skinner and Zach Braun of FireHUD to talk about their biotrac platform. FireHUD uses a passive system that monitors and collects physiological data from its users to track their biometric status. Firefighters exert themselves more than any other profession. Their physical and mental condition is critical to their success. BioTrac Platform collects the data and transfers it in real-time to the commander’s device. The commander can use the data to k...
Aug 26, 2019•13 min
At FRI Kevin had a chance to sit down with Michael Varney of FirstNet . They discuss how data is changing the public safety industry and how FirstNet is helping push this evolution. The mission of FirstNet is to deploy, operate, maintain, and improve the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety.
Aug 19, 2019•19 min
The Responder X Live event in Chicago brought industry leaders from the public safety market together to see and interact with the technology of tomorrow. First-Due re-thinks pre-incident planning by collecting, analyzing, and formatting occupancy data. First Due is an application that brings critical fire service-related data to firefighters on their way to a call. The application connects online and offline sources to create a summary of the important information about the scene. First Due goe...
Jul 31, 2019•8 min
The Responder X Live event in Chicago brought industry leaders from the public safety market together to see and interact with the technology of tomorrow. Wi-Fiber is a network solutions company providing innovative and flexible products to strengthen a cities network infrastructure. Wi-Fiber creates decentralized wifi hubs for a city’s municipalities to connect. First responders rely on the network to coordinate with one another any disruption could put people at risk. Wi-Fiber hubs are incredi...
Jul 31, 2019•6 min
Kevin sits down with CEO of Responder Ventures Bryce Stritiron . They discuss Responder X Live, what attendees can expect to see, and what they hope to achieve at the event. Responder X Labs has teamed up with Amazon web services, W.S. Darley, Verizon, and other industry leaders to showcase the next generation of technology for the first responder industry. The event will allow public safety members an opportunity to experience these technologies and give feedback. Responder X Live will feature ...
Jun 11, 2019•16 min
Chief Dan Munsey is Assistant Fire Chief of San Bernardino Fire Protection district, the California Fire Chiefs Association Operations section president, and part of the IAFC technology council. Dan has decades of experience in the fire industry. He has seen the evolution of data in the fire industry and how much things have changed and haven’t changed over the years. Everyone in the fire industry knows there is a necessity to implement data into their planning and training, but refining the inf...
May 21, 2019•32 min
Squishy Robotics is a company that designs robots from tensegrity structures. These robots are light-weight, low cost, and robust, capable of surviving large impacts while carrying a payload. Squishy Robotics hopes their shape-shifting robots will inspire researchers and push the boundaries of our technological advancement. Squishy Robotics was funded through a small business innovation research grant. The groups shape-shifting robots were originally designed to be dropped from a spacecraft, in ...
May 14, 2019•11 min
Wi-fiber is a company that creates network solutions for municipalities. Their organization focuses on finding innovative solutions to create private networks. They excel at creating plug and play networks that can be connected with additional nodes. One impressive advantage is that the system doesn’t require additional fiber past the first node. At CES 2018 in Las Vegas Wi-Fiber transformed the city’s lampposts into smart hubs. The hubs created a web giving wireless access to the city’s fiber n...
May 07, 2019•19 min
Lumkani is a company that provides fire detection devices to informal settlements. The company’s fire detector is specifically designed to monitor informal settlements for rises in temperature. Millions of Rands of damage has been saved by these devices. The device was first conceived as a solution to problems with using standard fire detection systems in informal settlements. Most fire detectors monitor smoke and sound an alarm when the smoke has built up. Unfortunately, this causes many false ...
Apr 30, 2019•20 min
Drones have become more accessible and affordable, which has led to first responders gaining a drone program. More than ever disaster response teams are using these drones to map the disaster area. Scholar Farms is a drone training company that trains industry professionals to use data collected from UAVs. Dr. Gregory Crutsinger worked in the ecology field when he became inspired by drones. He worked for leading drone hardware and software companies before founding Scholar Farms. Shortly after s...
Apr 23, 2019•17 min
Kevin and Mike sit down to talk about 2019 Under Fire event in Texas. Under Fire is an event in the fire industry for emerging technology, first responders, and vendors. Sponsored by Texas A&M Engineering Under Fire gives an opportunity for startups to showcase their new technology to an audience of first responders. The first day of Under Fire was hosted by Firstnet. Firstnet is a nationwide network that provides communication solutions for the public safety market. Firstnet had the Under F...
Mar 26, 2019•17 min
Kevin sits down with Philip Tinsley of Venti LLC . They discuss hazmat sensing and how Vent i ’s Intelipod is a low-cost, lightweight solution to increase situation awareness. Venti LLC is a technology firm that provides first responders with innovations that enhance real-time data collection, giving first responders immediate situational awareness. The company was founded by a team of DOD and Aerospace executives that worked in remote sensing. Venti offers a fully integrated system of low-cost,...
Mar 19, 2019•13 min
Mike sits down with Todd Stave of Blue Vigil . They discuss the common power problem with UAVs, Drone safety, and the advantages of tethers, on this episode of Smart Firefighting podcast. Blue Vigil is a company that manufactures, distributes, and supports tether power systems for drones. Their main offering is the RS1000 Ground Power System. The system connects to a drone using a tether, which provides power to the UAV. The UAV can then stay in the air for as long as it is connected, potentiall...
Mar 12, 2019•12 min
Kevin sits down with, Mauro Porcelli, the author of Surviving the Firehouse. They discussed Mauro’s firefighter and paramedic experience in the City of Orlando. He discusses how he decided that the premise of his book would follow a firefighter from first his first interest through his career to retirement. Kevin finds out which technologies most impacted Mauro’s career and what tech companies should do when they try to innovate in the fire service. Mauro started his firefighting career at Mario...
Mar 06, 2019•26 min•Season 1Ep. 47
Kevin sits down with Cuong Luu to talk about the DHS’ Shaken Fury event. The event will take place in Birmingham, Alabama in August. The goal of the event is to prepare the city by integrating first responder capabilities in the event of an earthquake. DHS will also use the event to prepare for the 2021 wargame. To prepare for this event, the DHS has put out a Request for Information. The request for information is a call to all industry, academia, and development centers to submit applications ...
Feb 26, 2019•10 min
Mike sits down with Brendan Stewart of AeroVista Drone Academy to talk about drones, the drone industry, and drone training. Brendan dives into being the 4th company to receive the FAA waiver for overflight of people and more. On this episode of the Smart Firefighting Podcast. AeroVista Drone Academy is a company that provides training for drone operators in the public safety industry. Public safety is an industry that holds a higher standard for safety because of the dangerous situations first ...
Feb 19, 2019•17 min
Under Fire is less than a month away. Kevin got a chance to sit down with Paul Siebert of Texas A&M to discuss what attendees should expect. They talk about the shark tank style pitches that will happen on day one. On day two the ten companies that advance will have a chance to “burn it, break it, blow it up” at Disaster city. TEEX PDC’s Under Fire is a two-day event. Twenty companies will present their new technology in the form of a shark tank pitch. The ten best pitches will advance to th...
Feb 12, 2019•13 min
