We caught up Andy Bozzo and William Pigeon, the co-founders of Tablet Command – the innovative technology for public safety, combatting natural disasters and helping people live safely.
How does the technology work to tackle natural disasters ?
There are several technological solutions like Tablet Command emerging to “tackle” the management of natural disasters, including fires. However, there are no real technologies or other human forces that can currently STOP a natural disaster. Where technology plays an important role is in the prediction, detection and management of emergencies, and the integration of the three.
Wildfire is one type of natural disaster fire service professionals deal with daily. Predictive weather models and faster dissemination of that information are ways emergency response personnel can be better prepared to fight wildfires and address issues like citizen evacuations and property preservation. Other forms of GPS and mapping technologies can show us where crews are operating on a large incident map relative to the path of the fire, including the most intense sections of it. Fighting wildfires can be compared to fighting a war, in that technologies like Tablet Command can help us see our troops and their equipment as they move about the incident while accomplishing tasks and objectives.
What has been the impact it’s had so far?
In one known case where Tablet Command was used during the 2018 Carr Fire, the technology was life-saving. Four firefighters were trapped when this massive fire got even more out of control. Their battalion chief heard panicked radio traffic, noticed the rapid change in conditions, and saw where they were in real time by using Tablet Command. He directed this crew away from certain death, even though their visibility was diminished.
What is the potential for technology in future prevention of natural disasters?
At the risk of sounding fatalistic or macabre, natural disasters have only increased in frequency and intensity. And most, if not all of these massive events, can be attributed to global warming. Until we figure out a way to emit less greenhouse gasses, the climate will continue to warm and get more erratic, and natural disasters will have an increasing impact on our lives.
That being said, because there are a greater number of technologies being used to better assist public safety personnel as they respond in greater numbers and frequency to natural disasters, there is increased potential for future prevention. Technology has elevated situational awareness and operational intelligence for those managing wildfires and other natural disasters like never before. Knowing what’s happening with the weather, whether it’s real-time trajectories of tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, or wildfires, and the impact these will have on civilians and first responders in their paths, is paramount. Sensor data and live-time cameras can give first responders an idea of how many resources they will need, and the challenges they will face.
Ultimately, products like Tablet Command, combined with robust mapping and smart integrations, allow us to see incidents in greater dimension (e.g. bird’s-eye view), so incident commanders and emergency managers can keep resources safer and operate more efficiently.
