Fire Department Data Collection: What to Collect Today & Prepare for Collecting Tomorrow
Over the next 30 years, the amount of data, the computing power, and the analytical ability to analyze data and make needed changes will occur much more rapidly. As smart buildings, smart cities, medical biometrics are incorporated into personal wearable devices, real-time analytics, predictive modeling and analysis, and artificial intelligence gains wide use, the speed at which data will be available and the decision process time frame will continue to shorten.
Good data drives good decisions and begins with the person who is entering the information. The fire and emergency services have long excepted incomplete reporting of the data that is available to report, which makes it difficult to articulate the needs of the profession and the steps that need to be taken to reduced risk. If you want good data throughout the organization, you have to demand it.
Vision where your data may come from in the future. The data stream will continue to expand with respect to your 911 center and its ability to capture real-time data from smart buildings and city applications, autonomous vehicles, wearable by individuals all could eventually be captured at the local emergency communication center. Local government is sitting on a great deal of useful data that is often siloed in various departments. That data, when combined, can tell a much different story in respect to what is transpiring in a community. Robust data is not only creating new technology and data streams but also collecting and using the data that you already have more effectively
He is a noted author and lecturer on such topics as leadership and managing change in the fire service and a contributing author of fire service literature including Fire Attack: The Strategy and Tactics of Initial Company Response; Making a Difference: The Fire Officer Role; Surviving Haz-Mat, Haz-Mat for First Responders; The Volunteer Firefighter:, A Breed Apart; and The Chief Fire Officer’s Desk Reference. He has authored five previous books: Exceeding Customer Expectations, The Chief Officer: A Symbol Is a Promise, Fire Administration I, Fire Administration II, Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Administration, and Advanced Fire and Emergency Services Administration, due out in March of 2022. He has authored numerous articles and contributed to several national reports.
Chief Bruegman served as president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs in 2002–2003 and as the president of the board of directors of the Center for Public Safety Excellence from 2004–2017. He served as a principle member on the NFPA 1710 Technical Committee, a standard on the organization and deployment of resources in career fire departments for several years. Chief Bruegman is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, an Internationally Designated Chief Fire Officer, and a certified Fire Chief through the California State Fire Marshall’s office. He was inducted into the Hall of Legends, Leaders, and Legacies, Class of 2022, on behalf of the National Fire Heritage Center. He has an associate degree in fire science, a bachelor’s degree in business, and a master’s degree in management.
