FOCUS
Staying current The need for fire and rescue services to change and succeed must focus on external threats and changing mindsets, this article argues
from the rest of society – they must adapt and thrive, because collisions between technology, business and society are far reaching and are happening at pace. We considered that it’s not just FRS operations that can be transformed, but also the very context within which such services are carried out.
I Some of the ethical dilemmas that these
can create were also considered, and we concluded that the greatest barrier to change is within yourself – your own imagination, your own desire to think differently, your own biases and your desire to take risks. Will leaders have the skills and capability to lead in this new environment? Here we want to explore two areas related
to this: the external ‘threats’ that could see the role and legitimacy of FRSs challenged; and the change in the mindset that could see them overcome these challenges and reassert their crucial role in society.
40 APRIL 2020
www.frmjournal.com
N OUR previous article (see F&RM, March 2020, pp50-53), we considered that fire and rescue services (FRSs) are no different
Impact of technology
Disruption has not yet impacted the FRS business model in the same way as Amazon has done for retail, Uber for transport or Vitality for insurance. That’s the case for most public services, which are still rooted in traditional models. But what might that look like when it happens? And what should FRSs be doing about it now? It’s easy to be distracted by the glittering
potential of new technologies. For example, 5G will allow firefighters to livestream from bodycams or drones to control rooms at unprecedented speed. Unmanned aerial vehicles will reduce human risk by venturing into risky environments and slash incident response times. In-helmet thermal imaging and augmented reality displays will give fi refi ghters visibility in thick smoke while leaving their hands free, and their health and wellbeing is tracked by wearable tech. Virtual and augmented reality, the
potential of which is still untapped, will be used much more extensively to better prepare
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
