Ron Lemons, Sales Manager at Howe and Howe Incorporated, reveals why the use of robotics in the industry is about reducing risk, not replacing firefighters.
As fire departments respond to increasingly complex incidents, the demand for technology that can keep firefighters out of harm’s way continues to grow. One area seeing rapid development is robotics. Manufacturers such as Howe & Howe Incorporated have developed robotic firefighting platforms capable of carrying out some of the most hazardous tasks on the fireground.
For Ron Lemons, Sales Manager at Howe & Howe, the biggest change isn’t the technology itself, it’s how departments are beginning to use it.
“For a decade, certain tasks have required firefighters to stand in front of the hazard,” he says. “They’re exposed to those hazards and they’re exposed to the risk of injury and fatality. We’re trying to change that equation. We’re trying to remove as much of the hazard away from the firefighters as we can.” Rather than immediately committing crews into dangerous environments, departments are increasingly considering other tactical options first.
“We’re now looking at other tactical options,” Lemons explains. “Departments can deploy aerial assets to survey from the sky, get temperature readings and air sensor readings.”
In that respect, he says robotic platforms are already being used to support firefighters before they even enter a structure.
“We’re seeing departments utilize Thermite® robots to clear pathways and make entry points for firefighters.”
Despite increased adoption, Lemons says one of the first questions he is asked of robotics is one of concern. “Everywhere we go when we bring the robots, somebody says, ‘You’re going to take my job.’”
He believes that concern quickly disappears once firefighters understand the robot’s intended role.
“These robots, especially the Thermite robots, are big and they’re robust,” he says. “You’re not using them on a residential structure. They’re not going upstairs and saving the family or saving the cats and dogs. They’re utilized to move debris and put big water inside places where you don’t want to have a person.”
He is also keen to stress that the technology is designed to support firefighters rather than replace them. “We’re not in the business of taking a firefighter’s job,” Lemons says. “We’re giving them tools so they can hopefully do their jobs a little safer and reduce that risk to themselves and the comrades there on the fireground.”
Operational decisions, he adds, will always remain with firefighters. “Departments still need firefighters to make these decisions,” he says. “We’re not firefighters. We haven’t had the schooling, the training and the education. We’re providing a tool to help reduce that risk and take some of the cognitive load and some of the hazard away from those firefighters.”
Similarly, he believes departments are looking at how personnel can be deployed more effectively.
“It’s not about reducing staffing or reducing personnel,” he says.
“It’s about improving how we can use personnel and how we can use this product, especially for departments that are short staffed or on super high call volumes.”
While the robot carries out one task, firefighters are free to focus on others.
“When the Thermite® is putting water into a commercial building, firefighters can be doing exposure protection, establishing water supplies, doing ventilation, monitoring the stability of the building and preparing for rescue operations.”
In some situations, he says, the robot can simply continue working while crews move elsewhere.
Although firefighting remains its primary role, departments are identifying a growing number of other applications.
Lemons points to an incident in Los Angeles involving an illegal fireworks manufacturing operation that resulted in an explosion and partial collapse. “They utilized the robot to extract vehicles from the driveway.
They used it to help build berms around the house to catch the water coming off during a controlled burn because of the amount of explosive content that was inside.”
Elsewhere, departments are exploring applications including lithium-ion battery incidents, hazardous materials emergencies, industrial facilities, airport emergencies, shipboard firefighting and confined space reconnaissance.
Having watched adoption accelerate over the past six years, Lemons expects robotics to become increasingly common. “I think it’s going to be that common amongst the major municipal fire departments within the next five to 10 years,” he says.”
But despite those advances, he believes one thing will remain unchanged: fireground leadership.
Note: Thermite is a trademark of Howe & Howe Inc.
