By David Bell, MS EFO CFO
AI was considered science fiction for years due to its complexity and the immense computing power required to make it achievable. But time and human ingenuity have a way of transforming the impossible into reality. Today, we find ourselves in a world where AI is an integral part of everything we do. Our phones watch and listen to everything we do to make suggestions or complete basic tasks before we even think to ask.
The fire service is no exception to the impacts of AI. Fire service leaders are adapting their organizational strategies to account for the next generation of technology, identifying ways to integrate AI into day-to-day operations and streamlining administrative work. This is vital because time is something we cannot create and always seems to be in short supply.
The Johnson City Fire Department is one of many departments on this AI journey. Here’s how we’ve found success implementing it into our workflow.
Initial hesitation, then eye-opening results
Our department reluctantly began to experiment with the use of AI to see what all the hype was about. Initially, we experienced limited success in obtaining usable data or outputs. This was because we genuinely had no understanding of what we were doing or what we truly wanted from AI. We would go to one of the AI platforms and type something like, “Give me a proposal to hire more firefighters.” We received a very generic response that provided us with no usable information to build a presentation.
After attending several presentations about the use of AI, we began to understand our error. AI was trying to answer our questions blindly without any context. This insight taught us to clearly articulate the perspective we wanted the platform to use in its response. With this knowledge, we went back and explained a more specific scenario. For example: The perspective was the fire chief of the department. The issue was staffing numbers on apparatus that were less than desired. Additional details provided included our goal for staffing and our budget for such additions. We put that all together in a prompt and asked the tool to provide us with a proposal for hiring additional firefighters in the next budget year.
In a matter of seconds, the tool drafted a four-page proposal that clearly detailed every aspect of the request. It then asked if we would like to create a presentation for our commission. It offered the content in a format that included graphs and accurate budget numbers.
Once we saw the great output from a basic request, we understood the power of AI. The next question: What else can we do with this technology? Could we streamline administrative tasks so much that we would have more time to complete other higher-priority work? The answer was yes, and we began to explore the limits of this new world.
How we use AI on the job
Every department has the task of creating and reviewing SOPs or SOGs to ensure that we identify all errors and do not miss anything on an annual basis. After all, we are human and we will make mistakes. This is where we can reduce the human factor and use AI to do the heavy lifting for us. These AI platforms enable you to upload your documents, regardless of their type. It will analyze the document and compare it to millions of others it finds online. In seconds, it can produce a list of concerns and recommendations for your document. By conducting a review this way, you can essentially have millions of eyes on your documents and receive a rapid, concise recommendation.
Beyond this use case, we have begun to utilize AI for numerous tasks, like product research and proofreading documents.
The newest task where we have deployed AI is building and fire code research. AI helps inspectors quickly search for the applicable code and it provides them with a reference. Many departments are now utilizing this technology to conduct preliminary plan reviews, helping to expedite the often-overwhelming task. AI enables quick comparison of plans to related codes, providing much-needed assistance in areas experiencing rapid growth, not to mention an overwhelming workload for members.
Additionally, we have plans to use AI to streamline many laborious tasks, like creating narratives for calls. Many of the existing records management software systems already offer this ability. We have initiated the testing process to ensure that the documentation is adequate and accurately details the actions that took place during the call. The concerns of legal challenges weigh heavily on this use. It is essential that the author of the report always review the narrative for clarity and validity.
Other areas where we plan to explore the use of AI include target hazard planning, threat analysis, fire modeling, flood path modeling, storm path modeling, incident action plans and even developing department best practices. The sky used to be the limit, but now the universe is the limit.
Checks and balances
While AI is great, there are some downsides as well. There is always the potential for people to intentionally misuse this technology. Fire service leaders must always focus on the ethical side of everything we do for our beloved service. Using this technology to cheat the system or to skip the “hard stuff” is not acceptable. We cannot use this technology to build a data set that is not factual and verifiable. There must be checks and balances in place that fire service leaders can rely on.
‘Trust but verify’
If you are ready to start exploring the ever-expanding world of AI, go for it! Don’t be afraid to experiment with the tool. The only way to learn is to get in there and try it for yourself. The most important thing to remember when using AI is that it is a tool, not the ultimate solution. It is a machine created by humans, and it can and will make mistakes. As such, remember the saying “Trust but verify.”
About the Author
David Bell, MS, EFO, CFO, is the fire chief for the Johnson City (Tennessee) Fire Department.
