wpi precision personnel locator workshop live demo report · areas, including the department of...

WPI PPL Workshop August 2008

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Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking for Emergency

Responders

3rd

Annual Technology Workshop – August 4 to 6, 2008

“Wednesday Live Demo” - Systems Testing Report

Ric Plummer (CTC), Jim Duckworth (WPI)

The “Live Demo” was conceived by the WPI Workshop team in conjunction with the Worcester

Fire Department. Its purpose was to bring the proposed technology into the real world of the fire

service and evaluate the systems under a training scenario. By doing this, the fire fighters get a

chance to see what the future of personnel location will be and, most importantly, to provide

feedback to the technologists so that the products that are ultimately developed with their

technology will match the needs of the first responders.

The following systems were demonstrated:

• Combined Location and Physiological Status Monitoring, WPI

• Mobile Response Command System (MRCS), ENSCO/RSI

• Pathfinder: An Indoor Navigation System, Summit Safety, Inc

• Mantenna Homing Device, WPI

• Draeger FRT 1000 Tracker Firefighter and Exit Device, Draeger Safety Inc.

The detailed planning for this exercise started many weeks before the workshop event. The

standard operating procedures and policies of the Worcester Fire Department were used as the

foundation of the scenario, so that it would closely match the real world needs. A WPI campus

building, Atwater Kent, was selected for its availability and a certain degree of challenge due to its

layout and construction of steel and concrete. See Appendix A for the Operational Plan.

The basic scenario was that of a fire attack team entering the building; but, as conditions worsened,

the team was forced to evacuate. When personnel were accounted for, it was found that one person

was missing. Using a variety of new system technologies, they were to try to locate the lost

firefighter so he/she could be safely removed.

The first two tests were conducted with location and tracking systems, using a variety of

technologies, including RF location as well as inertial navigation. These systems show, on a

display, in real-time where all of the fire fighters are located. The displays were at the command

center and directions were provided to the search team by the Incident Commander over the normal

department two way radios. They were told of hazards, distances, directions to travel and to go

up/down stairs as their locations were tracked by the commander.


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For the last three tests, simpler “homing” type systems were used, employing technologies ranging

from ultrasonic sound to VLF and UHF direction and range finding. These are handheld devices

that indicate direction and relative distance to the victim and are stand-alone systems used by the

search team to home in on the lost person.

The accounts that follow, with photographs from the exercise, will provide a commentary of the

day’s activities. At the conclusion, lessons learned are summarized.

Location and Tracking System Testing

The first step was for the Training Chief and the Chief in charge of Incident Command to provide

the firefighters with a briefing of what was expected of each task team.

Training and Command Chiefs brief the teams prior to the exercise.

For the WPI PPL system that combined Physiological Monitoring with Location and Tracking, the

firefighters usual Personnel Protective Equipment was augmented with locator and bio monitoring

technologies that included the locator transmitter, its associated antennas, as well as bio sensors.

What is not evident in the photo is the Foster-Miller “T-shirt” containing the bio sensors. (A later

photograph shows the head band containing WPI wireless pulse oximeter sensor.)


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Teams are equipped with locator devices and bio sensors

When the firefighters were fully outfitted, the systems were checked out by the technologists to

ensure they were in good working order. Below you can see locator technologists providing hands

on support for the incident commander. This support was provided so that training of the incident

commander was not required to demonstrate the systems capabilities.

Technologists assist the Incident Commander with the operation of the locator system consoles

With all systems functioning properly, the commander gave the order to proceed with the test. In

their terms “Strike the Box” for Atwater Kent at WPI; in other words, we have a fire, send the

troops. Below you can see the alarm being sent and then the commander monitoring the progress of

the attack team on the display. The location of each firefighter can be shown along with their bio

status. Alarms are displayed; for example, when pulse or breathing become too rapid or oxygen

level is too low.


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The Incident Commander begins the exercise Commander directs the teams with location data

While progress was being made in fighting the simulated fire, it was also obvious (for this simulated

exercise) that conditions were worsening. Below you can see the withdrawn firefighters reporting to

Incident Command. They are out, but one firefighter is not accounted for.

The initial team exits and reports to Command

While Incident Command is monitoring progress and providing detailed direction to the search

team, the search team, with their safety rope, is beginning the search. Crawling low, as they would

in a smoke and heat filled environment, they make good progress. Their face pieces are masked to

simulate low visibility. Their search path was approximately 175’, with many turns and a long

stairway to the second floor. The new technology allowed the search team to make all the right

moves and locate the victim in a shorter time than classical techniques, and the victim is located.


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The Rescue team begins the search And, are successful in locating the victim using location data

The Rescue Team Leader was extremely pleased with the systems performance and as you can see

here, relieved. The victim was happy to be rescued while he still had ¾ of a bottle of air left.

The technologists were quite satisfied with the system performance of their respective systems.

The rescue leader is relieved The ‘victim’’ is happy

After each test run, the firefighters, fire officers, technologists and other reviewers met “off line” to

gather feedback, both written and verbal. The fire fighters wanted to express their feelings about

performance and ease of use of the systems and make any suggestions for improvements, while the

technologists were anxious to better understand how their technology will be used and ways that it

can be improved for the intended environments. These were very positive and productive sessions, a

summary of results are provided at the end of this report.


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WFD Personnel provide feedback Observers provide feedback WFD Chief Dio, left, listens intently

Both of the locator systems tested provided significant location capability, even though each had its

“technical difficulties.” The firefighters were pleased with the progress and the prospect for

production systems of this caliber in the future.

Homing System Testing

As we proceed to the next three sessions, the primary search function now falls to the Rescue team

leader, with the incident commander playing an overseeing role with only radio communications to

the search team. It should also be noted; that many of the homing devices can provide useful

information from outside the building by performing a perimeter search and providing closest point

data as well as a general floor location. An outside search is shown below.

Using outside bearings helps locate the victim also

One challenge with homing devices is that they may show a path to a victim other than thru a door.

While firefighters often breach walls, it was deemed unacceptable for WPI to replace a wall after

the exercise. Shown below are three different homing devices being used to find the victim.


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Each of the three homing devices were applied in separate evaluation exercises

Each homing device tested had a different set of advantages and disadvantages, but all yielded

positive results. It was agreed, however, that dedicated training on each device by the firefighters

would be required in order to provide a fair test of their comparative capabilities.

Summary and Conclusions

It must be said, that all participants; fire service personnel, technologists and observers from many

areas, including the Department of Homeland Security, deemed the “First Annual” Live Demo a

great success. It was, indeed, a real world demonstration of the new technologies, under tough,

simulated fire service conditions, in a difficult building.

The capabilities of the technologies and the future products that will ultimately embody them were

shown to be of great value to the fire service community. It should also be said that the homing

devices are either near term or in fact available products, offering an interim solution sooner than

locator systems will be available.

The technologists learned a great deal about the fire service operating environment, in particular:

• The need to be instantly available upon arrival

• Devices must ALWAYS function properly

• Firefighters are engaged in vigorous activities, often with sudden forceful movements

• The amount of equipment and weight they already carry and their exertion levels

• The need for devices to be automatic and integrated into already carried systems

• Firefighters MUST know accurately what floor they are on

• Audible signals must be LOUD

• Displays must be BIG and BRIGHT

• Controls must be operable with gloved hands

• Devices must be rugged to survive in the fire service environment, mechanically and

thermally.


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While the new prototype technologies are not yet ready for prime time, there is great progress and

many reasons to be hopeful for products in the foreseeable future. One can summarize the state of

the art at this point as: Technologies that are maturing in the research stage, need to be combined

effectively (the Cocktail solution) and delivered through a rigorous product development process as

a solution to this difficult problem.

It was a day of learning all around. Everyone was positive about the experience and a great deal of

meaningful information was exchanged. Feedback and comments from the WFD was provided

directly to the system participants.

Our thanks go to all who participated. You made this a successful exercise. We look forward to the

second annual event and the progress that will no doubt be made between now and then. We hope

next year’s event will include additional systems.

In closing, the greatest thanks must go to Worcester Fire Chief Dio, his Chief Officers, Line

Officers, and all the fire fighters for volunteering their time and effort to take part in this unique

exercise.


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Appendix A: Operational Plan Provided to System Participants

WPI PPL Workshop

Live Fire Service Technology Demonstration

Detailed Operational Plan – Locator Systems

7/28/2008

Introduction

This Phase One demonstration is to asses, in an actual fire training environment, the

progress that has been made toward accomplishing the project goals. This will serve as

feedback to the participants for their future efforts.

This operational plan is the script for those activities taking place on Wednesday, 8/6/2008.

Each participant will follow this procedure for their time slot, assisted by WPI personnel and

Worcester Fire (WFD) as needed.

For this Phase One demonstration, participants will have an opportunity to do a building

walk thru, including the actual FF down location.

Summary of Locator System Requirement GOALS

Fundamental Capabilities

3-D location of each user relative to a chosen reference

Relative location among users

Graphical display at the incident command center

Graphical path information on all users

Storing of track and position data for RIT and post incident analysis

Accuracy: +/- 1 ft

Range: 2000 ft

Number of simultaneous users: 100

Setup: Track responders deployed prior to the setup of command center

Then integrate all information once center is set up

Optional Capability

Physiological monitoring

Integration with stored databases: geographic and structure

Incident Briefing:

The Live Demo will be based upon Worcester Fire Department (WFD) search and rapid

intervention procedures and will use WFD personnel to conduct the exercise with sensors

and the command console provided by the participant. The simulated scenario is as follows:


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Upon arrival, the building is partially charged with smoke. (No actual smoke will be used –

to simulate this condition, Fire Fighter (FF) masks will be obscured)

Size up indicates potential for civilian occupants remaining in the building and conditions

are such that entry is feasible.

A primary search is ordered and a team is sent to sweep areas of the building.

An emergency evacuation is ordered and a roll call is initiated. During the Personnel

Accountability Report (PAR), it is determined that one FF is missing and can’t be raised by

radio.

The Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) is deployed to assist in locating the FF and remove him

from the structure. The team will get direction from the RIT Commander who will have

location, tracking, and history information available at the command console. The RIT

commander will receive technical support from the participant personnel.

System Setup

The GOAL in the requirements is to support existing Fire Service operations, as well as

other first responder applications. This means that the first unit on scene is unlikely to be the

command vehicle. Operations will commence with locator equipped firefighters and the

command unit set up will follow.

The participants set up methods and times will vary for this phase one demonstration.

Accordingly, set up must not only be evaluated with respect to the actual demonstration, but

also with respect to explained future capabilities.

Console setup will take place under a provided tent. There will be power available and

participants may decide if they wish to use it. In case of rain, a space inside the lobby will be

provided.

Setup will have been accomplished when the system is set up and operational.

Fire Fighter Equipment Donning

As the final step in setup, the Fire Fighters ( FF ), both Primary entry team and Rapid

Intervention Team ( RIT ) will be equipped with locator devices. These will be enabled and

ensured to be operational. All six Fire Fighters will be equipped if sufficient equipment is

available, but in any case, at least one member of each team should be so equipped.

System Explanation by Participant

With the system fully functional, the participants console operator will provide a short

demonstration for the RIT Commander. This is to ensure that the commander understands


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the information that can be provided and the form in which it will be provided, and answer

any questions that remain.

Stage One

With the system operational, the primary entry team will enter the building. They will

proceed as they would in normal operations, searching for fire and/or victims. Their

progress, while crawling and searching in the simulated zero visibility environment, will be

tracked on the console display and observed by the Commander. The zero visibility

simulation will be accomplished by obscuring the SCBA face piece. Normal WFD

communications will be maintained between the team and the commander.

When conditions worsen, an evacuation of the building is called for. Upon performing a

Personnel Accountability Report ( PAR ), it is found that one member is missing, and there

is no radio contact with the individual, and their PASS device IS NOT sounding, but their

locator is active.

Stage Two

The RIT is to be deployed to rescue the missing Fire Fighter. The operation is under the

direction of the RIT Commander. The RIT Commander will brief the team with all the

information that is available, including last known position and if tracking information is

available to assist. The team will then enter the building for the rescue.

All direction will be provided by the RIT Commander. First at the briefing with initial

directions and then by radio contact. The participants will provide support at the console to

minimize the impact of the short training available to WFD personnel.

In assessing this part of the exercise, a number of factors need to be taken into account:

Accuracy of location – both the downed FF and the rescue team

Speed of locating the downed FF

The adequacy of the provided information

The ease of access to the information

Tracks

Location

Environmental / biophysical information if provided

Once the downed FF is located, this stage is complete.

Stage Three

In order to complete the rescue, the RIT and the downed FF must successfully exit the

building. The knowledge gained by the RIT will be augmented by the location systems

tracking data to affect a rapid exit from the structure.


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Stage Four

Once all personnel have exited the structure, the participants will gather at the command

center for a short recap of events. This will be augmented by written inputs, but it is

important to capture first impressions while they are fresh in the minds of the teams.

This will be facilitated by a member of the WPI Workshop team, and will only take a few

minutes.

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