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Seconds matter when you’re fighting a fire.
Every decision made can be the difference between saving lives and losing them, so it’s imperative that fire departments have the best tools available for training and emergency responses.
Yet, traditional preparatory and response tools such as whiteboards or computer monitors often fail to provide the dynamic functionality modern firefighting demands.
“Firefighting departments have historically been behind in tech.”
This is where interactive displays come in: giant touchscreen devices that bridge the gap between information delivery and practical demonstration.
SMART recently spoke to a fire department in Washington state about their successful deployment of an interactive display and how it’s become a key addition to their emergency management technology stack:
This blog will summarize what we found out from this interview as well as demonstrate some of the other reasons why interactive displays are a key piece in a firefighter technology stack.
Training and drills
How do firefighters train?
It’s not just the rigorous physical training and hands-on simulations that prepare firefighters for their service. There’s a continuous educational component which both recruits and seasoned veterans must carry out to stay on top of new processes and emerging practices in the profession.
Classroom-based learning needs to be efficient, and it needs to be memorable – and traditional tools such as whiteboards and textbooks just aren’t sufficient. Interactive displays, on the other hand, support dynamic instruction in several ways:
- Get people active: Instead of having participants sit at their desks, instructors can get their teams to do interactive digital activities. This not only makes lessons memorable but also gives a sense of ownership to learning that mere paper and pen can’t compete with
- Make content interactive: Whether it’s being able to quickly zoom and annotate a specific part of a structural diagram, or showing an instructional video, interactive displays can do it all. Instructors can insert any content into their digital whiteboard and even split their screen into two different workspaces
- Video conferencing: For departments with multiple locations or guest speakers, interactive displays can facilitate hybrid and remote meetings on many platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Meet. The best interactive displays come with an included camera, microphone array, and speakers, so that video meetings are ready to go right out of the box without anyone having to buy additional equipment
Instead of having to install and adopt several pieces of technology for drills, departments can instead invest in interactive displays that act as a single multi-tool from which training content can be presented, and memorable activities can be done.
“...beneficial to use a tool like that [SMART interactive display] to help plan drills”
Emergency response
Interactive displays are transforming emergency federal management responses in firefighting by providing centralized, real-time access to critical information, and enabling faster and more informed decision-making.
One of their most impactful features is the ability to display and interact with detailed mapping systems. Fire crews can view real-time maps of incident locations, including live updates on fire spread, weather conditions, and available resources. Interactive layers on these maps can highlight hydrant locations, building layouts, hazardous material zones, and evacuation routes, giving teams a comprehensive situational overview. Multiple people members can then write additional notes, annotate over these maps, and zoom into key locations on the same canvas, at the same time, without interfering with one another.
“We could link the SMART Board to our dispatch software and then it could provide mapping routes. It would be really useful for us to have the overhead view...”
Additionally, these displays simplify access to digital resources like protocol documents or emergency contact lists, reducing the time spent searching for information during critical moments. Similar to what we talked about earlier, interactive displays really are Swiss-army knives that can be used for a variety of use cases.
Prepare your team for any challenge with SMART
Interactive displays are more than just a screen: they’re an interactive learning system and a worthy addition to emergency response processes. SMART has spent over 30 years working with schools, businesses, organizations, and emergency responders in the interactive space. We have solutions for any size government or fire department, but for the best experience, I’d recommend the SMART Board® QX Pro series. It has all the critical features discussed in this article, plus:
- Ink that stays: SMART displays are the only interactive displays on the market where users can directly write into Microsoft Office and PDF files, and then save them in their native format
- Crisp visuals: Review maps, diagrams, and training material in 4K UHD resolution presented on optically-bonded glass
- Integrations: Work in the way your department knows best. SMART displays are compatible with a variety of other solution providers, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Logitech, Jabra, and more
“The ultimate goal of any emergency responder is to serve your community to the best of your ability.”
It was an honor to talk to these emergency responders and learn about the incredible work they do for their communities. At SMART, our mission is to provide these teams with the best solutions possible so that they can be prepared for any challenge.
Want to find out more about what an interactive display could do for your fire department?
