The Daily Herald
July 22, 2006

Forefront of fighting fires

Local agencies first to use new technology to see inside buildings before entering them

By: Josh Stockinger
Staff Writer

If you see firefighters using what look like laptop computers during a disaster one of these days, don't worry.

They're not checking e-mail.

New gadgets developed by a trio of suburban fire agencies are being used to give emergency crews detailed peeks inside buildings without so much as opening a door.

Called CommandScope, the black devices resemble laptops. But they are actually electronic logs of structural floor plans, photos and - in some cases - aerial views of properties.

Their touch-sensitive screens allow responders to access up-to- date details about a building via an Internet database in just seconds.

This information may tell them where a fire might spread next, or the safest route to someone trapped inside.

"It's cutting-edge stuff," said St. Charles Fire Chief Alan Schullo. "It's real-time information. If we need it, we got it."

CommandScope is the brainchild of Chicago-based technology firm RealView, which worked with fire officials in St. Charles, North Aurora and Park Ridge to develop it.

The company has long offered similar tools for private businesses. But until CommandScope, firefighters often thumbed through page upon page of hand-drawn floor plans - drafted during building inspections - while racing to a fire or hazardous material spill.

So far, the technology is primarily limited to commercial properties, which are inspected each year by municipalities and kept on record.

But some fire departments already are building Web sites where residential property owners can post secure information about their buildings for emergency use, as well.

North Aurora was the first to put an easy-to-use form for residential buildings on its Web site, at www.nafd.org under the "public pre-plan" link.

St. Charles plans to launch its form in coming weeks at www.stcharlesil.gov.

But that's not likely the end.

"There is so much possibility with this," North Aurora Fire Chief Steve Miller said.

Miller's department envisions a system where electronic chips are installed in firefighters' jackets, so at all times their whereabouts can be accessed through CommandScope.

In addition, as the tool gains popularity, fire agencies across the suburbs and state likely could access each others' information in incidents that require multiple departments.

Other uses for the system could arise as it's tested and tweaked, Schullo said.

"It's a living product right now," he said.

"It's constantly evolving."

jstockinger@dailyherald.com

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