A Wireless Sensor Network and Incident Command Interface for Urban Firefighting

The Fire Information and Rescue Equipment project at UC Berkeley has developed a prototype wireless sensor network (WSN) and Incident Command (IC) interface for urban and industrial firefighting and emergency response. A fixed WSN deployment in the building acts as a backbone for communication between mobile personnel and Incident Command. The Telos Sky mote 802.15.4 platform with the TinyOS operating system is used for a variety of sensing and communication tasks. These include localization, environmental monitoring, and redundant emergency communications. We describe features and performance of the system. We also share what we have learned from firefighters through interviews, usability tests, and demonstrations.