The fire service was quick to adopt many of the types of camera systems found on conventional automobiles to allow firefighters to more safely navigate from station to fireground and back.
Manufacturers say that these days, very few fire trucks come off the production line without at least one type of camera onboard, and many are equipped with multiple cameras.
Louis Zara, product manager for FRC, a Safe Fleet division, says FRC offers three camera systems for the fire service with its flagship model being the inView 360 HD™. “This system gives a real-time, all-around view like a bird’s eye looking down on the apparatus,” she says. “The system can stitch images from the four cameras together on screen for that all-around view as well as left and right turn signal views.”
1 FRC makes the inView 360 HD® camera system that provides a real-time, all-around view of a fire apparatus. (Photos 1-3 courtesy of FRC, a Safe Fleet division.)
2 An inView 360 screen view showing placement of an aerial’s outriggers.
3 FRC also makes the TrueSight™ line of wired and wireless camera systems.
Zara notes that the vehicle’s driver can index through different views as needed, and the system can be configured to accommodate user preference for selectable vehicle overlays. “The inView 360 HD system also has an outrigger overlay, which shows a pictorial of where a truck’s outriggers would be located and is capable of connecting another one or two cameras to monitor other areas on an apparatus,” he says.
The system’s 1080p video output enables high-definition video recording, Zara says, and includes four slots for up to 256 gigabytes of SD card storage for a total of 1 terabyte of storage, supporting up to six cameras. “The built-in DVR securely records all connected cameras individually,” Zara says, “and also contains built-in GPS tracking and an accelerometer.” FRC’s other camera systems are the inView TrueSight™ wireless and wired camera systems that are available in one or two camera configurations.
4 A screen view showing Rear View Safety’s Sensor Surround View Sensor System™ locations on a fire apparatus. (Photos 4-5 courtesy of Rear View Safety Inc., a Safe Fleet brand.)
5 Rear View Safety’s 1014-MVP sensor system driver reference card showing sensor placements and detection zones.
Corey Heniser, chief executive officer of Brigade Electronics Inc., says Brigade has had a lot of success placing its cameras in fire apparatus. “Our most popular system is our Backeye®360, a four-camera system that gives an overhead view of the vehicle while it is operating,” Heniser says. “The camera images can be viewed individually, in 360-degree mode, and with a split screen that shows the overall view as well as a side view.”
Brigade’s system also offers a waterproof monitor at the pump panel that allows the operator to see the opposite side of the vehicle and a mobile digital recorder that has up to a 12-channel capacity. “We also offer ultrasonic sensors for on-road use,” Heniser says. “Our SideScan® has four rugged sensors that are mounted on the curb side of the vehicle, giving the operator the ability to detect pedestrians and cyclists on the vehicle’s blind side.”
6 Brigade Electronics Inc. makes the Backeye360 four-camera system that gives an overhead view of the vehicle while it is operating. (Photo 6 courtesy of Brigade Electronics Inc.)
Heniser predicts that the next enhancement to apparatus camera systems will be artificial intelligence (AI) cameras. “That’s the next step,” he says. “Forward- and side-looking cameras can detect moving objects and display the distance to them on the screen with a red, yellow, or green box around the target. The system can detect multiple objects and can be operated when in motion or stationary and is programmable to give an audible warning as well. We expect to have AI cameras available for our Backeye360 system by the third quarter of 2023.”
Joseph Schechter, executive vice president of Rear View Safety Inc., a Safe Fleet brand, says his company makes the 14 Sensor Surround View Sensor System™ with an LED display. “The system uses microwave technology proximity sensors that display green, yellow, and red zones,” Schechter says. “It works best at slow speeds, with 15 miles per hour being its sweet spot. We build the systems with either 12 or 14 sensors, depending on the size of the vehicle, with three to four sensors on the side, three sensors in front, and three sensors at the rear of the vehicle.”
Schechter notes that the system’s detection range is up to 82 feet for detecting trucks, 50 feet for detecting cars, 33 feet for detecting motorcycles, and 23 feet for detecting pedestrians. “The visual alerts when objects are detected are shown on a screen mounted on the A pillar,” he says, “although the LED monitor can be installed in a variety of other locations without impeding the drivers’ view of their surroundings.”
ALAN M. PETRILLO is a Tucson, Arizona-based journalist, the author of three novels and five nonfiction books, and a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editorial Advisory Board. He served 22 years with the Verdoy (NY) Fire Department, including in the position of chief.
