Section 5 The Development of FIRSTVISION

5.1 The Current Situation for a Firefighter

When Firefighters arrive on the scene of a building fire emergency, they must gather information to accurately assess the situation and plan their attack on the fire. Prompt assessment is essential—the sooner the seat of the fire and its progression are identified, the sooner the attack on the fire can be planned and launched. With speed and accuracy of response comes a reduction in loss of property and life.

Current fire annunciation panels used in commercial buildings provide the primary source of information for Firefighters arriving on the scene. This is particularly true at night when building occupants may not be available to report their observations. However, current alarm panels provide sensor/detector information in formats that are not always easily interpreted. Typically, these panels present activated smoke/heat detectors as items in a scrolling alphanumeric Event List. Each activated smoke or heat detector is described only by an alphanumeric location code and an activation time.

5.2 The Technology of FIRSTVISION

FIRSTVISION is simple and intuitive because it cannot be assumed that the Firefighters have either computer experience or training in its use. It enables the Firefighter to reduce the time to understand the situation.

FIRSTVISION has an interactive display that orients Firefighters to the building using floor by floor layouts. It decreases situation assessment time by showing the location of water supplies, evacuation routes, access routes and points, fire barriers, shutoffs for gas and power. FIRSTVISION also shows structural hazards.

During installation FIRSTVISION is set up with the layouts for each floor that show the locations of sensors, hazards, water supplies, and other important devices and information about building configuration. FIRSTVISION is installed in a location where Firefighters are expected to enter the building when responding to an event.

5.2.1 Making Commissioning Easier

To customize FIRSTVISION for a building—making it possible to pinpoint fires and their progress, to see where important building features and hazardous materials are located, and so on—the building manager must commission the system with building-specific data.

Data to drive FIRSTVISION display comes from a wide range of sources. Sources include drawings of building floor and site plans from CAD files, sensor data from building fire panels, location data for objects such as standpipes, and textual data associated with hazardous materials documentation. One of Honeywell’s goals was to design a software application that gave the building manager the flexibility to pull in the best data available from different but existing sources. The resulting Configuration Tool provides an interface into which building managers enter or add fire detection information that customizes FIRSTVISION to the building.

FIRSTVISION™ Installation and Operation Manual - P/N: 53034:Rev: A2 10/29/07

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