Welcome to episode 11 with Brent VanKuelen. Brent spent 27 years in the fire service in Oregon, retiring in 2019 as a Division Chief for Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. Since retiring, Brent has spent his time consulting and works with the Western Fire Chiefs Association as a Technology Advisor.
One of the first projects Brent was involved with at TVFR was building an application that that uses artificial intelligence to aid responders in better decision making. The app was built using input from providers instead of being built to meet administrative and reporting requirements. Reducing the noise that often occurs in reporting software was a focus of the project, and the end result was a more effective software creating an environment for better decision making by providers.
Bob and Brent talked about the future of technology in fire response. Brent envisions the use of AI and augmented reality to provide incident details to responders. He also discusses his work with the WFCA and their current focus of advocating for the fire service in the private sector. They are achieving this goal through a technology accelerator engine that identifies companies developing products that will improve the experience for providers and the service provided to the public. One such partnership is with Rapid Deploy which is a cloud-based computer aided dispatch system that can be implemented in hours instead of months, which is the timeline for many systems currently in use.
Stay tuned at the end of season 1, when Bob switches seats and we get to hear about his journey in the fire service and where he’s headed next.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-vankeulen-01416374/
Western Fire Chiefs Association: https://wfca.com/
Rapid Deploy: https://www.rapiddeploy.com/
Not What I Signed Up For: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-signed-up-bob-horton/
