Modern Firefighting
- quzion9
- Oct 13
- 2 min read
Written by Isaac Lee
October 13th, 2025
Drones have transformed industries from filmmaking to espionage, yet firefighting has barely tapped their potential. Firefighting is one of the most respected jobs worldwide as firefighters risk their lives to save others, but their deaths are avoidable. They struggle with old equipment, slow reactive systems, and restricted prevention methods.
Problems with Modern Firefighting
One major issue is that firefighting is reactive, not proactive. It is much easier to extinguish a spark instead of an entire apartment complex on fire. However, sparks are much harder to react to. Even in wildfire-dense zones, prevention methods cannot truly predict the fire’s starting point until it's too late.
One major issue is the equipment. Communication is essential for firefighters to respond quickly to any threats, but even this essential aspect of reacting is limited. According to the Houston Chronicle, the first responders had issues with the radio systems, effectively leading to delayed responses that could have saved lives during the July floods.
Current Prevention Systems
FireCom, located in the region of Australia, is an emergency communications network that links the public to first responders. However, there exists some issues: between 2009 and 2021, over 5,200 incidents occurred in areas not covered by this network. Although this isn’t directly FireCom’s fault, the principal issue is that there still exists an area without firefighting protection.
Conclusion
Although the entire system of firefighting may seem archaic, it is able to be updated. Drones are not only safer by protecting the lives of the firefighters but also more efficient through proactively preventing fires. For instance, one proposal of a firefighting drone is to stay stationed around a certain domain, acting as a sentry by preventing wildfires through communicating any unnatural sparks. Just as drones have transformed filmmaking and espionage, they also have the potential to enhance the vital work of firefighting.
Sources:
Comments