Reappearing and New Priority Fire Equipment Development Needs

In this survey we sought to answer two questions:

First, what are the fire equipment development priority needs that exist today in the interagency firefighting community?
Second, what development needs have changed or remained the same after the survey conducted 13 years?

In this survey, we compared the 1984 and 1998 interagency top-10 equipment items and development priorities. The big picture is clear. Over the years, a great deal of stability exists in interagency fire equipment development needs. Except for an increase in priority emphasis on improved communication technology and information dissemination, for more than a decade, the top-10 equipment and technology items identified in 1984 continue to remain top development priorities in the national firefighting community in 1998.

This survey lends confirmation to Alphonse Karr’s comment 150 years ago. He wrote:

"The more things change, the more they are the same."

Image of an early firefighter.

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