Combined with the other sensor information, this internal view of the possible damage can launch the triage process long before a medic can reach the injured. Military officials hope this kind of technology can help save the soldiers who today die needlessly while medics run from one victim to the next. In cities across the USA, police and firefighters may benefit from the shirt, too. Police could benefit from the shirt just as it would be used on the battlefield. But the firefighting industry is already talking about the shirt as a possible digital layer of protection during a blaze.
Firefighters often die from heart attacks during a fire.
The physical exertion combined with the adrenaline rush of the high-risk job can mask early warning signs until it's too late. Monitoring their vital signs from a command center might help safety officers see when firefighters are getting into trouble and pull them to safety. The global positioning feature would help commanders find firefighters if they did go down in a burning building. Scott Baltic, editor of Fire Chief magazine, says the shirts also could help in an ongoing effort to outfit firefighters with temperature sensors. Firefighters who are burned to death are sometimes the victims of the quality of their modern gear.