In emergency response, every second counts. Lives are on the line. Every bit of situational awareness translates to time and effectiveness for first responders to assess and respond to critical situations. Evolving technology for emergency response, like in many situations, leverages the ability to gather volumes of real-time information more rapidly through a variety of sources. That’s Big Data…and the Internet of Things (IoT)…and now the promise of AI.

Within the emergency response spectrum, a scholastic depiction positions one end as "routine" - emergencies manageable through standardized protocols. However, as emergencies escalate in scale and intertwine with multiple "routine" scenarios, the challenge becomes a matter of resource allocation and the true test of training and planning. The complexity intensifies further when confronted with a tipping point - the emergence of novel situations, as witnessed in events like 9/11 or the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The linear representation of emergent emergencies, while conceptually convenient, oversimplifies the chaotic nature of these situations—a nuance appreciated by both those immersed in the world of data as well as the firefighter in a storm. The forces at play are not linear; they are very, very nonlinear - dynamic & complex. The unpredictability of novelty presents both opportunity for salvation and disaster, underscoring the critical role of preparedness and adaptability.

Let’s explore keeping the routine in emergency. How do we avoid or attenuate the crisis?