Firefighters, fire chiefs, paramedics, EMTs and instructors are converging in Indianapolis for FDIC 2025 at the perfect time to share ideas, ask questions and better understand a rapidly changing federal funding and training environment. With ongoing uncertainty about the future of the National Fire Academy and FEMA grant funds, as well as the sudden closure of the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer and another blow to the World Trade Center Health Program, fire and EMS personnel need to circle the wagons to renew their commitment to advocating for federal support of fire and EMS and reenergize their spirits to serve their communities.
The FireRescue1 and EMS1 teams will be on the ground at FDIC, and as we tour the exhibit hall and visit with attendees, we’re keeping an open ear and close eye on three topics of high interest.
1. Federal support for fire and EMS
National organizations, like CFSI, IAFC and IAFF, are busily advocating for the fire service in Washington, D.C., with elected officials and White House staff. That advocacy is important and necessary.
But the uncertainty around grant funding, healthcare support for 9/11 responders, and the availability of training are having a real-world, on-the-ground impact on the fire service. Are departments delaying major equipment purchases, like SCBA replacement or fire apparatus purchases? How are departments defending money budgeted for NFA training that is now going unused to their mayor or city council? Are departments changing promotion processes for personnel who are unable to complete their Executive Fire Officer program? Are departments seeking out other types of grants from private foundations, community foundations or their state instead of AFG or SAFER?
Today’s fire chiefs and fire officers have the dual challenge of navigating the uncertainty of the current environment and planning for a future that may not have the federal government support that has existed for many decades. As Chief Bashoor has asked, “What will you be willing to give up? How much are you willing to cut?”
2. Force multiplier products
For most fire departments and EMS agencies, funding has always been tight, limited or just enough to get by. The potential loss of federal support along with rising costs from recently imposed tariffs and the likelihood of another period of inflation could further squeeze departments, the communities they serve and their personnel. At a time when public safety is already being asked to do more with less, products that have the potential to be force multipliers warrant additional consideration. Some of those products include:
- Drone as a first responder: Some communities are already dispatching drones ahead of personnel to stream live video of a vehicle collision, to search for missing persons and to assess the severity of a natural disaster. Drone-collected data can help determine the response package, response urgency and increase efficiency.
- Artificial intelligence: Nearly every software product at FDIC is likely to have an AI component or capability. Products that can reduce the time and personnel needed to review patient care charts and generate medical bills, review past response data and recommend training needs or assignments, or answer community questions about routine matters, like burning permits or scheduling a building inspection, can save time and keep personnel available for emergencies.
In the exhibit hall, we’ll be asking DFR vendors, including Skydio, Paladin and DJI, about fire department-specific use cases for DFR. We also want to know about the start-up costs, training requirements, ongoing costs and making the DFR funding case to decision-makers. We will also be asking software vendors to go beyond the “gee-whiz” of generative AI, large language models and machine learning to explain how AI is going to help their fire and EMS customers save time and money, while also improve the service they provide to their community and the training they deliver to personnel.
3. Whole blood administration
EMS has a long history of moving hospital-based treatments from the operating room and emergency department to the field. Diagnostic devices and advanced treatments, from defibrillation to endotracheal intubation to point-of-care ultrasound, have moved from the hospital to the field.
The latest intervention to make that transition is the field administration of blood products to major trauma patients. EMS agencies and fire-based EMS systems around the country are regularly reporting successful patient resuscitations by giving whole blood in the field.
Delta Development Team is exhibiting its solutions for blood storage at FDIC. We want to know more about the products to store and monitor blood products. We also want to know what the minimum size jurisdiction or patient population a service needs for whole blood and the accompanying costs to make sense. We also want to know what challenges services are experiencing that have implemented whole blood administration.
What are you going to watch for at FDIC? Email us your FDIC interests and questions, and follow our complete FDIC coverage onFireRescue1andEMS1.
