Rapid Command · Kern County, California
An incident command post should be positioned for the incident. Kern County Fire Department’s Rapid Command Bronco brings connectivity and a shared drone view to the people making decisions on scene.
At a glance
Farmland, mountains, canyon, desert, and oilfields
A career county fire department based in Bakersfield, California
Wildland fires, structural fires, hazmat, and major traffic crashes
The challenge
A large county with uneven coverage
Kern County Fire covers more than 8,000 square miles, from valley farmland and the Tehachapi mountains to the Kern River canyon, the edge of the Mojave, and major oilfields. Many calls happen far from the nearest building, cell tower, or radio site.
The department has used Starlink for years, but it cannot equip every vehicle. Available units go to hand crews that spike out and division chiefs running the duty. When those chiefs are not on a call, the connection often is not there either.
“We’re such a large agency that not everyone has Starlink, and we can’t afford to give everyone Starlink.”
Zach Wells, Kern County Fire
Before the Bronco
The limitations of the existing response
Command location followed the signal. Before the Bronco, connectivity could determine where the incident command post was parked, even when another location offered the incident commander a better view.
The large command vehicle took time to deploy. Kern’s bus-sized command rig suits fires that last several days. Many incidents are finished within 12 to 24 hours, so the larger vehicle could be set up just as the response was winding down.
Communications beyond command remained a challenge. Handheld mesh radios had been intended to connect divisions back to the command post. They did not work well enough for Kern’s needs, and the department largely stopped using them.
The solution
A compact platform for the intel officer
Ford’s Bronco Wild Fund donated the Ford Bronco, and Darley and Public Safety Direct completed the build. Kern assigned it to the public information officer, who now works as an intel officer alongside command and general staff.
The Bronco’s Starlink connection helps the command post operate from a location chosen for the incident. It also frees the division chief who previously provided the connection to move around the scene.
One drone view for the command team
A large touchscreen monitor in the back of the Bronco makes the drone view useful to more than the pilot. The intel officer connects the controller to the screen so the incident commander, safety officer, and the five or six people typically at command can see the same image. They can discuss what they see and ask the intel officer to examine specific areas.
A shared picture beyond the scene
DroneSense also shares the drone view off scene. When a drone launches, Wells, the operations chief, and the fire chief receive a link on their phones. The feed has no audio, but it gives leaders a common image when they call the incident commander for an update.
Kern also connected the Bronco’s Starlink to its own private network. A battalion chief arriving without connectivity can use the vehicle’s connection.
“Before, a lot of times you had to choose your incident command post based on where connectivity is. Now that you can really set up where it’s more advantageous for the incident commander to be able to see out, that definitely helps change our workflow.”
Zach Wells, Kern County Fire
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