Bobby Banome is an FDNY firefighter from Staten Island who got tired of arriving at fires without the information his crew needed. So he built something.

Hello Smart Firefighting Community!

Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy.

Eleven years ago, Bobby was a probie on a company with a brand-new chauffeur on his first tour driving. They had a fire in a catering hall. They missed the building. Then they missed their closest hydrant. Nobody died, but the delay in water on the fire and the fire spread that followed did not have to happen.

That call became the origin story for Rapid Response Co.

Rapid Response Co is a patented AI-powered situational awareness platform that gives engine companies a 360-degree view of the building, the nearest working hydrants, and a plan of attack before anyone steps off the apparatus. It is deployed in Phoenix, Washington DC, New York City, and volunteer departments across the country.

In this episode, Kevin and Bobby walk through what it actually takes to go from "this should exist" to "this is on fire trucks." Bobby covers the full feature set: hydrant mapping, 360-degree street views, 3D building data, and the EV Rescue integration for electric vehicle incidents. They also get into the AI layer, the SaaS model, and where the platform is heading.

This is a builder story from inside the fire service.

So take a listen to hear what he has to share.