Tempe Firefighters Use Wi-Fi
CNET has an article about the Wi-Fi system in Tempe, AZ, and how the fire and police departments are using it.
The pictures in Jensen's van are sent through the city wireless network to an emergency operation center, where important decisions can be made. "In my (business), you need to make some decisions really quick. That is what this allows us to do," he said....
He can also pick up useful information on the Internet, such as the floor plans and chemical inventories of local industries, and keep them updated on a secured Web site.
Cool stuff. There is a video report to watch too. Just follow the link.
Firefighter Launcher?
Here is an interesting invention that could be used to launch firefighters to the top of a five story building (from Invention - a NewScientist blog).
The old circus trick of firing a person from a cannon is being considered by the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as a way to get special forces, police officers and fire fighters onto the roofs of tall buildings in a hurry.
I'm not sure this would be safe in any situation. Does it include wind direction and speed in its calculations? Coming down on top of the building poses another set of problems. Would there be a big air bag or some type of padding to land on? How would you keep the firefighter from getting injured upon landing? Could the firefighter be launched in their gear or would the gear have to be launched separately?
Climbing the aerial seems a lot easier and safer to me.
Bar Coded Triage Tag
Interesting idea (from Firehouse.com):
The Ortiz brothers took the triage tag, a basic product already in use by many emergency responders around the country to designate urgency of care, and took it one step further.From their experience in the field, they found that keeping track of a large number of people with different levels of injury was a nightmare. By placing bar codes on the tags, the brothers envisioned an information technology system that could help paramedics and doctors track patients from the scene of the accident to the hospital room.
This would be an excellent tool for use in regular hospital settings too.
As usual, when a new technology emerges, the cost of the equipment is going to be an issue at first. I don't see this being used in rural areas or in small departments either. It won't be used very often and the cost of the equipment would be prohibitive.
Kids Wake Better to Mother's Voice
This could be a really big deal (from Firehouse.com).
Researchers at Columbus Children's Hospital decided to study whether smoke alarms using a mother's voice calling out her child's first name would be more effective in rousing the child and allowing him or her to escape from the room.
...
Ninety-six percent of the children awoke to the alarms that used their mothers' voices. Almost
40 percent of these children did not awaken to the tone alarm.
The fact that 83 percent were able to escape from the room in time when awakened by the parent alarm compared with only 38 percent with the tone is important, because most of the childhood deaths in home fires are attributed to smoke inhalation.
If smoke detector companies are smart, they will capitalize on this study. Smoke detectors that let a parent record a wake-up message and that will play that message instead of the regular warning tone should help reduce child fatalities.
Smoke Detector Company Must Pay Damages
The makers of the First Alert smoke detectors, BRK Brands, Inc., have been ordered to pay big damages in a court case (from The Business Review).
The makers of the First Alert brand smoke detector must pay the survivors of a May 31, 2001 Rotterdam, N.Y., fire more than $7 million in damages, including $500,000 in punitive damages, a jury ruled Friday, April 21, in a case heard in the U.S. Court for the Northern District of New York.
...
The family had two of the companies smoke detectors installed in their home and both failed to alert, Hacker said. The detectors at issue were ionization type smoke detectors that sense high temperature, fast moving fires, as opposed to detectors employing photoelectric cells which are better at detecting smoldering fires, like the one which apparently killed William and Christine Hackert, Hacker said.
A photoelectric smoke detector would detect the smoke from a fire 15 minutes earlier than the ionization type, Hacker said.
During the trial the jury heard from witnesses who testified that the company was aware of the shortcomings of the ionization only detector but continued to market the product instead of selling only dual detectors. The dual detectors cost from $20 to $25 while the ionization only types sell for $10 to $15.
I'm not sure what to think about this ruling, but I am sure that there will be an appeal.
GPS to be Installed in FDNY Vehicles
All of the fire trucks and EMS vehicles in New York City will have GPS units installed in them (from Firehouse.com).
New York, N.Y.-- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today announced that all New York City ambulances and Fire Department apparatus including engines, ladder trucks, rescue companies and battalion vehicles will be equipped with the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system by the end of the summer.
AVL utilizes Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to track the real-time movements of any equipped vehicle, helping dispatchers more accurately deploy emergency resources. AVL began in September 2005 as a pilot program with five engine companies on Staten Island and FDNY EMS units on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn. Under the system, EMS response times to the most serious medical emergencies (Segments 1-3) were reduced by 33 seconds.
This will be very useful in large, urban departments. The cost of the system will prohibit its use in smaller departments. In our fire department here, we don't need this type of system because our call volume isn't very high. We always know the location of our rigs.
Tiny Transmitter to Monitor Body Temperature
A researcher in Canada has an interesting idea (from Canada.com).
VANCOUVER (CP) - A researcher at the University of Victoria says a transmitter the size of a vitamin pill that firefighters can swallow will help save their lives from heart attacks - the No. 1 killer of those in the business of saving others.Lynneth Wolski, an occupational physiologist, said the combination of heat stress - from temperatures of up to 200 degrees centigrade - and heavy-duty protective gear worn in a stressful occupation puts firefighters at risk of heart attacks.
When swallowed, the tiny transmitter allows firefighters' core body temperature to be monitored so they can be pulled from a blaze or any high-stress rescue if their temperature is dangerously high.
Cost will be an issue with this device and the article addresses the costs associated with the transmitters.
Although I think this is interesting and may be a step forward in monitoring a firefighter's status at an incident, I don't think this is the best approach to reducing firefighter heart attacks.
There are the two things I think we need to work on. First, we need to improve the physical attributes of firefighters. This includes physical fitness, diet, and perhaps medications or nutritional supplements. Second, we need to improve protective gear so that it reduces the heat stress that firefighters endure.
Microdisplays Built into Masks
Students from UC Berkeley are applying some cool technology to face masks (from Telematics Journal via US Fire).
A team of graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) is using SolidWorks software to develop gear that will prevent firefighters from becoming trapped in fires and help them save victims. Masks with microdisplays will show firefighters where they are in a burning building, and where to find their comrades and victims, giving them vision and information they never had before....
Remote sensors previously installed throughout the building will transmit floor plan information to the microdisplays so firefighters can see where to go to find potential victims. Wristbands will monitor firefighter heart rates and other vital statistics so commanders know every team member's status.
It will be awhile before this technology available at an affordable cost. The remote sensors provide the information for the in-mask microdisplay, but if the building doesn't have the sensors - no display in the mask.
How do you get homeowners to put the sensors in their house? Good idea, but I'm not convinced it will be used in the real world.
Fire Trucks to Utilize Satellites and Computers
Here is an interesting article about locating the fire and hydrants (from the Bellevue Leader via FireFightingNews.com).
Thanks to Geographical Information Systems, the BVFD is just a couple months away from using computers linked to satellites to quickly find the address of a burning house and the nearest fire hydrant within seconds....
Betts said a fire truck would have a mobile data computer. The computer would refresh every 30 seconds to show the location of a fire, the location of the truck and all possible hydrants in the vicinity.
Small towns will probably never utilize this technology because of two reasons. First, the cost is probably too high for small department budgets. Second, it isn't difficult to locate the fire or hydrants when the firefighters know pretty much where everyone lives and where all the hydrants are.
However, in places with larger populations, this technology would be very useful, especially in fast growing areas with new developments being built.
Spacesuit Technology Applied to Firefighting PPE
A company is working on a new version of structural PPE utilizing spacesuit technology (from azom.com via FireFightingNews.com).
The technology used in space suits to protect astronauts carrying out space walks in direct sunlight is now being used to develop protective clothing to safeguard firefighters and steel workers who often work in extremely hot and dangerous conditions."The existing protective clothing used while performing physically demanding work in hot conditions can, in many cases, hinder workers' ability to remain cool," explains Stefano Carosio from the Italian company D'Appolonia, Project Manager for the Safe&Cool Project.
"Through this project, named Safe&Cool, we are developing a special protective material with a built-in cooling system based on the technology developed for the space suits used by astronauts on the International Space Station to prevent them from overheating when exposed to direct sunlight during space walks."
I'll be interested to see what the prototypes look like and see how they perform in hazardous environments.
747 Supertanker
This wildland fire season, we may see a new weapon on the firelines - a Boeing 747 converted into a heavy air tanker (from the Tuscon Citizen).
A massive weapon is expected to be unleashed for what could be a horrendous wildfire season.A Boeing 747 parked at Pinal Airpark north of Marana is slated for final flight testing this month.
Federal Aviation Administration approval is expected in mid-April, said Jordan Hanson, a spokeswoman for Evergreen International Aviation.
Evergreen has spent nearly $35 million converting the 747 into a supertanker capable of carrying 24,000 gallons of fire retardant in one trip, Hanson said.
24,000 gallons in one drop! That will knock down some serious fire. Downside - the plane is so big that it probably can't be used in steep and tight canyons. Upside - huge drop capacity.
Here is the website for the Supertanker at Evergreen International Aviation. It has a ton of info including pictures and videos.
I didn't have time read everything or view the video clips so the answer to my question might be in there, but I wonder how long it takes to reload this monster.
High Rise Escape Device
Here is an interesting idea for evacuating people from high rise buildings (from FireFightingNews.com).
The team came up with a potentially lifesaving solution: a $1 million escape device with expandable cabins that could be lowered like lifeboats outside a high-rise in distress. A prototype tested in Tel Aviv won praise from politicians, public safety experts and the landlord of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper who offered his property for a pilot program.
Here is the company website for Escape Rescue Systems. Watch the video demonstating the system.
I know very little about high rise fires, so I don't know if this device is practical or not. However, this type of innovative thinking is important to the continued fire safety improvement.
Researchers Develop Vein Finder
Here is something cool if you are a medic (from Georgia Research Tech News via FireFightingNews.com).
When medics are treating trauma patients, every second counts. Yet bruises, burns, and other physical conditions often make it difficult to locate veins and administer lifesaving drugs or solutions.In response, a team of Georgia Institute of Technology researchers is developing an inexpensive, handheld device that uses Doppler ultrasound technology to find veins quickly.
...
As medics move the device along a patient’s arm or leg, the transducer emits a thin acoustical beam, about the size of pencil lead, into the reflector. Then the reflector directs the ultrasonic waves into the patient’s skin at a slight angle. The device can determine the direction of blood flow to distinguish arteries (which carry blood away from the heart) from veins (which carry blood to the heart). Once the device detects a vein, an alarm is triggered, and medics insert the needle.
I'm not a medic, but this sounds like it will save time and effort. It will be interesting to see how much these devices cost once they are on the market. As with most technology, I'm betting they will be expensive to start with, but be much more affordable within a year or two.
Vonage Turns on 911 Service
Did you know that up to now, Vonage did not provide 911 service on its Voice Over Internet Protocol phone service? Well, they have just turned it on (from Firehouse.com).
Vonage Holdings Inc., of Holmdel, N.J., said today it has turned on emergency 911 service in more than 1,900 areas nationwide for users of its Voice Over Internet Protocol phone service.Vonage and other providers of Internet phone calling have come under fire because their services do not necessarily link up with a user's local emergency 911 call center. Numerous tragedies have been linked with VoIP phone users' inability to dial 911.
If you are looking into a VOIP phone, make sure the phone company provides 911 service. The FCC has required them to provide it, but...
While most VoIP companies appear to have started toward meeting the FCC requirement - there are dozens in the United States alone - many said the timeframe was unrealistic and have yet to meet it.
Firefighting Robots Contest
Check this post out over at Roanoke Firefighters regarding a contest involving firefighting robots.
Here is the official website of the contest.
Why do they have this contest each year? Here is the answer (from the website):
The main challenge of this contest is to build an autonomous computer-controlled robot that can find its way through an arena that represents a model house, find a lit candle that represents a fire in the house, and extinguish the fire in the shortest time. This task simulates the real-world operation of an autonomous robot performing a fire protection function in a real house. The goal of the contest is to advance robot technology and knowledge while using robotics as an educational tool.
Even though they are using a model of a house and a candle to represent the fire, the learning that takes place can be applied to real world solutions. Eventually there will be robots capable of assisting firefighters in suppressing fires.
I wonder what these robots will look like and how they will function. Will they look similar to existing bomb squad robots? Will we borrow ideas from military robots that are under development now? Will we use just one or two large robots or will we use a whole fleet of smaller robots? When will these robots be affordable for the average family to purchase to provide protection in their homes?
Computer Aided Dispatch
Here is an interesting article about computer aided dispatch being implemented in St. Charles County, Missouri (from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch via EMSResponder.com).
People in St. Charles County who have emergencies should get the help they need faster, thanks to a new radio system being installed in ambulances and firetrucks.The system provides fire and EMS crews with text directions and map readouts, and lets the crews notify dispatchers they are on the way without using a radio.
Cool stuff, but it will be awhile before this technology is affordable for all emergency responders.
Air Tanker Pilots Train on Simulator
There is now a simulator for air tanker pilots to train on (from FlightInternational.com).
The US Forest Service (USFS) is to expand what it claims is the first simulation system catering to the operational challenges of aerial firefighting.The Aerial Firefighting Simulator has been operational since April 2005 at the USFS’s Wildland Firefighting Training and Conference Center at the McClellan Park airport/industrial complex near Sacramento, California.
Its purpose is to hone the tactics and skills required of pilots and air tactical group supervisors to attack huge wildfires, but not to fly a specific aircraft, says the USFS Pacific Southwest Region’s Fire and Aviation Management Group regional aviation safety manager Dennis Brown. “We assume that the people who will train here already know how to fly,” he says.
It won't be too long and there will be simulators for many more wildland firefighting positions such as strike team leaders, crew bosses, incident commanders, etc.
Firefighting Blimp?
This article is a little dated (October 1997), but it proposes an interesting idea - use a blimp for firefighting (from Technology Review).
Mike deGyurky, a program manager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., figures there must be a better way to handle such emergencies. His novel approach would entail deploying a giant blimp, perhaps a mile in length. With a capacity of 50,000 tons or more, such an airship could pour more than 10 million gallons of water on a forest fire. It could also be used to transport food and water (perhaps even a small iceberg) to drought-stricken regions, dump tons of dirt and sand on a nuclear reactor to smother an incipient meltdown, or even deploy a vast tarp to contain oil spills from leaky seafaring tankers.
That is a LOT of water. However, there are a bunch of questions that need to be answered.
Would the heat and smoke affect the ship? How would the ship handle above mountainous terrain? Could they get close enough to the ground to actually drop the water where it is needed? Would the release of too much water erode the loose soil and ash interior of the fire?
This is really an interesting idea but until we know the answers to the questions above (and many other questions), we won't know if it will work.
Also, the cost of building a ship of that size would be very high. Would it be cost effective?
After doing a quick search on Google, I found a couple of more articles:
From New Scientist.com:
They suggest using 300-metre-long propeller-powered airships carrying just under one million litres of water and flying high above the flames. From there, adjustable valves on the underside of the balloon--much like large shower heads--will pump out a staggering 200,000 litres an hour over a large area of the fire. They could also have a few water cannon that can be directed over particularly persistent hot spots.
In Aerospace-technology.com, they have an article about the SkyCat which is a lighter-than-air vehicle used to haul heavy loads. They have a cool picture of what a SkyCat would look like dropping water.
Intercoms will Improve Communication
The Phoenix FD has purchased intercom units for use in their SCBA masks. They purchased enough for all of their firefighters (from azcentral.com via FireFightingNews.com).
The next time Phoenix fire Capt. Al Hoffman leads his crew into a burning building, he won't have to shout to talk to them. He won't have to resort to hand signs or repeat instructions no one can hear.Instead, Hoffman will simply speak into his breathing mask in a normal tone of voice, and the other firefighters on his crew will hear him in their ear as clearly as if they were talking on a telephone, even if they're several feet away in smoky darkness.
This would really be cool to have, but here is the catch:
But at more than $1,000 per intercom, cost alone makes the technology a luxury that many departments can't afford.
There is no way most volunteer departments will be able to swing that much money. The good news is that the cost of new technology often comes down fairly quickly. We can hope this happens soon so that it becomes more affordable.
Hawkins & Powers Faces Uncertain Future
Here is an article about the future of firefighting aircraft in the U.S. In particular, it focuses on Hawkins & Powers out of Greybull, WY (from the Los Angeles Times).
GREYBULL, Wyo. — In the 3 1/2 years since two of its aircraft broke up in flight, Hawkins & Powers Aviation Inc. has gone from being one of the country's largest aerial firefighting firms to the brink of bankruptcy.It has lost key government contracts for the use of most of its heavy air tankers and essentially has been forced from a business it helped pioneer.
...
Like Hawkins & Powers, the entire aerial firefighting industry faces an uncertain future.
Some companies are struggling to regain financial footing in the 19 months since the federal government canceled contracts for large air tankers used to drop retardant on wildfires. The move was prompted by concerns raised about the planes' airworthiness and public safety after the crashes. Although some planes were allowed to return to service later, their numbers were sharply reduced. And the government has fortified its firefighting arsenal with single-engine air tankers and helicopters.
These companies have relied on older aircraft converted to fight forest fires. Although it is sad to see these companies facing difficult times, upgrading their fleets would help ensure the safety of the pilots.
An example of a newer airplane is the Bombadier 415 that scoops water up out of a lake or the ocean.
New Garments for Emergency Workers
The European Space Agency is developing a new garment for emergency workers (from a blog called No Sheep!).
Here is a description from the European Space Agency website:
I-GARMENT will develop full-bodied smart garments equipped with sensors to monitor position, vital signals (temperature and heart beat) of the agents. This information will be sent via a wireless link to Civil Protection Officers in the HQ, processed and returned to the field officers equipped with PDAs and/or TabletPCs.
Check out their website to see some pictures and get a bunch more info.
SCAMP
A firefighter in the Julian/Cuyamaca Fire District, California, has developed a new tool for firefighting (from the Ramona Home Journal & Julian Journal).
Most of us probably think of a scamp as “a playful, mischievous person,” but “SCAMP”is also an acronym for Self Contained All-Purpose Mix Plant — the latest in modern firefighting technology, and Julian is currently the only community in the country with it.
So, what does it do?
Developed and patented by Tag Gaines, a captain with the Julian/Cuyamaca Fire District, the SCAMP is a smaller, more agile version of the venerable PHOS-CHEK Portable Retardant Base Mixing System used to mix and supply fire retardant to fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft for fighting wildfires.
Read the rest of the article for the details. This technology will make a big impact in areas that don't have permanent air tanker bases.
Firefighter Invention Cuts Out Car Radios
This is a really cool idea (from Serious About News via FireFightingNews.com).
James Hutchison, of Calewen, Two Mile Ash, invented WarnTone to reduce attendance times for emergency services.The device cuts out car radios and CDs at a set distance of 200 metres, giving the message 'Warning, emergency vehicle approaching.'
It allows drivers to pull over in time to allow emergency vehicles to pass.
Firefighter Hutchison, a UK firefighter, spent years inventing the WarnTone. He is having some trouble getting it licensed in the UK. I hope all goes well with the device and that it catches on.
Software to Calculate Firefighting Resources
IBM is working with federal firefighting agencies to develop software that will calculate the resources needed to attack a wildfire (from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer).
BOISE, Idaho -- Federal fire managers and IBM researchers are announcing the second phase of a $36 million system to computerize the process of dispatching wildfire crews and equipment, a move intended to boost efficiency and cut costs.The first module of the Fire Program Analysis software automates firefighting resources in the initial attack phase of a blaze.
Completed by IBM in October 2004, it's now being tested by the Department of Interior, Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
In the second phase, IBM researchers plan to work with federal officials to design a similar program to calculate suppression needs when fires burn for an extended period of time and over a large area.
This software should help by at least giving dispatchers an idea of how many resources will be required. However, I don't think fire officials should rely completely on these calculations. A little common sense will go along way.
Cameras on Fire Trucks
Fire crews in the U.K. are routinely attacked as they respond to fires. The attacks usually involve a crowd of youths throwing rocks and bricks. Well, in an innovation similar to the cameras that are on police cars here in the U.S., the U.K. firefighters are beginning to install cameras on their fire trucks (from the BBC).
Closed circuit television cameras are to be fitted to fire engines in Greater Manchester in a bid to reduce attacks on fire crews. The move follows 11 attacks on firefighters in the county over the Bonfire Night weekend.Crews had bricks and fireworks thrown at them and one firefighter was threatened with a gun.
Four vehicles in areas most at risk will be fitted with CCTV and footage will be handed to police as evidence.
I'm betting that in many urban areas in the U.K., cameras will become standard equipment on firefighting vehicles. Hopefully, we never get to that point here in the U.S.
Smart Buildings
Do you ever wish you had more information about a structure fire before your resources are committed? Here is an idea called "smart buildings" that would make a huge impact on firefighting (from M&C Science and Nature).
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- 'Intelligent' building systems may someday allow U.S. firefighters and other first responders to better respond to emergencies....
The systems would send information such as building floor plans and data from motion, heat, biochemical and other sensors as well as video cameras directly to fire and police dispatchers who then could communicate detailed information about the scene to first responders.
This is definitely a step in the right direction. Why should the dispatchers be included in the loop? Why not just set things up so the firefighters themselves get the information directly from the building systems? That way, an extra communication step is removed. The fewer communication steps that are required, the fewer communication mistakes will be made.
Firehawk Monitors for Wildland Fires
Technology is impacting how we fight fires. Someone from South Africa has a great idea. It's called Firehawk - remote cameras that scan for wildfires (from KGO-TV San Francisco).
Sept. 30 - It's only been on the job for a month, but already a high tech fire detection camera seems to be working. It's the only one of its kind in the country and it's helping firefighters in northern California get an early jump on wildfires....
The California Department of Forestry is the first in the country to try a brand new system called Fire Hawk. It's a digital camera mounted high above the trees that keeps an eye out for columns of smoke. It automatically rotates 360-degrees, or firefighters can manually scan for miles with a joystick. So far, its detected one fire.
Here is the link to the Firehawk website so you can learn more about this system.
Will this mean the end of manned fire lookout towers? I doubt it. I see this system supplementing the manned towers that are still in use today.
Predicting the Path of a Fire
This is cool (from Firehouse.com). NOTE: You'll want to read the whole thing.
The desk-bound helicopter pilot has devised a computer-driven mapping process that can predict where a brush fire is likely to burn -- and how fast it will get there. It can also tell how many people are in the path of a potentially dangerous chemical cloud or might be trapped in rubble after an earthquake.Robinson's fire forecaster was put to its first test last month during the 24,175-acre brush fire that burned from Chatsworth to Thousand Oaks.
Fire officials say the system accurately predicted the fire's path and burn rate, allowing authorities to evacuate thousands from residential neighborhoods on Sept. 28. A day later, the forecasting system helped firefighters stop the blaze before it could cross a major freeway and burn toward Malibu and the ocean, as previous wildfires have done.
Bravo to Steve Robinson. This type of technology will really change how we fight fires and deal with other large-scale disasters.
After reading the whole article, its pretty clear that integrating all of the technologies and setting things up in the computer will be extremely expensive. However, with all new technology, the cost will come down and then more departments will be able to afford it.
Home Defibrillators
I never really thought about having an AED in the home, but what a good idea. This from Fox News:
The devices have been popping up on airplanes and in airports, schools, offices, houses of worship, police cars, fitness centers and other public places for the past decade, but just last year, the Philips model was approved for over-the-counter home use without a prescription. The current price is $1,495. Other companies, including Zoll Medical Corp., Samaritan and Defibtech LifeLine, make AEDs that are available with a doctor's prescription.“Nearly 80 percent of cardiac arrests happen in the home,” said Brian Packard, business director of the Philips HeartStart line. “The key to survival is early access to a defibrillator. If you don’t get a defibrillator shock in the first five minutes, your chance of survival is virtually nil.”
This will really take off if the price comes down so regular folks can afford one. Of course, there will be incidents where they are used improperly, but overall, lives will be saved.
Robots and Virtual Simulators
Over at Firefighter Blog, there is a post that contains the 12 needs of the FDNY had after September 11, written by retired Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn.
It is a great list, but two of them really caught my eye.
5. The fire service needs robots for firefighting....
11. The fire service needs a computerized- virtual- simulator for firefighting training.
The technology is available now to make these two things happen. Law enforcement agencies and the military use both of these things effectively.
Firefighting robots could really help reduce the safety issues that firefighters face and they would improve firefighting tactics. Imagine if firefighters had a robot that could locate the seat of the fire, assist in extinguishment, locate injured people, or simply carry firefighting equipment.
The computerized virtual simulators would really have a big impact for those firefighters that don't face many structure fires. They would be better prepared for that situation and they could repeat training at regular intervals to stay sharp.
GPS to Aid in Dispatch
Cool idea from the fire service in New Zealand (from Stuff.co.nz via FireFightingNews.com).
The Fire Service plans to trial GPS units in some of its 800 fire engines in January, allowing it to track their location by computer....
The GPS data from appliances will be sent to the Fire Service's dispatch centre, which should speed up response times by letting it quickly identify which vehicle is closest to an incident.
Do we do anything like this in the U.S.? If so, drop me a note.
Radio Problems on Wildland Fires
An in-depth article by the Oregonian details the serious radio problems that firefighters routinely encounter when fighting wildland fires.
Oregon firefighters had trouble communicating with aircraft and one another at critical times this summer. Dispatchers in Montana lost track of a helicopter flying over a national forest. Crews have complained of having to beg for and borrow workable radios, telling higher-ups of "junk being furnished to the field," government reports show.
We have radio problems in South Dakota as well. It isn't an easy problem to solve either. Take a problem that requires technical expertise and then throw in a bunch of government bureaucracy and things get really difficult.
A-10s as Air Tankers
Here is a website dedicated to making the A-10 an effective air tanker for wildland firefighting.
I didn't have time to go through the entire website, but it looks pretty interesting.
Firefighting Compound May Replace Halon
This article (from AINonline) describes a new firefighting compound that may end up replacing Halon. Apparently, it is lighter, more effective than Halon, and doesn't damage the ozone layer. The major market will be in aircraft fire suppression systems.
Announcing the new fire-suppression system at EAA AirVenture in late July, Eclipse president and CEO Vern Raburn said, "We are committed to changing the status quo in aviation by pioneering and applying new technologies to aircraft design and manufacturing, and PhostrEx is another significant result of our efforts. Our customers will benefit from a dramatically improved fire-suppression system. On a global scale, due to our extensive testing and work with government agencies, including the FAA and EPA, the world finally has a replacement for Halon that is lighter, more effective, maintenance-free and environmentally friendly."
Unmanned Aircraft to Scan Wildland Fires
This article from the Mercury News details how unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be used to monitor wildland fires. This is really cool.
Firefighters across the West are getting a high-tech ally in their battle against wildland flames: A remote-controlled spy plane that doesn't mind smoke, can see in the dark and never sleeps.Scientists have been testing whether flocks of the planes - similar to the spy drones the U.S. military flies over Iraq and Afghanistan - can help track the direction and behavior of fast-moving flames.
After the experimental flight of three unmanned aerial vehicles this summer, the U.S. Forest Service will launch the first real-life deployment next spring. The plan calls for planes to traverse a dozen Western states, mapping real forest fires 24 hours a day.
This is really going to help firefighting efforts. Fire managers will have a better idea of which fires need more resources. It will also allow fire managers to deploy resources more safely.
How to Stop a Thief?
Here is a story from KTUV.com about a San Francisco FD SUV that was stolen:
Investigators say someone stole a San Francisco Fire Department SUV while a rescue captain was responding to a medical call late Sunday night. The supervisor had left the keys in the ignition, which is department policy, since they need to leave the lights on.
There must be a way to stop this kind of thing.
A keypad could be installed that would require that a code be entered. Once the code was entered correctly, the driver would then be allowed to shift the vehicle. The downside is that all of the firefighters would need to know the code. Probably wouldn't work in a large department.
Each vehicle could have a card reader, like the card readers on hotel room doors. Then every firefighter could be issued a card. To enter the vehicle, they would need to insert their card. This would require quite a bit of overhead maintenance because you know that cards will be lost or stolen. Those cards would need to be deactivated.
Does anyone else have a good idea?
Chicago FD Initiates SERT
The Chicago Fire Department is launching a new team called the Special Event Emergency Response Team (SERT) - (via Fire Engineering). They are making use of some cool vehicles for transportation like Segways and Mini Response Vehicles (MRV).
"Our city events are growing every year. These larger crowds also cause greater congestion making it difficult for regular ambulances, trucks and engines to get to those in need. Therefore, we must use vehicles that can maneuver through crowds and bring medical attention to injured victims or fire suppression to a fire or a hazmat situation."
I wonder if I can talk my fire department's board of directors into buying a Segway. I've seen them, but I've never had the chance to ride/drive one. Looks fun!
New CPR Devices to be Tested
Some new tools are going to be tested to assist in CPR. This report from the St. Paul Pioneer Press (Via Firehouse.com) explains the new ResQPump and ResQPod.
One is the ResQPump, which works somewhat like a household plunger and increases blood flow by manipulating the chest cavity.The other is the ResQPod, which fits atop the device that paramedics place over a patient's mouth during CPR. The pod expedites the flow of blood into the lungs by regulating how oxygen is exhaled and inhaled during resuscitation.
Informative stuff - read the whole thing.
NIFC Air Tankers
KTVB.com out of Boise, Idaho, has an interesting article on the air tanker operations at NIFC headquarters:
On the tarmac each plane's special firefighting system is loaded with retardant for fire lines.The fire retardant comes in powder form and contains fertilizer salts and a coloring agent. It’s mixed with water inside a big tank and loaded onto planes to drop on fires.
“We stretch the loading hose out to the air tanker. It takes about six minutes to load 2,700 gallons of retardant onto the airplane,” said Grantham.
ICE on Cell Phones
From the Washington Post, a new idea to assist emergency responders in contacting next of kin:
To its owner, the cell phone is an indispensable lifeline at times of crisis, reuniting loved ones separated by unforeseen events at the touch of a button. But for members of the emergency services making life-and-death decisions, the cell poses a conundrum: Which of the numbers stored in its electronic address book should they call to reach a casualty's next of kin?Now a simple initiative, conceived by a paramedic in Britain, has gained momentum on both sides of the Atlantic to try to solve this problem. Cell users are being urged to put the acronym ICE -- "in case of emergency" -- before the names of the people they want to designate as next of kin in their cell address book, creating entries such as "ICE -- Dad" or "ICE -- Alison."
This sounds like a pretty good thing. I bet it won’t be long and the cell phone companies will be including this feature in their phones.
