Goods and services that can help first responders to more effectively mitigate manmade or natural disasters have become “big business.” Research and Markets (Dublin, Ireland) forecasts that the private sector will procure $28.5 billion of homeland security products and services between the years 2007 and 2011.1 It lists communication interoperability and biochemical agents (detection and mitigation) among the top 10 fast-growing homeland safety industry sectors.
The GovSec, U.S. Law and Ready! Exhibition is attended by federal level decision makers, first responders, and homeland security professionals. At the 2006 event, in Washington, DC, wireless, mobile, and interoperable communication products; mobile hospitals, emergency response vehicles and mobile command centers; biometric identification devices; bomb diffusers; and personal protection devices were among the product leaders on the exhibit floor. One mobile hospital displayed was a 53-foot medical vehicle used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The vehicle has an operating room and eight critical care beds.
 (1) A member of the NCR Radio Cache writes talk-group assignments on the ICRI’s whiteboard during a DC Metro drill. [Photos by Josie Leyman, C-AT (Communications Applied Technology).] |
Other prominent product categories were field-ready biological detection and identification devices that can test for eight agents; radios outfitted with a global positioning system (GPS) device that makes it possible for emergency management coordinators to know the exact location of their responders; and the National Incident Management System (NIMS) IMPACT system that enables emergency managers to create identity credential cards on-site and use electronic access control for perimeters, quarantine areas, and hot zones.
 (2) The NCR Radio Cache team prepares radios and the cable reels prior to deployment into the Metro tunnel. |
Such a system was tested by the Department of Homeland Security Office of National Capital Region Coordination (DHS ONCRC) and the Department of Defense Pentagon Force Protection Agency (DoD PFPA) in February.2 The exercise, Winter Storm, which included participants from the public and private sectors, demonstrated the functionality of the First Responder Authentication Credential (FRAC) system. The multijurisdictional test sought to verify the integration and interoperability of the credential system relative to components such as qualifications, authorizations, certifications, and privileges. The ultimate objective is to develop a national unified credentialing system for first responders, according to Thomas Lockwood, DHS ONCRC director.
More than 50 organizations in more than 20 locations across the United States actively participated in the Winter Storm exercise. Participants viewed the details of a commercially available mapping program that gives local, regional, and nationwide emergency operational centers real-time situational awareness of first responders. This demonstration and one held in February 2006 tested the interoperability and usability of the credential system through simulated emergency incidents at federal, state, and local facilities.
At the 2007 GovSec exhibition, which will be held this month (after press time), the focus will be on goods and services that will help to meet first responders’ needs during the first 24 to 48 hours of a major disaster-when no staff is available. Search and rescue at a terrorist site, planning for a pandemic flu event, identifying and prioritizing threats, and making revisions at the federal level so the government can better assist in future responses will be among the needs addressed.
According to a report from the research and consulting firm Venture Development Corporation (VDC), eight in 10 government organizations, including public safety, first responders, the military, and state and local programs, listed products and services that would improve mobility as one of their “top 10” IT investments in 2006-2007.3 Shipments in the mobility solutions sector reached almost $4 billion in 2006 and are expected to exceed $6 billion by 2010, according to VDC. Survey respondents listed network interoperability as one of the pressing issues driving these mobility investments. Among the applications indicated are the integration of computer-aided dispatch, specifically the ability to integrate existing CAD systems from first responder agencies, and providing next-generation interfaces such as digital video.
DHS reported in January that of the 75 urban and metropolitan areas assessed for interoperable communications capabilities, only six received the highest grades. Although more than 60 percent of the communities had systems that enabled responders to talk with each other during a crisis, only 21 percent showed the “seamless use” of equipment needed to communicate with state and federal officials.4 DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff is continuing to push for closing “communication gaps among first responders” by the end of 2008. The report is available at www.dhs.gov.
Federal grants also have been instrumental in making newer technologies available. Some companies are alerting fire departments to the availability of fire department grants and are offering assistance in writing grant applications for the acquisition of their products that meet the criteria of the grant programs, such as improving training or communications. Grant funding has played a major role in many of the emerging technologies listed in this article.
The technologies presented here are not necessarily “new” in the sense that the ideas were recently conceived. In some cases, “new” refers to a later stage in the development of a system, a refinement in the technology, or a first-time application. In other cases, the product may serve as a “bridge” that makes it possible for responders in regions to work together or as “fillers” for gaps in firefighter safety that were impossible to envision just a few years ago, according to some of the parties involved with the research. The following is an overview of some of the technologies in the categories in which considerable progress has been made in the past year or so.
A “GATEWAY” FOR ICs
The DHS has sent the Incident Commanders’ Radio InterfaceTM (ICRITM) an audio “bridge, or “gateway,” to 43 smaller first responder agencies.5 The device is designed for easy use in harsh crisis environments. It is rapidly deployable; is battery-powered; and links incompatible radios, satellite phones, and Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP-the routing of voice conversations over the Internet or through any other IP-based network) so that first responders can talk to each other during an emergency. The equipment was obtained through the Commercial Equipment Direct Assist Program (CEDAP), a DHS initiative that sends equipment directly to smaller jurisdictions that find it difficult to fund technology for homeland security and mutual-aid missions.
Administered through the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, CEDAP is designed for first responder agencies and colleges that serve populations under 100,000. The program requires that interoperability among several disparate handheld radios and mobile radios be deployed in less than one hour.
A number of these devices were used throughout the hurricane-affected Gulf region in 2005; they were set up and configured in less than five minutes without specialized personnel or training and operated for up to 30 hours on eight AA batteries. The Emergency Operations Center version of the system permits the radios of 10 agencies to be connected; they can communicate in four independent “talk nets” or “talk groups” using clearly definable rotary switches.
The device was used in the May 2005 Congress-mandated TOPOFF 3 large-scale simulation of a multipoint terrorist attack and was also tested in a multiagency simulated response drill involving the District of Columbia Metro subway system.
John Freeburger, of Montgomery (MD) County Fire & Rescue, the project manager of the National Capital Region (NCR) Interoperability Equipment Cache, the team that would respond to an incident involving the Metro tunnel, looks on gateway devices as “expeditious interoperability solutions … that provide tactical below-grade communications.” (5)
“Events like those in Madrid, Spain; London, England; and New York City,” Freeburger says, “have given other cities a reason to prepare for action in their own light rail or subway systems. Providing solutions for below-grade communications has been one of the biggest challenges so far.”
Freeburger adds that if the communications infrastructure in the county’s tunnel system should be lost or compromised, they can “quickly and easily set up a communications link extending as much as 1,000 feet apart or below grade.” Disparate below-grade users would be able to communicate with the command structure above. “The inability to achieve seamless communications in past years created many life safety concerns at every event held in the NCR,” Freeburger says. “Current technology now provides an emergency and simplistic solution to many challenges.”
He notes that there are many types of gateway devices on the market and that NCR caches contain more than one brand of this device, “since the NCR interoperability equipment caches mirror equipment common or ‘second nature’ to the NCR and its users.”
ADDITIONAL INTEROPERABILITY SYSTEMS
Other devices being employed to establish or improve interoperability include the following:
- Another interoperability device (Raytheon’s ACU-M) features a panel used for operations, field diagnostics, and programming that can be controlled locally or remotely. The easily deployable device provides interoperability among its four audio ports (for radios or other devices), two VoIP channels, and a headset port. Digital signal processing (DSP) functions enable it to interconnect radios in any band, including HF, VHF, UHF, P25, 800 MHz, and Nextel iDEN phones. The unit can be powered by a battery, a vehicle +12V outlet, or AC power.6
- The California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has been developing technology for the fire service. According to Alexandra Hubenko Baker, program manager of Project RESCUE (Responding to Crises and Unexpected Events) and the ResponSphere project, the most relevant technologies for the fire service are CalMesh, a wireless ad-hoc mesh networking box developed and built at Calit2 UCSD, and some of its spin-offs, including GIZMO (a remote-controlled vehicle platform for wireless networking). The building of the infrastructure used to test and validate the research for several of these technologies was funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The CalMesh technology can be used to restore communications infrastructure and to create an instantaneous, ad hoc wireless network where a network has been severely damaged or did not exist (remote area) in the first place. It also can be used to create a field network for telemedicine/patient monitoring during triage/treatment in a disaster. Future applications include using CalMesh as a platform in conjunction with robots and sensors to track firefighters and fire conditions and for applications such as monitoring remote-control signal strength using a remote-controlled vehicle, allocating dynamic frequency to maximize network coverage and capacity, and mitigating radio interference.
The city of Champaign, Illinois, has been testing a few CalMesh units to extend the reach of an existing wireless infrastructure. The technology was deployed at several drills and emergency response exercises on the UCSD campus and elsewhere in conjunction with the San Diego Metropolitan Medical Response Team (MMST), which includes the San Diego (CA) Fire Department and the San Diego Police.
The NSF-funded ResponSphere project helps Calit2 to purchase infrastructure for testing and validating the CalMesh technologies, which are not yet commercially available.7 - A wireless, voice-activated SCBA communication system (ClearCalmTM) recently has been made available in the North American fire and emergency response market. A wireless transmitter, which uses radio frequency and digital signal processing technology, is mounted inside the SCBA mask; a receiver unit interfaces with the user’s radio.8
FIREGROUND APPLICATIONS
Structural Stability Monitor
Field testing is beginning at two fire departments on prototypes of a structural stability monitor that enables firefighters to acquire from burning buildings information that can help them track changes in a structure’s stability as it burns. The monitor is attached to the exterior walls of the burning building. Sensors obtain and transmit information related to fire-induced motion to a receiver that provides visual indicators of structural changes where the building is weakening.
The technology is based on research by Dr. Ziyad (Zee) Duron, in conjunction with the De Pietro Fellowship Program in civil engineering at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. The research was funded by the Building and Fire Research Laboratory (BFRL) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Since September 2000, more than 25 burn test sites throughout the country have participated in research and training exercises, including fire departments in Phoenix, Arizona; Ventura and Los Angeles County, California; Kingston, North Carolina; Woodbridge, Virginia; and Illinois.
BFRL/NIST awarded Sekos9 a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to develop a prototype and conduct field testing. At press time, Sekos was in the process of securing a manufacturing and distribution partner to expedite placing the product on the market.
The technology is described as “a complement to thermal imaging systems,” which see only objects with a thermal signature, such as the fire and a victim, and cannot see objects behind flames because of the thermal bloom from the fire or through glass (in windows or doors) or water. A portable, handheld prototype is expected to be available for demonstration by 2009, pending available funding.11
HEALTH AND SAFETY
Safety guidelines based on a study conducted by The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute (MFRI) and The Center for Firefighter Safety Research were distributed to fire departments and training academies nationwide, according to Steve Edwards, director, MFRI. The data were obtained from studies in which firefighters engaged in standard evolutions while wearing a “monitoring” shirt (VivoMetrics LifeShirt®) under their protective gear. The guidelines are based on studies involving more than 200 firefighters who wore the sensor-embedded shirt, which monitored respiration, ECG, blood oxygen saturation, temperature, and activity level during training exercises that included maze crawls, 1,000° training fires, and hose pulls. (Additional peripheral devices can be integrated to collect data on blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and other measures of health.) Trainers and officers can use the standardized, statistically significant data to predict the onset of overexertion and heat stress and as a baseline when observing firefighters during physically demanding work in stressful environments.
A version of the technology designed specifically for first responders uses a lightweight and compact chest strap, instead of a shirt, for increased comfort under heavy protective gear. The product can better withstand extreme environments such as high heat, and new software makes it possible to monitor up to 24 team members simultaneously. The product also integrates into existing radio and proprietary telemetry systems.
An ongoing study is underway to determine ways to allow data to be transferred in real-time despite issues such as the presence of steel and rebar that dampen signals from the device to the outside of the building. Data collected are transmitted in real time by a wireless modem to a remote command center, where first responders and their working conditions are monitored. PC-based software continuously displays sensor and physiological data. The software also supports individual threshold zones based on each responder’s physical fitness.
In May 2006, VivoMetrics Government Services began collecting physiological data on 500 firefighters and other volunteers as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Participants were monitored as they participated in the wildland firefighter annual pack test, which requires firefighters to walk 3.5 miles while wearing a 45-pound pack in 45 minutes or less.13
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
Among new technologies that can increase a fire department’s efficiency in management is a system (FireRMSTM) that facilitates managing daily operations such as scheduling and training, tracking incidents, supporting fire prevention initiatives, and sharing data through countywide deployment. The technology extends basic reporting to the National Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) and National Emergency Services Information Systems (NEMSIS) and automates the daily functions of fire and EMS departments.
Technology made available in 2006 (FireRMS MobileTM) provides access to the master database while in the field so that CAD dispatches, fire preplans, inspection reports, maps, hazardous materials data, and patient care data can be retrieved wirelessly. In addition, the technology incorporates interoperable solutions through secure messaging and biometric fingerprint identification, and an integrated incident management system can be implemented.
The technology is in use in some 1,500 fire departments, including Brentwood, Tennessee; Broward County, Florida; and Erie and Onondaga Counties, New York.14
PREPLANNING CRISES
To help ensure that it will be fully prepared to respond to a potential violent incident, the Castleberry Independent School District in Texas has installed a crisis management system (Rapid Responder®). The district, which includes River Oaks and Sansom Park and a small portion of Fort Worth, was awarded an Emergency Response and Crisis Management grant for $100,400 from the U.S. Department of Education. The system will be installed in the district’s elementary, middle, and high schools and the administration facilities.
The system improves communication and coordination among local first responders and school officials. Prior to installation of the system, crisis management experts from the system’s supplier facilitated a series of preplanning meetings at which school officials and police, fire, and other responders openly discussed how they would work together during a wide variety of emergencies.
In an emergency, first responders would need instant access to key information through laptop computers, USB drives, or the Web. The system provides responders with more than 300 data points, including floor plans, satellite and geospatial (GIS) information, interior and exterior photos, emergency plans, and hazardous-materials locations.
“We cannot expect to effectively handle this type of response unless we plan beforehand,” Bill Crews, chief of the River Oaks (TX) Fire Department, says. “We need to have answers beforehand so [in a real emergency] we can immediately give our attention to mitigating instead of having to acquire information.”
The state of Washington has installed the system in all its high schools, which have been “digitally mapped.” Elementary schools will be added in the future. During an actual school shooting incident in Washington, responders were quickly able to contain a gunman, evacuate more than 2,000 students in 20 minutes, mitigate physical damage to the classroom, and resume school the next morning.15
The database for the alarm control panel in the building contains all floor plans with icons representing the sensors. In a fire emergency, sensor conditions are updated every second; colors change from green (“not in alarm”), to orange (“early warning”), and red (“alarm”). Wherever it is critical to identify an intruder or validate the presence of a victim in a refuge room, video is integrated into the system.
The 2005 tests at the Louisiana State University Fire Emergency Training Institute showed that the technology embodied many aspects of command management that normally take place on the fireground and introduced new capabilities that did not exist before-capabilities that made it possible for the fire department to arrive earlier and expedite building entry, locating the fire, suppressing the fire, and rescuing victims.16
INTERNATIONAL POLL CITES BIOTERRORISM AS LEADING GLOBAL HEALTH THREAT
In a UPI-Zogby international consumer poll conducted between February 9 and 12, 2007, U.S. respondents said that a bioterrorism attack was their greatest fear. The 10,258 U.S. respondents had been asked the global health risk they believed posed the greatest threat; 33.9 percent cited a bioterrorism attack (the number-one response). The margin of error is 1 percentage point. (www.imedinews.ge, Feb. 27, 2007)
In the bioterrorism area, technology development has focused on vaccines and antidotes, detecting equipment, disease prevention, thwarting anthrax threats, and weapons of mass destruction.
- In January, a Phase 1 clinical trial was begun to develop a “BioScavenger” that could possibly prevent or treat the effects of exposure to organophosphorous chemical warfare agents, including sarin, soman, and VX. The clinical trial is being conducted for the Department of Defense Medical Identification and Treatment Systems (MITS) Joint Product Management Office under a contract awarded in 2005. The product was still under clinical investigation and was not licensed by the federal Food and Drug Administration at press time.17
- Army scientists were to begin testing at the end of January a new handheld detector, developed by ArizenBio, that could identify within 60 seconds a “very wide” range of pathogens in trains, buses, and buildings. The device also will give the relative concentration of the pathogen.
- The Carbon Monoxide BreathanalyzerTM (COBTM) is a noninvasive device that diagnoses carbon monoxide levels in the blood using electrochemical sensor technology. Data logging stores tens of thousands of sample readings, which can be transferred to a PC. It runs on rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, has single-switch operation, and automatic zero calibration.18
- Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, has developed an autoclave that makes bacteria and viruses (smallpox, anthrax) safe to handle but yet preserves the pathogens’ DNA for analysis.19
- Disposable respirators implanted with a resin filter layer ensure safety and continuity of business service in pandemics and bioterrorism and environmental disasters. The respirators, certified P95 by NIOSH, are said to provide increased protection against airborne viruses, including avian flu. Tests have shown that the masks remove 99.99 percent of organisms from the air. The U.S. Air Force, Health Canada, Nelson Laboratories, and other third-party research institutions tested the masks.20
- Researchers have identified two molecules that have demonstrated beneficial activity against the neurotoxin Clostridium botulinum. One subtype, botulinum neurotoxin A, is approximately 100 billion times more potent than cyanide and is relatively easy to produce, making it a potentially devastating bioweapon. One compound increased time to death by 36 percent; 6 percent of animals treated with a second molecule survived with no obvious symptoms. Because of their different modes of actions, the two compounds could be used as a “cocktail therapy” to combat botulinum neurotoxin, the researchers suggest.21
Endnotes
1. Research and Markets, Dublin, Ireland www.researcandmarketd.com; http://biz.yahoo.com 1/22/07.
2. http://newsblaze.com, March 6, 2007.
3. “Enterprise Mobility Solutions: Government Sector Analysis,” Venture Development Corporation, March 8, 2007. Additional information is at www.vdc-corp.com.
4. News in Brief, Fire Engineering, March 2007; www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1167843848098.shtm; http://cnn.usnews, Jan. 3, 2007; www.foxnews.com 1/8/2007.
5.Communications Applied Technologies (C-AT) designs and manufactures the ICRITM, radios and intercoms for military, public safety, and commercial organizations. Additional information is at www.radiointeroperability.com. Interview with John Freeburger, February 2007.
6. Information on Raytheon’s JPS Communications’ ACU-M is at http://www.jps.com/acum.
7. Additional information is at www.itr-rescue.org; www.responsphere.org; and http://calmesh.calit2.net. Interview Alexandra Hubenko Baker February 2007.
8. This technology is reported to be compatible with Scott SCBA. Source: Rod Delnea, product manager and business development, ClearCalm Communications, Calgary, Alberta. Additional information is at www.gryw.com]/.
9. A. Sekos, a member of the BioSTAR Group, developed the hardware for the system’s monitor and received a Building and Fire Research Laboratory and National Institute of Standards and Technology Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop a prototype and conduct field testing. Source: Lynette Mutter, executive vice president of business development, Biostar, Feb., 20, 2007.
10. Additional information is at www.safescene.us and www.azuresol.com/. Source: John Polankowski, Azure Wireless.
11. Source: Dr. Richard Billmers, vice president/chief technology officer for RL Associates Inc.
12. Source: Jerry Jennings, SurvivalTag, RFID, Ltd.
13. For additional information, visit www.vivometrics.com/responder. See also “The LIFESHIRT® System: FDIC 2005 H.O.T. Class Results,” P. Alexander Derchak, Ph.D., and Darrell Mendenhall, M.S., Fire Engineering, September 2005, 120.
14. Sources: Kelli Turner, marketing manager-Fire/EMS Solutions, and Myles Tillotson, Justice & Public Safety Programs, BIO-key International, Inc.; information is available at go www.bio-key.com.
15. Source: Jim Finnell, president and CEO, Prepared Response, Inc., Feb. 6, 2007.
16. White Paper “Virtual Command Technology,” Ronald Dubois, Ph.D.; Donald R. Jones Jr.; and David E. Junnek.” Series training exercise conducted by NetTalon, Inc. in conjunction with the State of Louisiana and the City of Baton Rouge, October 2006.
17. Computer Sciences Corporation, www.medicalnewstoday.com, Jan 23, 2007.
18. Source: FSP Instrument Inc. Ridgefield, NJ, www.theCOB.net. Conclusions of a study by the Yale University Human Investigation Committee were as follows: in residential structure fires, carbon monoxide poses a greater threat to life than oxygen deprivation or heat; conditions on the floor above a fire are at least as adverse as those on the fire floor, and likely worse; and SCBA provides firefighters with excellent protection from CO.
19. www.redorbit.com, Jan. 22, 2007.
20. Safe Life masks; http://news.thomasnet.com, Jan. 31, 2007.
21. “An in vitro and in vivo disconnect uncovered through high-throughput identification of botulinum neurotoxin A antagonists,” Lisa M. Eubanks, Mark S. Hixon, Wei Jin, Sukwon Hong, Colin M. Clancy, William H. Tepp, Michael R. Baldwin, Carl J. Malizio, Michael C. Goodenough, Joseph T. Barbieri, Eric A. Johnson, Dale L. Boger, Tobin J. Dickerson, and Kim D. Janda, www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0611213104v1. February 9, 2007.
MARY JANE DITTMAR is senior associate editor of Fire Engineering and FDIC conference manager. Before joining the magazine in January 1991, she served as editor of a trade magazine in the health/nutrition market and held various positions in the educational and medical advertising fields. She has a bachelor’s degree in English/journalism and a master’s degree in communication arts.
WPI’s Precision Personnel Locator (PPL) System Under Development
Shortly after the December 3, 1999, Worcester, Massachusetts, fire in which six firefighters died in a cold storage warehouse, a team of faculty and graduate students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) organized a major research project to develop a system for precisely locating and tracking personnel inside a structure. This was in response to a recommendation made by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) after the death of the six firefighters: “Manufacturers and research organizations should conduct research into refining existing and developing new technology to track the movement of firefighters on the fireground.” The National Institute of Justice of the U.S. Department of Justice funded the research.
The WPI team set out to overcome the characteristics that prevent Global Positioning Systems (GPS) from being effective indoors. Among them are insufficient signal power to reliably penetrate building materials and the reflections of radio waves that occur inside structures (called “multipath”), which introduce large errors into the conventional positioning techniques.
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The new system (drawing) will make it possible to locate, track, and monitor wirelessly crew members throughout multistory structures in real time. A graphics display on a laptop computer will show each responder’s position. Information on the responder’s vital signs also will be made available through a pulse oximeter system, also designed by WPI researchers. These data may be integrated into an overall command and control network; the reference units may be positioned on fire trucks and other response equipment.
The Worcester Fire Department has been an active participant in the project and has provided valuable real-world operational information. Chief Gerard A. Dio of the Worcester Fire Department also has been evaluating a spin-off technology, a simple homing device to find lost firefighters. “Each time the prototype has come back smaller and more practical,” Dio says. He explained that the system has been tested in the department’s burn building a number of times. He believes that with “the different grants out there and the public’s concern for firefighter safety, one day fire departments will be able to get the funding for a locating system in their capital budget plans.”
According to Jim Duckworth, principal investigator on the project, the system is expected to be available in the marketplace within two years. The technology, he says, will be licensed to manufacturers “with substantial experience in the emergency response equipment arena.” A workshop to review progress on the project and evaluate the latest prototype is scheduled for August 2007.
References
“Precision Personnel Location System,” David Cyganski,, R. James Duckworth, John A. Orr, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, February 15, 2007. Interview Chief Gerard Dio, Worcester Fire Department, February 2007.
NIST: Positive-Pressure Ventilation, Firefighting Environment, and Electrical Products Primary Focus
BY DANIEL MADRZYKOWSKI
Among the current research projects underway at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are those involving positive-pressure ventilation (PPV), the firefighting environment, and thermal effects on various electrical life safety products.
POSITIVE-PRESSURE VENTILATION
In 2006, NIST took PPV research out of the laboratory and into the real world. In June, PPV pressure tests were conducted in a 30-story high-rise in Toledo, Ohio; in November, PPV fire experiments were conducted in a 16-story high-rise in Chicago, Illinois. In both cases, NIST worked closely with the Fire Department of New York, the Chicago Fire Department, and the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department. The tests have been showing the impact that large PPV fans (40 inches plus) can have in a high-rise. Strategies using smaller fans that can be carried into the building for pressurizing the stairways are also being examined. Both big and small fans were successful in keeping the stairway clear of smoke and heat.
Toledo Tests
A series of experiments were made in a 30-story high-rise in downtown Toledo. The objective was to acquire a better understanding of structural ventilation techniques using PPV in large buildings, thus improving firefighter and occupant safety.
Fire departments are using PPV in smaller structures, such as single-family homes, to control the fire flow by introducing pressure from the front door and venting the house through a strategic exit opening. If done correctly, this tactic can remove significant amounts of heat and smoke from the structure.
 (1) A 46-inch, trailer-mounted PPV fan in position in front of the 30-story-high-rise in Toledo. (Photos courtesy of NIST.) |
In the Toledo experiments, a variety of PPV fans and tactics were used to assess their ability to increase the pressure in the stairway. More than 150 experiments were conducted to examine the impact of the fan size, setback distance, fan angle, and use of multiple fan arrangements. The increased pressure limited the amount of smoke and heat that could get into the stairway. These experiments involved pressure and flow measurements; no fires were used. Representatives from the Fire Department of New York and the Chicago Fire Department also assisted with the experiments.
The experiments demonstrated that both large and small PPV fans, if used correctly, can increase the pressure of a 30-story stairwell to prevent smoke and heat from entering the stairway. The final report, Evaluating Positive Pressure Ventilation in Large Structures: High Rise Pressure Experiments, will be available on http://fire.nist.gov.
Although the fire service leaders assisting with the experiments were impressed with the movement of “cold smoke” and the pressures created by the fans, they indicated that these techniques needed to be demonstrated with fire experiments before fire departments accepted them. A building suitable for the PPV fire experiments was found in Chicago.
Chicago Tests
A team of investigators including the Chicago Fire Department (CFD), the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), and NIST studied the effectiveness of PPV in a 16-story apartment building in November 2006. Controlled fires were on the third, 10th, and 15th floors. Eleven NIST researchers worked with more than 70 CFD and CHA staff for the two weeks prior to the experiment to prepare the building. All 16 floors were equipped with temperature monitors and pressure transducers; the three burn floors also included cameras, heat flux gauges, and typical apartment furnishings. The entire setup was connected to the data acquisition center by several miles of cable.
 (2) Flames and heat being pushed out of the building by a PPV fan. |
Once the fires were underway, a variety of ventilation tests were conducted. In one test, a large fan, called a “mobile ventilation unit,” was placed at the front door to force cool air up through the building. In another test, two smaller fans-one on the first floor and one two floors below the fire floor-were used to force air into the stairwell. Preliminary results from both scenarios show that PPV significantly reduced the temperature and amount of smoke in the corridors and stairwells outside the burn rooms. In one case, the temperature quickly dropped from 316°C to 16°C (600°F to 60°F).
Three major fan manufacturers and fire departments from New York City; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Toledo; and Ottawa, Canada, also participated in the exercise. The experiment was sponsored in part by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The NIST report on the Chicago tests is expected to be released in June 2007.
One result of these studies is that the Fire Department of New York has purchased PPV fans to begin a pilot project using them in high-rise fires.
THERMAL EFFECTS ON ELECTRONIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT
Radios
The reports “Testing of Portable Radios in a Fire Fighting Environment,” August 2006 (NIST TN 1477); “Thermal Environment for Electronic Equipment Used by First Responders,” January 2006 (NIST TN 1474); and “Performance of Thermal Exposure Sensors in Personal Alert Safety System (PASS) Devices,” September 2005 (NISTIR 7294) can be found at www.fire.nist.gov under “Recent Publications.” NIST TN 1477 points out components of radios that are susceptible to thermal damage and how to protect them.
PASS Devices
The three studies NIST conducted revealed two things about the PASS devices: The warning sound decreases when the devices are in temperatures in excess of 300°F, and the temperature sensors in the PASS devices do not respond fast enough to provide a warning to firefighters.
Thermal Imaging Cameras (TICs)
NIST developed a performance-based standard draft for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Electrical Safety Equipment. Over the past several years, the NIST’s Fire Research Division has been developing a suite of performance metrics and test methods for inclusion in a national standard on TICs used by first responders. The performance metrics are related directly to the environment in which the imagers are used and tasks typically performed by first responders. Measurements of contrast, effective temperature range, spatial resolution, image uniformity, thermal sensitivity, and the ability to penetrate obscuring media such as smoke and water vapor are all currently included in the draft standard. The report on these studies is scheduled for public release in June 2007.
 (4) NIST conducted thermal imaging camera performance assessments with small-scale test methods and real-scale fire tests, as shown here. |
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LIVE-FIRE TRAINING
Firefighters continue to die in live-fire training incidents. NIST is examining the live-fire training environment, including line-of-duty deaths that have occurred in training. Among areas to be studied are the thermal environment that results from live-fire training evolutions and heat release rates of training fire fuel loads. Temperature and heat flux measurements were conducted during training evolutions at the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute and during fire experiments at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy. NIST is currently conducting experiments on a variety of pallet and excelsior fuel loads that have been used in the training environment to measure the heat release rate. These data will be used to offer guidance to the fire service on the amount of fuel appropriate for a training fire.
 (5) Live-fire training heat release rate experiment with three pallets and excelsior. |
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 (6) Corner configuration experiment to examine the impact of the walls and ceiling on the heat-release rate. |
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COMMUNICATIONS IN HIGH-RISE AND LARGE/COMPLEX INCIDENTS
On June 20 and 21, 2006, NIST conducted a workshop to identify communication issues associated with high-rise building incidents and to examine a variety of issues that confront public safety agencies handling large/complex incidents. The workshop brought together police, fire, and emergency medical personnel from eight cities along with federal law enforcement personnel, manufacturers, and researchers. Presentations on approaches that are working were given. Breakout sessions allowed for discussions, which led to the following conclusions:
- Progress is being made in addressing the challenges of radio communications in buildings; many solutions were presented by workshop attendees.
- For interagency communications, interoperability is less about radio patches and more about developing good standard operating procedures.
- For large and complex incidents, planning, training, and the use of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) are the strongest factors in determining if the incident will be mitigated successfully.
- With large incidents, strict radio discipline is important.
The workshop results, “NIST Technical Note 1479,” have recently been published and can be found at www.fire.nist.gov.
Daniel Madrzykowski is a fire protection engineer with the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He has conducted research on fire investigation, suppression, and firefighter LODDs. He has a master’s degree from the University of Maryland. He is the chair of the NFPA Research Section, the IAAI Engineering Committee, and the SFPE Computer Model Evaluation Task Group. Madrzykowski has assisted the National Fire Academy with the development of several courses.
Fire Information and Rescue Equipment, UCB’s FIRE Project
The objectives of the Fire Information and Rescue Equipment project, a joint undertaking by the Mechanical Engineering Department of the University of California at Berkeley (UCB), the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS), and the Chicago (IL) Fire Department, are to enhance decision making and situation awareness for urban/industrial firefighters, particularly in commercial and industrial buildings such as high-rises and warehouses. The project involves design and application of technologies such as wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and small head-mounted displays (HMDs) for firefighter masks. Components include the following:
- SmokeNet: a WSN composed of smoke and temperature sensors and nodes to convey critical information to firefighters, occupants, and the incident commander (IC).
- FireEye: a head-mounted display (HMD) in the firefighter’s mask that relays performance- and safety-enhancing decision support information in a hands-free format.
- EICS: an electronic implementation of the National Fire Protection Association Incident Command System helps the IC orchestrate the scene and assess situations with greater efficiency, more information, and higher certainty.
 (1) |
The FIRE Project created a prototype that shows the information the IC needs, such as resource allocation; the locations of personnel on the building’s floor plans; and biometric data pertaining to the firefighters, including air supply and heart rate. The data are transmitted through SmokeNet.
 (2) FireEye head-mounted display in face piece. (Photos courtesy of Joel Wilson, University of California, Berkeley.) |
According to Joel Wilson, Ph.D. candidate UCB’s Mechanical Department and the project manager and designer of the FireEye, all three components are in the prototype stage, and tests are being conducted within UCB’s facilities with firefighters to determine the effectiveness of these technologies and the most efficient way to implement them. In particular, Wilson adds, “We are performing navigation experiments with the FireEye head-mounted display to understand how it can be useful to firefighters and what training is needed for such a system.”
The Chicago, Berkeley, and San Francisco (CA) Fire Departments have been providing feedback on the prototypes. Additional experiments with the Berkeley firefighters are planned for the “near future.” Wilson says that firefighters’ positive responses nationwide have been encouraging.
