In the world of firefighting, staying ahead of the curve is paramount. As fire services across the UK continually seek ways to enhance their operational efficiency and effectiveness, Rosenbauer UK continues to be at the forefront of innovation with a…
Technology empowers firefighters in battles against blazes
Within an uncanny certainty, the team of Portuguese civil protection authority firefighters assured us there would be wildfires starting at 11am. They were right. Our trusty Cessna 182 was airborne before lunch, and by dinner we had flown over more…
AI and the cloud: digital transformation in public safety
Public safety is a high-pressure sector, and digital transformation can yield the dynamism needed to tackle the scale, complexity and unpredictability of fluid, multi-dimensional incidents, as well as complex legislative demands. Collaboration between public-safety agencies is vital to keeping the…
What’s over the horizon for wildfire mapping with high-resolution infrared remote sensing
Landscape burning is an inherent and important part of the Earth system and fires are a necessity in many ecological systems such as savannas and the boreal forests. However, where they burn too close to human habitation, fires can generate…
Using data to improve wildfire modelling
The spread of wildland fire involves the complex interactions of many physical phenomena. The reaction between combustible fuel and oxygen is exothermic, resulting in the formation of hot smoke and combustion products. The decrease in local density due to the…
The use of drones to tackle wildfires and why connectivity is key
Across the globe, destructive wildfires are becoming more common. Of the top 20 largest wildfires in California’s history, six occurred in 2020 alone. In the same year, Australia saw wildfires consume millions of acres of land and destroy billions of…
The power of turbine response systems: watermist for effective cooling and firefighting
Industrial fire brigades are showing increasing interest in turbine firefighting systems: turbines that generate a powerful watermist with very fine water droplets. The technology is already being used successfully by many industrial fire brigades for industrial incident scenarios, such as…
OroraTech transforms wildfire detection and monitoring from space
This summer, a record-breaking heatwave in the Arctic Circle has caused wildfires that will leave lasting effects on biodiversity, air quality, and forest health. The European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) estimates 100 megatons of CO2 were released…
Public alerting system for tower block residents
The tragic events at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, when 72 people lost their lives, has brought into sharp focus the need to improve fire safety for those who reside in medium- and high-rise residential buildings (MHRRBs) in the…
Fire services: Device health is critical for firefighting
The use of technological innovation has always been a big part of a firefighter’s arsenal of tools. From the infrared-based heat sensors to mobile devices, technology greatly improves a firefighter’s ability to both do their job effectively as well as…
Advances in communications and emergency warning technology bolster safety for firefighters and the public
The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters recently reported that in 2019, 396 natural disasters occurred around the world, killing more than 11,000 people, impacting the lives of 95 million others and costing $130 billion in US dollars.…
Using geographic information systems (GIS) and analytics in the fire service
Some of the most important tools for fighting fires include advanced protective gear and state-of-the-art suppression equipment. But in an age of growing communities, density issues and complex urban and rural landscapes, one of the most valuable tools in firefighting…
The new addressing system helping emergency services
Emergencies can happen anywhere, from a wildfire in a park to an incident outside one of the gates at a crowded stadium. Saying precisely where first responders are needed is crucial but can sometimes be near impossible for callers to…
A new approach to extinguishing fires on combustible-liquid storage tanks
One of the trickiest challenges a fire fighter will ever face is a full-surface blaze at a storage tank containing flammable fluid. Any grade-school student can deduce that water is useless in suppressing such fires because its higher density causes…
Advanced control systems for remote controlled monitors and robotic nozzles
At Unifire AB of Sweden (Unifire.com), technology is rapidly progressing in terms of controlling its robotic nozzle (remote controlled monitor) systems for fire fighting and numerous other applications. The Swedish robotic nozzle manufacturer now offers systems that can be controlled…
Should we rethink the protection of petrochemical tanks in light of the ITC Deer Park Fire?
After the ITC Deer Park Incident, the industry urgently needs to discover what went wrong and how is it possible that a relatively small fire escalated to an inferno that lasted almost four days resulting in the destruction of 11…
Cloud technology bringing fire service into the twenty-first century
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), there were more than 1.1 million career and volunteer firefighters in the United States as of 2016. In a high-stakes situation, every single one of them should be able to rely on…
LTE to 5G: Future-proofed critical communications for public safety
Public Safety organisations have always relied on high-quality critical communication voice services, built on specialised technologies with dedicated network implementations and spectrum. With the wide availability of high speed broadband, the potential for harnessing a new range of critical data…
The Pathfinder – Search and Rescue way-finder system
The International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation was established in 2014. The Forum is an organization of government leaders from across the globe, focused on enhancing and expanding the development of affordable, innovative technology for first responders worldwide. The…
Live streaming video – A new depth of situational awareness
In Europe, 2 million to 2.5 million fires are reported per year, resulting in up to 25,000 deaths. These can incorporate anything from a blaze in an urban high-rise building to a remote wildfire, each of which requires access to…
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