Search and Rescue in Residential Fire Structures - Research Paper Example

?Search and Rescue Technologies in Residential Structure Fires Fire fighting is possibly one of the most dangerous civilian career available. Approximately one hundred deaths and tens of thousands of injuries per year are attributed to fire fighting activities, either actively during fires or due to stress-related heart attack and strokes shortly after this type of activity. Many of those killed in the line of duty are volunteers, who have received no monetary compensation for their dangerous, dirty, and hard work. (United States Fire Administration [USFA], 2011). However, the lives they save each day make this sacrifice more than worthwhile for both them and for the communities they live in; residential, commercial, and wild fires can cause as many as 19 fatalities an hour across the world (Coates, 2010). It is vital to the safety of our society that researchers continue to enhance the technologies that allow fire fighters to do their jobs in the safest and most effective fashion possible, especially those working in residential structure fires and residential search and rescue. Residential structure fires are responsible for approximately two to three thousand civilian deaths per year since 1997, but these numbers have been dropping due to improved fire prevention education, early fire detection, and fire suppression technologies being used, and also the improved technologies and equipment available for search and rescue efforts (USFA, 2008). These search and rescue technologies fall into two major categories: those devices that make it easier for fire fighters to find and save those victims trapped within a burning building and those technologies that protect the fire fighters' own lives, which indirectly will save even more lives than the direct equipment. Technologies that allow fire fighters to rescue those victims who have been trapped within a burning building mainly include those which allow the rescue workers to find those individuals more quickly. The primary and most impressive piece of equipment in this category is the thermal imaging camera. A thermal imaging camera helps the fire fighters to see people more easily through dense smoke or haze, by analyzing the image of a trapped figure and “convert[ing] the 'thermal signature' to a visible image” (Marlow Industries Inc, 2008). These cameras are able to convert the most minute differences in the temperature of objects into a visible light image for the fire fighter using the camera to view, and they work even in complete darkness as they do not require any ambient visible light to resolve the images (FLIR Commercial Vision Systems, n.d.). This combination of processes means that a thermal imaging camera can be used by a fire fighter to look into a dark or smoke-filled room and determine immediately if there are any people within the room who need to be evacuated from the building. The image will also show the fire fighter if there are any flames or ignition sources within that room (FLIR Commercial Vision Systems, n.d.) Such cameras work by visualizing an image using infrared radiation instead of visible light sources. They are able to produce images at high resolution through heavy smoke due to the fact that the infrared radiation used has a longer wavelength, reducing scattering off of particulate matter in the air. (FLIR Commercial Visions Systems, n.d.). Some cameras are even able to transmit these images to a commander outside the building, allowing him or her to better control the situation within the building based on the real-time data being received (Santa Clara County Fire Department, “High-Tech and Specialized Equipment, n.d.). These cameras are also sometimes of adjustable sensitivity, to allow for varying temperature ranges in the space being viewed. They can be more sensitive for narrow temperature ranges, such as looking into a hot room, and less sensitive cameras for situations where temperatures vary more widely, such as trying to locate an individual in a smoky but relatively cool room (Amon, Bryner, & Hamins, 2005). However, a thermal imaging camera is not infallible in discovering trapped people or finding fires within a building. These devices cannot allow a fire fighter to view through solid materials common in residential buildings such as drywall, wood, steel, or concrete. The reason for this is that these substances are no more transparent for infrared radiation, any more than they are transparent for visible light. Just like a fire fighter, the thermal imaging camera cannot see through walls, furniture, or other solid objects (Bullard, n.d.) Another limitation of thermal imaging cameras is the possibility of the thermal detector becoming over-saturated. This happens primarily due to the high temperatures of the fire fighting conditions. The thermal detectors in a thermal imaging camera must be kept cool, and this is extremely difficult to do in a portable unit being subjected to such stresses. Therefore, the cameras are only proven to be fully accurate in a fire situation for relatively short periods of time (Amon, Bryner, & Hamins, 2005). Many fire fighters also carry rope rescue kits that allow them to easily escape from high-rise buildings, such as residential apartment complexes or residential units within multi-function skyscrapers (Rescue Response Gear, n.d.). Since in these type of closed floor plan residential structures, fire suppression techniques require keeping interior doors closed to prevent the spread of fire to other areas of the building, using standard exits and entrances may not be feasible. In extremely tall buildings, if elevators are not working, using rope rescue kits may be the only possible, safe, and timely exit (USFA, 2008). These rope kits also allow them to lower rescued victims, using harnesses and sometimes stretchers, when a more traditional evacuation method for the rescued individual is impossible for the above-listed reasons (Rescue Response Gear, n.d.) A second type of technology in this category that aids fire fighters in rescuing people trapped in burning buildings is the equipment and fire fighting apparatus that allows them to access these buildings. The listing of this type of equipment starts with the portable ladder, which is used in situations where it has been deemed necessary to enter the building by an upper story window, simultaneously breaking open the window while providing a point of entry (Bricault, 2011). It also includes chainsaws, axes, and Caldo torches which allow fire fighters to cut through walls and doors to enter and exit buildings. This allows the fire fighters to make new entry points when the doors are blocked by flames, or to cut through doors that are wedged shut or blocked by debris (National Fire Fighter Corporation, n.d.; Santa Clara County Fire Department, “High-Tech and Specialized Equipment”, n.d.). Finally, this list of equipment includes spotlights and other lighting equipment, such as flashlights and headlamps, that allow fire fighters to see the outside area of a building and within the interior spaces until smoke obscures their view. Use of this type of equipment reduces the amount of time that the fire fighters must work blindly, and reduces their reliance on thermal imaging (National Fire Fighter Corporation, n.d.). Many of the technologies that help protect the lives and the physical safety of fire fighters also help them rescue victims, including, for example, the fire fighters' personal protective equipment. For example, a high-quality helmet with a gold-tinted visor maintains visibility in both dark and light conditions, and curved ear fittings allow auditory perception for the wearer, while protecting their head from heat and flames. Using this type of equipment, the fire fighter stays safe while being able to see and hear potential victims, as well as the instructions and warnings from their fellow fire fighters in the building (“Draeger launches VFR Pro helmet”, 2010). Fire fighters' structural turnout gear, also known as bunker gear, protects their bodies from heat up to twelve hundred degrees Fahrenheit, so they can move within a burning structure more safely and protect fire victims as they are transported out of the building. The design of the turnout gear is brightly colored and clearly labeled, so that a fire fighter can be quickly identified in low-visibility conditions. This way, any trapped persons know who the fire fighter is, and so that other fire fighters do not waste time wondering if a moving figure requires assistance. A fire fighter's self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA, allows him or her to breathe without fear of smoke inhalation, so the fire fighter can walk through even toxic smoke in order to rescue a trapped person (Santa Clara County Fire Department, “Protective Clothing: Structural Turnouts”, n.d.) Such protective gear and personal items may seem mundane and even boring, but without them, no residential search and rescue effort could ever take place. Fire suppression and residential search and rescue would be nearly completely ineffective without such everyday technologies as hoses, modern fabrics, pump trucks, sirens and warning lights, and megaphones. Radio communication, for example, makes it possible to locate all fire suppression vehicles as they travel to the site of the fire, and allows easy communication between those fire fighters within a building, those working the hoses and vehicles outside, and a commander or fire chief for a particular site (Santa Clara County Fire Department, “Protective Clothing – Structural Turnout”, n.d.). One interesting item of technology that may be used in residential fires to both protect fire fighters and aid in the rescue of trapped occupants is a small, fluorescent plastic piece known as a Bigwig tool. The Bigwig tool hangs over the hinge in a residential interior door or in the track of a residential overhead door, simultaneously keeping the door open and marking the open door to provide a path of exit to fire fighters and trapped individuals. This way, search and rescue crews know quickly and efficiently which rooms they have already searched through, so even if the searchers become disoriented they do not lose time re-searching the same room, nor do they lose themselves within a room (Voss, 2010). References Santa Clara County Fire Department. (n.d.). High-Tech and Specialized Equipment. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.sccfd.org/equipment.html. Santa Clara County Fire Department. (n.d.). Protective Clothing: Structural Turnouts. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.sccfd.org/clothing_turnouts.html. Coates, L. (2010). Taming the Fire Triangle. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.fireengineering.com/. Voss, E. (2010). The Bigwig Tool. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.fireengineering.com/. National Fire Fighter Corporation. (n.d.). Retreived March 2, 2011, from http://www.nationalfirefighter.com/. No Author Given. (2010, April 16). Draeger Launches VFR Pro Helmet. Industrial Fire Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.hemmingfire.com/. Bullard. (n.d.). How a TI Works. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.bullard.com/. U.S. Fire Administration. (2011). Historical Overview. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/. Marlow Industries Inc. (2008). Thermal Imaging Cameras Assist Firefighters in Saving Lives. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.marlow.com/thermal-imaging-cameras. FLIR Commercial Vision Systems. (n.d.). Thermal Imaging. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.flir.com/. Amon, F., Bryner, N., & Hamins, A. (2005). Thermal Imaging Research Needs for First Responders: Workshop Proceedings. Washington, D.C. National Institute of Standards and Technology. Rescue Response Gear. (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2011, from http://www.rescueresponse.com/. U.S. Fire Administration. (2008). Residential Structures and Building Fires. Washington, DC. Read More