The 2013 event was in Paris This year the 13th International Water Mist Conference took place in Paris, France, from 16th to 17th October. Next year the annual conference of the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey. Dates will be 22nd and 23rd October 2014. While during the last years the IWMA has always held its conferences in Central Europe the board has now decided to move further east. “By going to Istanbul with the 14th International Water Mist Conference, we would like to attract more delegates from Asia and the Middle East”, says Ragnar Wighus, chairman of the IWMA board of directors. During this year’s conference 20 speakers gave presentations. They spoke about “codes & standards”, “research & testing” as well as “applications”. All of the presentations are available on the IWMA website. In all 80 attendees from 19 countries attended the conference in Paris. About three quarters of the participants came from within Europe – the most of them came from France. The others had travelled to Paris from countries like Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan and the United States.

Says The Australian As firefighters around Sydney battle raging October infernos, researchers say fire ground controllers may soon be able to hand the most dangerous tasks to unmanned drones. A University of Newcastle mechatronics team is working with other Australian universities, the Defence Department and Boeing to perfect “intelligent autonomous vehicles” that can detect new outbreaks, stream images to firefighters and dump water on flames. With wingspans as little as two metres, aircraft could stay aloft for up to 12 hours, monitoring fires and beaming escape routes to trapped firefighters. Small drones could be much cheaper than conventional aircraft, possibly allowing fire authorities to deploy fleets of spotter planes. Team leader Tristan Perez said unmanned water-bombing helicopters would offset the dangers of smoke-choked visibility and water buckets entangled in power lines. “By removing the pilot you remove most of the risk,” Dr Perez said. While remote-controlled drones are widely used in the military, fire ground deployment has been limited. Dr Perez said drones had been used to monitor forest fires in California, but only after other aircraft had been grounded. However, Google was experimenting with a fully autonomous vehicle “roaming the streets” of a German city, while autonomously controlled underwater drones were being used in seafloor mapping and offshore oil operations. Dr Perez said regulators around the world were under pressure to licence drones for civil and industrial purposes such as mapping and surveying, monitoring traffic, predicting crop yields and protecting assets against terrorism. He said bushfires could function as a “guinea pig” as drone technology made the leap from military to civilian applications, from remote control to autonomy, and from operating in isolation to sharing space with manned craft. While safety fears could make authorities reluctant to allow drones to be used in routine operations, a bushfire was “already an emergency”, he said. Dr Perez said technological hurdles prevented the immediate use of autonomous fire fighting drones. Systems for detecting other objects, avoiding collisions, handling emergency situations and maintaining links with ground stations needed to be improved. But these challenges could be overcome in a few years, he said. “In the military, these technologies have a well proven record of reliability and safety.” Arguably the bigger obstacles are around public acceptance and liability issues, such is who is at fault in a collision. Newcastle University is already working with Boeing Research and Technology Australia to develop “tools” to help regulators certify increasingly autonomous aircraft. Dr Perez said a complete switch to fully autonomous technology would present few issues. “The problem is that we’re going to be sharing roads and operational spaces with piloted vehicles. That’s where most of the problems will occur. “Sometimes humans will not follow the same rules, or not in the same way. That’s where there is uncertainty – how this vehicle is going to react in a situation it hasn’t seen before.”

Frankfurt am Main Professional Fire Service have been handed the fleet Mid-October saw the handover by Rosenbauer of several new HLFs (structural pumpers) to the Frankfurt am Main Professional Fire Service. The trucks are part of a comprehensive replacement program, involving the acquisition of 19 vehicles, during which the entire HLF fleet will be switched to Rosenbauer ATs by the end of the year. Klaus Tonhäuser, the Rosenbauer Deutschland GmbH CEO, presented the new trucks to Reinhard Ries, the Director of the Frankfurt Fire Directorate, who took this opportunity to thank Rosenbauer for the good and intensive teamwork in past months. For example, the prototype vehicle was tested thoroughly by the fire service in spring before the vehicles are now getting put into service step by step. Frankfurt’s new main emergency vehicles consist of 19 identical HLF 20 trucks on 15t MAN chassis fitted with a Euro 5 drive train and additional braking system, and designed in line with DIN 14530-27. The main extinguishing technology components consist of an N35 pump with an output of up to 3,500 l/min and an electrically driven and electronically controlled Digimatic pressurised proportioning system. Like the pump, the Digimatic is monitored by the displays of the Rosenbauer Logic Control System (LCS) and owing to its low, infinitely adjustable proportioning rates of 0.1 to 6.0% is ideal for wetting operations. When using foam, extinguishing output amounts to 2,400 l/min at 10 bar. A special feature of the Frankfurt vehicles is the integration of two connected foam tanks each of which have a 100l volume. If required, firefighters can separate the tanks, which can be filled with differing foam concentrates. In order to create additional space for payload, for the first time the Digimatic has been installed at the back of the vehicle and not as usual in one of the rear equipment compartments. Apart from the two pressure outlets on the left and right of the vehicle, a quick attack reel is installed in equipment compartment 6. In addition, a mobile traffic control reel can be attached to the rear of the truck and a manually operated 5,000l monitor is mounted in equipment compartment 1. Special infrastructure components also serve to enhance the operational safety of the vehicles. For example, these include three mechanical comfortable lowering devices for the equipment stored on the roof (four-section scaling ladder, three section extension ladder, containers with suction hoses and preventers), as well as overhead power line protection, flaps on the wings, revolving stairs with automatic locking, a comprehensive colour logic system for grips and handles, actuating devices and fixtures for intuitive equipment handling. The vehicle lighting system is also entirely safety oriented and extends from a lighting mast with six 230V xenon searchlights, which can be rotated and swivelled, to surrounding area lighting consisting of three powerful LED lamps on both the left and right of the truck, and top quality, LED lighting in the cabin and equipment compartments. Front and reversing cameras, as well as manoeuvring searchlights mounted on the rear view mirrors further enhance driving safety, while a direction indicator in the cabin informs the crew as soon as the driver activates a blinker or the brakes. In addition to front and rear flashing lights, four Martin compressed air horns and a rear-mounted LED traffic direction unit serve as warning systems. For the electricity supply at the operational scene, a portable generator is mounted on a revolving pullout in equipment compartment 4. The generator’s exhaust gas system runs up to the vehicle roof and in order to create the required space, a special 1,600l water tank with an opening for the exhaust gas line has been developed and installed. The warning devices, generator and lighting mast can be controlled from displays in the driver’s cab and at the back of the vehicle. The driver’s and crew cabins, as well as all the equipment compartments have central locking. The cab is fitted with electrical windows and glass doors for better vision when leaving the vehicle and even temperatures in the driver’s and crew cabins are ensured throughout the year by an air conditioning system mounted in the cab roof and stationary heating. A total of six SCBA fittings (five in the cab, one on the co-driver’s seat) are installed along with a basic range of extended first aid equipment (safety helmet, emergency and intensive backpack, defibrillator, etc.), which is contained in the so-called action tower in the cab. A heat-imaging camera is also close at hand. Apart from the standard payload, a fold-out, rotating breathing apparatus monitoring panel is available together with a pullout hygiene board with water and compressed air outlets, soap and hand towel dispensers for rough cleaning. Nine sorting crates are mounted on a revolving pullout in equipment compartment for the extremely space-saving storage of small parts and tools. The Frankfurt am Main Professional Fire Service is among the most modern in the world and the technology employed in its new HLFs is equally advanced and innovative. In future, these trucks will form the backbone of the Frankfurt fleet and be part of virtually every alarm response. Apart from the 19 HLFs, the Frankfurt service has 20 pumpers, 14 rescue trucks, ten aerial ladders, four large tankers and four swap body vehicles. The service protects the roughly 25 hectares of the Frankfurt inner city area with its population of around 700,000. Twelve constantly manned fire and rescue departments are spread across the entire urban area and all in all, the professional fire service has some 1,000 employees. Among the HLFs handed over in mid-October was the 3,600th Rosenbauer AT. The AT (Advanced Technology) is therefore one of the Europe’s best-selling municipal fire trucks. The vehicle made its debut at the Interschutz 1994 and current production represents the third generation. From the outset, the AT was characterised by its superstructure design consisting of torque-resistant, bolted and bonded, aluminium sandwich panels. This creates a weight reduction that is employed for the accommodation of additional payload,

Care, caution and courtesy on the roads at all times Everyone – drivers, bikers, walkers, and cyclists – should exercise care, caution and courtesy on the roads at all times. Remain focussed on your safety and that of all other road users throughout your entire journey, and actively observe the Rules of the Road. These are some of the key road safety messages from a series of events organised by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLR) in the currently ongoing Road Casualty Reduction Programme. The initiative is promoted by the Gardaí (Irish National Police Service), the Dublin local authorities, Dublin Fire Brigade, HSE National Ambulance Services, Road Safety Authority and transport providers. Live road collision simulation Initiatives by DLR included a road collision simulation held in University College Dublin with a full emergency service attendance. This was a graphic depiction of the serious road injuries that emergency services must deal with every day. A young driver was also breathalysed and ‘arrested’ at the scene – getting across the message that Gardaí will breathalyse all drivers where there has been a collision. Emergency services discussed the unfolding scene with students and an announcer provided live updates and interviews throughout the incident. Justin Burns, Incident Commander from Dublin Fire Brigade said: ‘The purpose of this hard hitting campaign is to reinforce the road safety message. As emergency service responders we witness first-hand the consequences of negligent actions on our roads. We need people to understand that they must act responsibly when using our road network, be it as a pedestrian, cyclist, motor vehicle user or by any other means of transport. By delivering the message in this way we can let the audience experience in a controlled environment the human impact of dangerous actions on our roads.’ Homework for drivers The campaign includes a Garda Checkpoint with a difference, where local pupils provided some road safety ‘Homework for Drivers’ reminding them to be careful outside their schools. At schools everywhere, some parents on the daily school run will sometimes park illegally or unsafely in the rush to drop off or collect their child. However, they may be placing other road users and even children in danger. Illegal parking can block the safe view between cars and pedestrians – especially children. It can also sometimes prevent emergency services accessing calls in the area around a school. AXA Roadsafe Roadshow DLR, AXA insurance and the emergency services also brought the AXA Roadsafe Roadshow to Dún Laoghaire, attended by hundreds of young future drivers from transition year in local schools. Gardaí, Firefighters, Paramedics and an A&E Consultant provided thought provoking insights for the students into the human impact and horrific consequences of road accidents. Other initiatives include major road network campaigns for vulnerable road users consisting of high-visibility vests and other safety equipment giveaways. Gardaí have also been providing advice to road users in addition to their regular road safety enforcement activities throughout the County. Streetsmart Targeting the safety message towards young school children, the ‘Streetsmart’ programme aims to bring road safety to life in a fun way and is available to local schools throughout the County area of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. Designed for 4-12 year-olds, teachers and staff from the Road Safety Authority provide the programme to the children. A ‘Streetscape’ mat with a typical street scene is set up in the school hall and children are taught how to use the road safely. They can also participate in a range of activities such as storytelling, road safety games and an interactive road safety question and answer session. Real Numbers = real people While the Dublin Metropolitan Region, which includes Dún Laoghaire, is now considered to be one of the safest cities with regard to road safety in Europe, there is no room for complacency. Sadly, figures show there were some 6,389 injuries on Irish roads in 2012 (provisional figures) and 162 road deaths. The 162 who died included 29 pedestrians, 8 cyclists, 95 car occupants, 19 bikers and 11 other people killed in various road incidents involving goods or HGV vehicles and also a minibus. The estimated cost of all road collisions reported to and recorded by the Gardaí in 2011 was €792 million. This is a reduction of 42% since 2007. Road deaths in the Republic of Ireland have fallen to the lowest level since records were first officially taken in 1959. The rate of fatalities per million of the population is now 41, less than half of the rate in 2001 (107). Source: (RSA Road Collision Facts). The current campaign seeks to bring home to all road users the true impact of these statistics. Behind each number is a real person – family members, parents, brothers, sisters, friends and neighbours in the community. Seamus Storan, Road Safety Engineer of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, said: "These are innovative ways of bringing home the very real impact of road accidents which members of the emergency services must attend on a daily basis nationwide. The fact is that, while we are constantly improving our roads infrastructure, it is the actual behaviour of road users which can prevent collisions, injuries and deaths. "While collisions have many causes, the one thing that all serious collisions have in common is that they destroy lives forever and place an immense burden on families and communities. Sadly it is the18 – 24 age groups where accident statistics show the highest fatality rates. ‘We’re highlighting the need to drive safely, to slow down and observe speed limits. Never use your phone while driving; always wear seatbelts and never ever drink and drive.” www.rsa.ie  

Gas leak followed oil train derailment in Alberta Emergency crews battled a massive fire on October 19 after a Canadian National tanker train carrying oil and gas derailed west of Edmonton, Alberta, overnight. No injuries have been reported so far. A Canadian National spokesman, Louis-Antoine Paquin, said 13 cars four carrying petroleum crude oil and nine loaded with liquified petroleum gas came off the tracks around 1am local time in the hamlet of Gainford, about 50 miles from Edmonton. The entire community of roughly 100 people was evacuated. Paquin said three cars containing gas were leaking and on fire. Local officials feared there could be an explosion and declared a state of emergency. "It’s still a risky situation so we need to contain as much as possible and keep people far away," said Carson Mills, spokesman for Parkland County, which includes Gainford. A resident described hearing a series of crashes moments before a huge fireball shot into the sky. "The fireball was so big, it shot across both lanes of the Yellowhead [Highway] and now both lanes of the Yellowhead are closed and there’s fire on both sides," said a witness identified only as Duane. The train was travelling from Edmonton to Vancouver, British Columbia, Paquin said. The Transportation Safety Board said it was sending investigators to the scene. Questions about the increasing transport of oil by rail in the US andCanada were raised in July after an unattended train with 72 tankers of oil rolled into the small Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic near the Maine border, derailing and triggering explosions that killed 47 people. The town’s center was destroyed. The rail company’s chairman blamed the train’s operator for failing to set enough hand brakes. Much of that increase is from oil produced in the Bakken region, a rock formation underlying portions of Montana and North Dakota in the US, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba in Canada. The train that crashed in the small Quebec town was carrying oil from North Dakota to a refinery in New Brunswick, Canada. The train, using DOT-111 railcars, was operated by a US company, the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway. Following the fatal Quebec derailment, Cynthia Quarterman, head of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, has said the US agency expects to publish draft regulations requiring that DOT-111 railcars be retrofitted to address safety concerns. The agency’s proposal is intended to fix a dangerous design flaw in the rail cars, which are used to haul oil and other hazardous liquids throughout North America. Canadian officials had said the oil carried by that freight train had been misclassified as a less dangerous type of crude and they urged US and Canadian regulators to ensure dangerous goods are accurately labeled. Another key issue is whether railroads should be required to employ a minimum of two workers per train. The train that exploded in Quebec had only one engineer, who wasn’t with the train at the time of the accident.

Highly accurate suppression solution In what could prove to be a good news for fire-fighters across the globe, China has developed world’s first high-rise fire suppression (HFS) missile to put out fire. According to Chinese news portal china.org.cn, the newly-developed high-rise fire suppression system is able to fire off a HFS missile from a long distance into any given window of a 100-metre-high building. However, instead of having a warhead, the “missile” carries a highly-effective fire extinguisher at its head. The missile will not cause a building to collapse. The news portal said that at the test site, a 60 m3 building on an 18-meters-high hillside over 100 meters away was on fire. “Two missiles were fired from the fire trucks at the mountain foot and landed precisely at their designated place. The fire was then swiftly put out. It was later found that the 19-millimetre-thick glass wall in the window had been shot through and the walls of the room were covered in a dry chemical substance.” The chief designer of China’s high-rise fire suppression system Qiu Xuyang said the missiles take off with very little flames and very low noise. “In case the missile goes off track, its control system can still guarantee its safe landing.” He said the anti-fire missile system is designed for a quick response to fire incidents and is able to put out a fire from a long distance. “It will help save time, property and precious lives,” added Qiu. The anti-fire fighting missile, according to reports, can manage fires of up to 60 cubic metres in size.

An array of ExGo suppression control panels The priceless collections of the new National Library of Romania, a landmark building in the heart of Bucharest, will be kept safe thanks to an array of ExGo suppression control panels from global intelligent fire systems manufacturer Advanced. The new library building, which contains more than 13 million individual items, was started in the 1980s but work was halted after the 1989 revolution, only starting again in 2009. Completed and opened in 2012, the building has now been fully equipped with the latest technology, including the ExGo system. ExGo, Advanced’s ultra-dependable extinguishant release system, was configured and installed in the National Library building by Helinick, a key player in the Romanian fire and safety market. The suppression control system comprises 47 inter-linked ExGo panels with LCD displays, LED indicators and manual release buttons. Etienne Ricoux, sales manager for Advanced, said: “This is the sort of project where the quality, ease of use and flexibility of Advanced’s fire systems really deliver. ExGo offers leading performance, installation and configuration features. It can be used as a standalone or can interface with any fire system via a number of programmable inputs and outputs. “ExGo is suitable for almost all single-flooding area applications and comes with a wide range of control options and devices.” The ExGo panel integrates with the Library’s fire system, which includes over 600 optical smoke detectors, 100 sounders and 200 call points. The ExGo panels monitor and control the valves that release up to 20 tonnes of NOVEC 1230 fire protection fluid. Gabriel Traian, sales manager at Helinick, said: “We selected an Advanced system for the Romanian National Library because we knew that the equipment would be of the highest quality, as required in such a high-profile building. Advanced always deliver on time and offer support to our teams when they need it, plus we also knew that the system offered the flexibility and expandability to meet current and future requirements.” /…more     Daniel Voicu, spokesperson for the National Library of Romania, said: “With more than 13 million items in our care, many of which are totally irreplaceable, we needed to ensure that the new building offered the safest possible environment for our collections. After working with Helinick we realised that Advanced were the obvious choice, providing a system that offers maximum possible defence against fire and the option for enhancement as technology develops.” The ExGo range from Advanced has been developed specifically for sensitive and strategic assets such as server rooms, historic and cultural attractions and control rooms. The patented ExGo Extraction Software also allows users to download system status information and event logs, providing a quick and customisable data solution. The main control panel can be supplemented remote terminals and up to seven remote status indicators per panel. The system is fully compliant with relevant EN54 fire standards (Parts 2, 4 and 13) and EN12094-1 extinguishing standards, backed up with Advanced’s renowned customer care and technical support. More details can be found on Advanced’s website at www.advancedco.com.

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