Mission Statement “To use advanced technologies available from the Federal Laboratories, industry and academia to reduce the risk and enhance the safety.

Mission Statement

“To use advanced technologies available from the Federal Laboratories, industry and

academia to reduce the risk and enhance the safety of firefighters and first responders.”

MOU: Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire & NASA

GOAL:

PBF – FFTF – NASA

To use advanced technologies to reduce the risk and enhance the safety of the firefighting service.

Sponsors

• Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)• NASA Northeast Regional Technology Transfer Center - Center

for Technology Commercialization (CTC) - Public Safety Technology Center

Member Departments

Boston, MA

Fremont, CA

Miami, FL

Minneapolis, MN

New York, NY

Pittsburgh, PA

Portland, OR

San Antonio, TX

St. Louis, MO

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Between

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)

Metro Fire Chiefs (MFC)

and

Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)

*Initially signed in 2001 & renewed in 2003

Areas of Investigation

• Improved Communications– noise reduction & control technologies

• Vision enhancement technologies• Advanced tracking system for locating personnel & equipment in

a burning building• Environmental monitoring systems• Lightweight, heat-resistant, self-extinguishing materials for fire

fighting equipment, clothing & hoses• Improved lightweight tools• Apparatus

Technology Priorities

• Hands - free communication in high noise• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings• Next generation fire apparatus• Wildland fires

Laboratory Members

• Armstrong Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base

• Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen

• Army Research Laboratory, Ft. Benning

• Berkeley National Laboratory

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

• Los Alamos National Laboratory

• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

• NASA Johnson Space Center

• NASA Kennedy Space Center

• NASA Langley Research Center

• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

• Naval Research Laboratory

• Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head

• Naval Surface Warfare Center,Panama City

• Naval Undersea Warfare Center• Navy Clothing & Textile Research Facility• Night Vision & Electronic Sensors

Directorate• National Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health (NIOSH)• National Institute of Standards and

Testing (NIST)• Picatinny Arsenal• Sandia National Laboratories• University of Maryland• US Fire Administration / Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

• Wright Patterson Air Force Base

FFTF Technology Transfer Process

• End User Driven - Close interaction between FFTF Coordinator and Firefighting Service

• Champion at Each and Every Stage - Project Coordinator End User Sounding Board/Trials & Demo (by Fire

Departments) FLC/Lab Commitment - Extra Mile Industry - Commit to Bridge R&D

Technology Transfer Process

Technology Transfer Process

Technology Priorities

• Hands - free communication in high noise*• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings• Next generation fire apparatus• Wildland fires

*Licensed by the Navy to Radioear/Sensory Devices

Bone Conduction Headsets

Standard Tactical Firefighter

Bone Conduction HeadsetsTransmitting:

The act of speaking causes the skull to vibrate. These vibrations are picked up by the forehead contact microphone.

Receiving:• Radio Message is fed into bone

conduction speaker• Speech is converted to vibration• Skull bones are vibrated by speaker

transmitting vibration to inner ear• User hears radio message the same as if

it had been transmitted via air through outer and middle ear

Advantages:Firefighters do not have to shout, thereby conserving energy and maintaining calm; background noise is greatly eliminated.

Technology Priorities

• Hands - free communication in high noise• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke*• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings• Next generation fire apparatus• Wildland fires

*CRADA between Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate & Sage Technologies

Helmet Mounted Thermal Imager

• Light weight, low cost helmet mounted imagery systems

• Improves mobility, survivability, fire detection, personnel rescue and incident command

Weight 17 ounces

Housing Ultem

Mounting Helmet or mask

Battery Type 9v Lithium

Battery Life 3.5 Hours

Temp Ranges 70°c for 45 min120°c for 10 min340°c for 5 min

Technology Priorities

• Hands - free communication in high noise• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings • Next generation fire apparatus• Wildland fires

Position-Location System

• Accurate (to 1 meter), easy to set-up and operate, affordable firefighter position location and tracking system

• Designed for interior operations

• Each firefighter transmits a unique digital identification code

• Small worn or dropped Ultra Wide Band (UWB) Transceivers track relative locations

• Combination of UWBs creates a wireless network

• Signal “Flight Time” (TDOA-Time Delay Of Arrival) and arrival angle determines exact horizontal and vertical position

Range: 150-350 feet indoors

Accuracy: 1 meter both horizontal & vertical

Usability: All normal residential and low-risecommercial office buildings

Position-Location System

• Base station uses angle of arrival (AOA) to fix exact position of at least 3 nodes

• Other nodes use ranging to position themselves in the network

• Nodes broadcast ID and ranging information - base station builds node map

• Firefighter unit ranges to 3 or more nodes and broadcast ID and range information

• Base station receives firefighter information and displays position of nodes and track of firefighters

• Firefight unit displays position of base station and other firefighters

Technology Priorities

• Hands - free communication in high noise• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings • Next generation fire apparatus• Wildland fires

Wildland Firefighting Tanks

Conclusion

The technology transfer process used by the Fire Fighting Task Force is an end-user driven model and can only be declared

successful if it ultimately results in affordable, practical and reliable commercially available products/devices to enhance the safety of

firefighters and first responders.

Thank You For Your Time

Please contact me

Robert SabaFFTF Coordinator

4170 La Tache Court

Allison Park, PA 15101

Email: [email protected]

Phone/Fax: 412.492.8551