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This paper aims to provide details of recently developed firefighting robots and their applications.

Following a short introduction, this paper, firstly, gives details of a selection of recently launched terrestrial firefighting robots. It then discusses the role of drones and describes some recent developments and applications. Finally, conclusions are drawn.

The last five years have seen the commercialisation of a growing number of terrestrial firefighting robots, which are remotely controlled, all-terrain vehicles that support fire crews operating in hazardous environments. They are equipped with imaging and other sensors, which provide firefighters with enhanced situation awareness and hazard warnings. Drones are being developed to fight fires in high-rise buildings. Some feature on-board fire extinguishing materials, whereas others can elevate a fire hose to the site of the fire. Drones equipped with advanced imaging devices are being used increasingly by firefighters to enhance situation awareness and assist in dealing with wildfires. Technologies are being developed that aim to increase the flight duration and payload capacity of firefighting drones.

Firefighting is a recent robotic application, and this paper provides an insight into this by considering a range of products and developments.

The purpose of this paper is to explore fire risk and preparedness, with regard to water flow rates and building types in London, focusing on Southall district.

A land use survey was carried out to identify water requirements for firefighting across the study area. Local fire hydrant flow rates were analysed, using measurements taken during 2013 and archive data held by the London Fire Brigade (LFB). QGIS was used to explore relationships between fire hydrant flow rates, urban fire risk and socio-economic vulnerability data held by the LFB.

A new type of map, which includes data on water flow rates and building types, was created using QGIS and applied to Southall district, resulting in a map showing Combined Vulnerability to fires. Inadequate fire hydrant water supply was found across many parts of the borough.

This new approach to the evaluation and mapping of urban fire risk could be applied in other cities, to assess problems with water supply and the firefighting water flow requirements of various building types. The methodology can thus assist with adaptations to urban fire resource allocation, tactics, planning and preparedness.

When socio-economic data are also available, this Geographical Information System-based methodology becomes very useful for assessing fire risk and developing strategies for preparedness and response.

This is the first time that London’s fire hydrant water pressures have been mapped and linked with socio-economic vulnerability maps, to produce a Combined Vulnerability map for assessing fire risk.

The current fire protection measures in buildings do not account for all contemporary fire hazard issues, which has made fire safety a growing concern. Therefore, this paper aims to present a critical review of current fire protection measures and their applicability to address current challenges relating to fire hazards in buildings.

To overcome fire hazards in buildings, impact of fire hazards is also reviewed to set the context for fire protection measures. Based on the review, an integrated framework for mitigation of fire hazards is proposed. The proposed framework involves enhancement of fire safety in four key areas: fire protection features in buildings, regulation and enforcement, consumer awareness and technology and resources advancement. Detailed strategies on improving fire safety in buildings in these four key areas are presented, and future research and training needs are identified.

Current fire protection measures lead to an unquantified level of fire safety in buildings, provide minimal strategies to mitigate fire hazard and do not account for contemporary fire hazard issues. Implementing key measures that include reliable fire protection systems, proper regulation and enforcement of building code provisions, enhancement of public awareness and proper use of technology and resources is key to mitigating fire hazard in buildings. Major research and training required to improve fire safety in buildings include developing cost-effective fire suppression systems and rational fire design approaches, characterizing new materials and developing performance-based codes.

The proposed framework encompasses both prevention and management of fire hazard. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified, and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework.

Fire represents a severe hazard in both developing and developed countries and poses significant threat to life, structure, property and environment. The proposed framework has social implications as it addresses some of the current challenges relating to fire hazard in buildings and will enhance overall fire safety.

The novelty of proposed framework lies in encompassing both prevention and management of fire hazard. This is unlike current fire safety improvement strategies, which focus only on improving fire protection features in buildings (i.e. managing impact of fire hazard) using performance-based codes. To demonstrate the applicability of this framework in improving fire safety in buildings, major limitations of current fire protection measures are identified and detailed strategies are provided to address these limitations using proposed fire safety framework. Special emphasis is given to cost-effectiveness of proposed strategies, and research and training needs for further enhancing building fire safety are identified.

This research explores the appropriateness of using a digital learning system based on a multiplayer online animated game in firefighting education and training. Use of the game improved learning was effective. It can increase learners' understanding of the taught content and their willingness to learn.

The research applies digital learning based on a multiplayer online animated game coupled with 3D and virtual reality (VR) technology. To verify the effectiveness of this approach, participants were divided into two groups, an experimental group (using the game) and a control group (not using the game). T-tests were used to compare the learning of the two groups.

Firefighting knowledge was significantly better among the experimental group than the control group. Learning was explored in three different domains: basic firefighting knowledge, fire extinguisher operation and fire source identification; the latter two showed statistically significant differences. After learners acquired knowledge from multimedia, the addition of a VR exercise effectively helped them to remember what they learned and increased their understanding of the taught content.

The approach proposed in this study applies digital learning via a multiplayer online animated game to explore the appropriateness of such games in firefighting education and training. Use of the game improved learning and was effective. It can not only increase learners' understanding of the taught content, but also their willingness to learn.

This study aims to evaluate the thermal performance of sodium alginate (SA) aerogel attached to nano SiO₂ and its radiative cooling effect on firefighting clothing without environmental pollution.

SA/SiO₂ aerogel with refractory heat insulation and enhanced radiative cooling performance was fabricated by freeze-drying method, which can be used in firefighting clothing. The microstructure, chemical composition, thermal stability, and thermal emissivity were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer and infrared emissivity measurement instrument. The radiative cooling effect of aerogel was studied using thermal infrared imager and thermocouple.

When the addition of SiO₂ is 25% of SA, the prepared aerogel has excellent heat insulation and a high radiative cooling effect. Under a clear sky, the temperature of SA/SiO₂ aerogel is 9.4°C lower than that of pure SA aerogel and 22.1°C lower than that of the simulated environment. In addition, aerogel has more exceptional heat insulation effect than other common fabrics in the heat insulation performance test.

SA/SiO₂ aerogel has passive radiative cooling function, which can efficaciously economize global energy, and it is paramount to environment-friendly cooling.

This method could pave the way for high-performance cooling materials designed for firefighting clothing to keep maintain the wearing comfort of firefighters.

SA/SiO₂ aerogel used in firefighting clothing can release heat to the low-temperature outer space in the form of thermal radiation to achieve its own cooling purpose, without additional energy supply.

Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 precipitated an ecological tragedy in the Arabian Gulf region. During the course of the invasion Kuwait suffered severe losses to both its oil industry and its ecological system. The scale of damage was enormous, ranging from destruction as a result of oil fires and spills to the economic deterioration of Kuwait's oil industry. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the lessons learned from Kuwait's oil well catastrophe in the hope of preventing or at least minimizing future such man‐made disasters.

The paper reviews and analyzes Kuwait's oil well tragedy in terms of its scope, logistical services provided to cope with the disaster, the techniques used in firefighting operations and related political issues. The paper also discusses the need to review existing environmental laws and the concept of environmental crime in light of this catastrophe.

There are many important lessons that can be drawn from Kuwait's catastrophic disaster, the most important of which is to ensure that dictators in the future never believe they can destroy the environment without severe repercussions from the international community.

The conflagrations in Kuwait demonstrate the dangerous consequences of large‐scale modern combat in an environmentally fragile area. Not just Kuwait but all oil‐producing nations, especially the Gulf countries, are vulnerable to this type of environmental and economic disaster.

Kuwait's tragedy highlights the need for immediate consideration of possible similar disasters in the future and how the global community will deal with them. The high cost of environmental degradation only gets more expensive when left unattended. The price is paid not only in hard currency for firefighting but in damage to the public's health and in other environmental problems. This paper shows that sustainable development is impossible in the presence of wars and terrorist activities.

The Impact of Events Scale (IES)/Impact of Events Scale – Revised (IES‐R) is arguably one of the most well known tools used to assess post‐traumatic symptomatology. The background literature reveals a significant gap with respect to the structural properties of the IES/IES‐R when used with emergency service populations. In response to these identified gaps, this paper aims to provide an evaluation of the structural properties of the three‐factor IES‐R when used specifically with a firefighting sample.

Responses to IES‐R for a sample of paid‐professional firefighters (n=94) and a sample of similar comparison participants (n=91) were evaluated for support of the suggested IES‐R subscales – i.e. hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusions. Responses for both groups were entered into a three‐factor maximum likelihood factor analysis with direct oblimin rotation.

The results provide further support for the use of these subscales when the IES‐R is employed with a community sample. However, the factor structure for the three suggested subscales was not supported for the firefighters' responses. With the firefighting sample, some items for the intrusion subscale loaded as expected, but no discernible pattern was evident for the hyperarousal or avoidance subscales. Given the lack of support for a three‐factor structure with the firefighting sample, scree plot analysis was used to suggest that a two‐factor solution may provide the best fit solution. The two‐factor solution revealed a construct described as general “post‐traumatic symptomatology” and a potential second factor described as “sleep”.

The author suggests a conservative approach to using the IES‐R with first responder samples, in particular firefighters, and recommends the use of an overall score in place of subscale scores. This recommendation is suggested as a temporary approach until additional research can be completed to further evaluate the present lack of support for the three IES‐R subscales when used with a firefighting sample.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal as a method to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding his pioneering efforts in bringing a robotic invention to market. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

The interviewee is Geoff Howe, Senior Vice President of Howe & Howe, Inc., a subsidiary of Textron Systems and a leader in advanced robotic platform solutions and applications built and proven for the most extreme conditions in the world. Geoff and Michael Howe founded Howe & Howe Technologies in 2001 and was acquired by Textron Systems in 2018. In 2010, Howe and Howe developed one of the world’s first robotic fire-fighting solutions. Geoff Howe describes the evolution of the Thermite robotic firefighter’s commercial development, along with the challenges of breaking ground in this new industry.

Geoff and his identical twin brother, Michael Howe, are inventors, military contractors, actors and entrepreneurial businessmen famous for their philanthropic drive to give back to their community. When Geoff and Mike were just six years old, they were known as “Howe and Howe Construction.” At the age of eight, Mike and Geoff built their own one room log cabin with the power tools their mom had given them for their birthday. At 16 years old, they started tinkering with vehicles before they even had their drivers’ licenses. They both graduated from Maine high school and colleges with honors. The company’s portfolio includes the RIPSAW® , Thermite, the Badger, Subterranean Rover and other extreme vehicles used for numerous applications. In 2010, Howe and Howe completed three new vehicles. First was the Thermite™ which entered the unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) market as the USA’s first firefighting UGV. The second vehicle was Ripchair™, the development of an off-road wheelchair for those that have become disabled and are unable to walk. The third vehicle was Riptide, the amphibious version of the RIPSAW. Year 2015 saw the commercial development of the Big Dog Extreme 4x4 fire truck and the Thermite RS1 and RS3 firefighting robots. The Big Dog is an off-road truck and also serves as an all-terrain multi-use firetruck. The Thermite provides firefighters and first responders immediate eyes inside the fire as well the ability to safely attack industrial, chemical and HAZMAT fires from their core. The Thermite robot provides safety and inside access on containing and defeating fires of any magnitude.

Howe & Howe Technologies first gained notoriety in 2001, with the development of the world’s fastest tank, the RIPSAW. Successful demonstrations soon followed, which eventually allowed the Howes, at the age of 31, to be named among the youngest in history to ever receive a multi-million dollar military contract from the USA. Soon after, in 2010, Howe & Howe received a Guinness World Record for developing the world’s smallest armored vehicle, the Badger. By the time the Howes were 36, they had one world record, multiple patents pending for their product developments, as well as military contracts. The Howes also had their own reality television show on a major US network. In 2010, they completed the Thermite, Fire Fighting Unmanned Ground Vehicle. In 2012, the Howes founded “Outdoors Again,” a nonprofit 501c3 organization that holds outdoor events and social activities for those who require the use of a wheelchair.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons behind the occurrence of serious accidents during interior firefighting operations of the German fire services despite numerous and significant safety improvements.

The paper is a case study relying on accident investigation reports from four accidents that happened in Germany between 2005 and 2016.

The study finds that the system of interior attack firefighting in Germany is a tightly coupled and complex system, as described by the normal accident theory, and that all four cases were caused by unanticipated interactions between components of the system and were therefore system accidents as described by the normal accident theory. This means that these accidents were ultimately caused by the properties of the system that make it susceptible to system accidents.

To prevent these accidents, there is a need to change the properties of the system that make it susceptible to system accidents.

The study identifies factors that make the system inherently dangerous. Hence, practical measures can be undertaken to counter these factors and make the system safer.

This study is the first application of the normal accident theory to the operations of the fire services in general, and it is the first theory-guided inquiry into accidents of the German fire services. The findings of this paper provide new explanations for accidents and new approaches to improve safety during interior attack firefighting operations.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenging barriers faced by female firefighters, which limit workplace entrance and performance.

Occupational barriers from both psychological and physiological viewpoints were explored based on previous literature and the reported experiences of female firefighters.

A comprehensive review of literature synthesizes previous studies pertaining to gender anthropometric differences, female firefighters’ experiences in the work environment and protective clothing issues. The physical capabilities of men and women in specific relation to performing firefighting activities are also examined. Issues of greatest concern are identified for personal protective clothing (PPC) and equipment, which have traditionally been designed for the male human form. This leads to a lack of protection, an increased risk of onsite injury, reduction in mobility and poorer comfort for female firefighters.

This review provides an original overview of the critical workplace challenges faced by female firefighters. The need for female-specific PPC and equipment is specifically addressed to retain the growing number of women entering the male-dominated firefighting profession.