Article Tools

• Bookmark

Advertisement

Most Popular News

• Where teleworking is headed in 2012
• Increased use of purchasing cards in government likely in 2012
• Affordable kiosks ensure ADA compliance in government facilities

Know before you buy or sell. Get your truck's value instantly online.

Find Your Truck Now

*To see the actual values, you must purchase a subscription or a single-vehicle lookup.

Colorado State University engineering professors are using a $917,000 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant to develop technology that would protect firefighters' cardiovascular health and stave off heat stress. Researchers will use an existing device from Niwot Technologies that can cool firefighters and hazmat teams as they work, said Thomas Bradley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

The SCAMP® is a self-contained breathing apparatus that uses supercritical cryogenic air. Photo from NASA

"What we are trying to do is develop firefighter equipment that addresses major health problems for firefighters which is heat stress," he said. "The protective [bunker] gear insulates them from the outside environment but also holds in their metabolic heat so what we are trying ways to remove the metabolic heat the body produces from the inside of the gear and getting it into the outside."

According to NFPA estimates, 43% of firefighter line-of-duty deaths are the result of cardiovascular failure. The work is strenuous, and firefighters are bogged down by apparatus and fireproof suits, Bradley said. In fact, he said people generate about 600 watts of metabolic heat performing common firefighting tasks like climbing stairs and carrying heavy loads.

Read the entire story from FIRE CHIEF, our sister publication.