It’s not the batteries! Smoke alarm presence and functionality 5-7 years post installation of sealed lithium battery alarms

Smoke alarms with lithium batteries have been marketed as long life or “10 Year Alarms.” Previous work has drawn into question the actual term of functionality for lithium battery alarms. This paper reports on observed smoke alarm presence and functionality in a sample of 158 homes which had participated in a fire department smoke alarm installation program 5-7 years prior to the observations. A total of 394 alarms were originally installed in the 158 homes that completed the revisit. At the time of the revisit, 214 of those alarms were working (54%), 26 were non-working (7%), and 154 were missing (39%). Of the 158 homes that completed the revisit, n=62 (39%) had all their originally installed project alarms up at working at the revisit. Respondents who reported owning their homes and who reported living in their home for 6 or more years were significantly more likely than renters and those living in their homes for 5 or fewer years were more likely to maintain all of their project alarms. Smoke alarm installation programs should consider revisiting homes within 5-7 years post installation to inspect and replace any missing or non-functioning alarms. We recommend programs conducting community risk reduction programs track and plan installations and revisits to improve smoke alarm coverage.

A star-nose-like tactile-olfactory bionic sensing array for robust object recognition in non-visual environments

Object recognition is among the basic survival skills of human beings and other animals. To date, artificial intelligence (AI) assisted high-performance object recognition is primarily visual-based, empowered by the rapid development of sensing and computational capabilities. Here, we report a tactile-olfactory sensing array, which was inspired by the natural sense-fusion system of star-nose mole, and can permit real-time acquisition of the local topography, stiffness, and odor of a variety of objects without visual input. The tactile-olfactory information is processed by a bioinspired olfactory-tactile associated machine-learning algorithm, essentially mimicking the biological fusion procedures in the neural system of the star-nose mole. Aiming to achieve human identification during rescue missions in challenging environments such as dark or buried scenarios, our tactile-olfactory intelligent sensing system could classify 11 typical objects with an accuracy of 96.9% in a simulated rescue scenario at a fire department test site. The tactile-olfactory bionic sensing system required no visual input and showed superior tolerance to environmental interference, highlighting its great potential for robust object recognition in difficult environments where other methods fall short.

The Simulation of Traffic Signal Preemption using GPS and Dijkstra Algorithm for Emergency Fire Handling at Makassar City Fire Service

The Makassar City Fire Department often faces obstacles in handling fires. Problems that often hinder such as congestion at crossroads, panic residents, and others. The result of this research is a system that can assist firefighters when handling fire cases in terms of accelerating the firefighting team to the location of the fire. Dijkstra's algorithm will be used to find the shortest path to the fire location and the travel time. Then the traffic signal preemption simulation adjusts the color of the lights when the GPS vehicle approaches the traffic lights on the path to be traversed. The simulation results show that the use of traffic signal preemption in collaboration with Dijkstra's algorithm and GPS can help the performance of the Makassar City Fire Department, especially for handling fires that require fast time.

PENGARUH PELAKSANAAN PROGRAM PELATIHAN DAN PENERAPAN SISTEM MANAJEMEN K3 TERHADAP PRODUKTIVITAS KERJA ANGGOTA PADA DINAS PEMADAM KEBAKARAN KOTA BEKASI

This research was conducted to determine whether there is an effect of the implementation of training programs and the application of occupational safety and health management systems on the work productivity of members of the Bekasi city fire department. Based on the results of the research on the Implementation of the Training Program and the Implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (K3) on the Work Productivity of Employees at the Bekasi City Fire Department, there is an effect either partially or simultaneously. The conclusion of this study is that the Implementation of the Training Program and Implementation of the Occupational Safety and Health Management System (K3) explains the effect on the Work Productivity of Members at the Bekasi City FireService by 53.8%, while the rest is influenced by other independent variables that are not researched.

Health and Medical Issues in the Area Affected by Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Futaba County was the area most affected by the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. To understand issues around the re-development of the medical system, we investigated the post-accident changes in medical needs and the system’s transition. We analyzed reports from Fukushima Prefecture and local municipalities, ambulance transport data from the Futaba Fire Department, and patient data from Futaba Medical Center (FMC). After the accident, all medical institutions were closed, and the number of ambulance use dropped sharply. With the lifting of evacuation orders beginning in 2014, the amount of ambulance use increased at an annual rate of about 10%. Early on, the proportion of trauma caused by occupational and traffic accidents increased rapidly to more than 30%. As residents returned, the proportion related to endogenous diseases (most commonly respiratory) increased. Soon after the FMC opened in 2018, the majority of the patients were in their 60s, and by 2019 the proportion of patients in their 80s markedly increased. The return of the residents as well as ongoing decontamination and reconstruction projects were related to changes in the demographics of patients and the types of injuries and illnesses observed.

Dependence of death and injury of people in fires on the duration of fires

Introduction. The effectiveness of the actions of the fire protection units depends on their readiness for action, that is, on the state of the forces and means of the station and the ability to perform the main task within the existing tactical capabilities. Problem Statement. When developing mathematical models of the operational activities of the fire department, its effectiveness and the assessment of the readiness of fire protection units to extinguish fires, it is important to study the dependence of the death of people in fires on the duration of the fire. This study is devoted to this task. Theoretical Part. The distribution of fires in the Russian Federation for 2016-2020 by their duration and the dependence of deaths and injuries of people in fires, as well as their ratio to the duration of fires in the Russian Federation for 2016-2020, is studied. It is shown that the average duration of the fire during the studied period was 26 minutes, the median value of the distribution was 18 minutes. The dependences of deaths and injuries of people in fires on the duration of fires are approximated by a logarithmic function. When the duration of the fire is up to 26 minutes. the ratio of the number of people injured in fires to those killed decreases exponentially, but remains stable in the rest of the time range. Conclusions. It is concluded that it is necessary to increase the readiness of the fire department for actions to extinguish fires and rescue people, which includes the development of an information and analytical model of the operational activities of the fire department.

Abstract 13248: The Impact of Instructions for Covering the Mouth and the Nose on Dispatch-Assisted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Introduction: Under the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, rescuers are recommended to cover their mouth and nose with a facemask or a cloth as well as victim’s mouth and nose when performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). However, its impact on dispatch-assisted CPR (DACPR) has not been investigated well. Hypothesis: DACPR including the instruction for covering the rescuer’s and the victim’s mouth and nose can significantly delay the start of the first chest compression. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed DACPR records of the Nara Wide Area Fire Department, covering population of 853,000/3361km 2 , in Japan. We investigated the key time intervals of 505 DACPR records between May 2020 and March 2021. We also compared the results to that of the same period in 2019 (535 records). Results: Dispatchers failed to provide mask instruction in 322 cases (63.8%). The median time interval from the emergency call and the start of CPR instruction was longer in 2020 (197 seconds vs 190 seconds, p=0.641). The time to the first chest compression was also delayed in 2020 (264 seconds vs 246 seconds, p=0.015). Among the cases that dispatchers successfully provided mask instruction (183 cases, 36.2%), median time intervals to the start of instruction and the first chest compression were relatively faster than cases without mask instruction (177 seconds vs 211 seconds and 254 seconds vs 269.5 seconds, respectively). Conclusions: Dispatchers failed to provide mask instruction in the majority of CA cases. However, our study results indicate that the impact of mask instruction on DACPR can be minor in terms of immediate CPR provision.

Smart fire monitoring system for a city: design and development

All Fire Alarm Systems essentially operate on the same fundamental principle and framework. It provides audible and visual alarm signals. An alarm is raised if a sensor detects smoke or heat, warns people that there may be a fire, and evacuate the premises immediately. Consequently, concerned individuals may call the fire department to mitigate the emergency at which, at this point of time, the firefighter's Emergency Respond Time (ERT) is vital. ERT is one of the contributing factors to how much fire will consume lives and, or properties. In worst cases, an entire building turns into ashes, lives taken because of a slow ERT. Then there are these casual "false-alarms" caused by the false-positive readings of the installed Fire Alarm Systems. These false alarms cause mass panic and consume firefighters' valuable time and resources. The instances mentioned above are a few reasons why there is a need to implement an efficient city-wide fire alarm system. This study focused on the design, development and testing of a wide-area Smart Fire Monitoring System comprised of major parts, the devices and the system software. Specifically, this study aimed to develop a smart fire alarm device using the Agile Prototyping Methodology (APM) and employ Agile Software Development Methodology (ASDM) for the development of the Smart Fire Monitoring System Software (SFMSS). For the development of the smart fire alarm device, the proponents assembled necessary sensors, electrical components, microcontrollers, and other electrical modules to create a working smart fire alarm device that abled to detect smoke; detect temperature spikes; detect the existence of fire; broadcast a GPS coordinates to the fire department; transmit and receive data through RF signals using long-range radio frequency (RF) module and SMS technology; and, be functional and operational under Low Power mode. Concomitant with this device is its system software, SFMSS, to manage and process the broadcasted data. SFMSS is a centralized system developed for the fire department to monitor the city for a fire outbreak. SFMSS continuously communicates with the fire alarm devices to autonomously monitor fire presence via radio frequency and process SMS notifications containing GPS coordinates, convert them into a readable address, and plot it in a city map in the event of a fire emergency. The proponents conducted a Stress and Reliability Test on the smart fire alarm device and Product Evaluation for Quality, Efficiency, and Usability with the Bureau of Fire Protection Region 6 for the entirety of the system.

Bacteria Associated with Healthcare-Associated Infections on Environmental Samples Obtained from Two Fire Departments

(1) Background: Firefighters spend about 64% of their time responding to medical emergencies and providing medical care without a patient history, which can render them vulnerable to healthcare-associated infections (HAI). Infection prevention, control, and surveillance systems have been instituted at hospitals. However, the prevalence of firefighters’ exposure to HAI is unknown. The objective of this study was to document evidence of HAI on surfaces in fire stations and engines to inform disinfection procedures and identify which pathogens might contribute to occupational exposures. (2) Methods: High-touch or high-use surfaces of two fire departments were sampled during five separate occasions. One fire station from one fire department was sampled over a 4-week period, whereas four fire stations were sampled from a different fire department only once. Sampled surfaces included: entryway floor, washing machine, medical bag, back seat of engine, keyboard of reporting computer, engine console, and uniform pants. (3) Results: Multiple statistical models determined that bacterial contamination was similar between the two fire departments and their stations. Keyboards were the most contaminated surface for all fire stations and departments, E. coli was the most common bacteria detected, and C. difficile was the least detected bacteria. Adjustments for rates of contamination found that contamination rates varied between fire stations. (4) Conclusions: Comprehensive environmental sampling and clinical studies are needed to better understand occupational exposures of firefighters to HAI.