HOT TOPICS - Innovations at INTERSCHUTZ - "Der Rote Hahn 2010" (7 to 12 June) in Leipzig, Germany

An armored personnel carrier that shoots with water

The Marder A3 is an armored personnel carrier used by the German army. But not always. Because the red model featured on the Airmatic stand at INTERSCHUTZ 2010 is no warhorse but in fact an ultra-efficient rescue vehicle. As part of an EU project looking at combating forest fires, this Marder A3 has been converted into a heavy duty fire fighting appliance.

The armor plated fire fighting machine has space for a crew of two when extinguishing fires. With its high pressure vortex extinguishing process and capacity of approximately seven cubic meters, the tracked vehicle can extinguish fires continuously for up to 1.5 hours. Conventional fire engines, in contrast, have an effective extinguishing operating time of only about three minutes. But the red marten doesn't just put fires out: by rapidly emptying its collapsible tanks after the fire has been extinguished, it also provides space for 20 people and can thus carry out evacuation operations and logistical tasks.

Airmatic Gesellschaft für Umwelt und Technik mbH
(Airmatic Environment and Technology)
Ostenschlahstr. 60
58675 Hemer
Germany
Tel.: +49 2372 5005-0
Fax: +49 2372 5005-25
http://www.airmatic-systeme.de/eng/english.htm
Contact at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Tom-Frank Süper
Hall 2, Stand F39, Partner at: LOG Logistik-Systembetreuung
Cell: +49 162 278 40 87
E-mail: sueper@airmatic-systeme.de

No fire in the truck

Fire prevention systems are generally not visible and are therefore difficult to demonstrate. However, in order to ensure that visitors at INTERSCHUTZ 2010 can experience live just how good the OxyReduct fire prevention system is, the Wagner Group has come up with something a bit special: they have parked a truck on their stand which will demonstrate how the system works.

The inside of the truck is furnished like a passenger airplane. Even the seats originate from the economy class. The air in the vehicle is also a bit different: the flammability of most of the materials in the cabin is nullified by reducing the oxygen content in the air by just a few percent. Such a reduction poses no threat to humans, but flames have no chance of taking hold in such an atmosphere. Visitors can experience the effectiveness of the fire prevention system while sitting in the truck by trying to ignite a lighter. It's guaranteed that it won't light.

WAGNER Group GmbH
Schleswigstr. 1-5
30853 Langenhagen
Germany
Tel.: +49 511 97383-261
Fax: +49 511 97383-140
www.wagner.de
Contact at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Peter Clauss
Hall 5, Stand D74

Air provides protection from heat

Experts call it flashover - the moment at which a relatively small fire explodes in a flash into an inferno. In such situations, special clothing is required to protect firefighters from flames and heat. DuPont International will be demonstrating at INTERSCHUTZ 2010 how such clothing can be made even more effective with its new Nomex®-material, featuring TITAN technology.

This innovative protective clothing has a newly developed double layer construction with TI technology. Rather than using the previous approach of mixing Nomex and Kevlar into yarn, the two materials are processed separately with TI technology. In a special process, a Nomex material is woven, with a Kevlar mesh forming its inner layer. Nomex forms the outer layer and provides a high degree of lightfastness, abrasion resistance and durability. On the inside, the Kevlar mesh firmly bound to the reverse of the Nomex increases the strength of the material. A further innovative twist is that when the Nomex layer and the Kevlar mesh are exposed to flames or intense heat, they draw together to varying degrees, which leads to the creation of air pockets between the layers. This active inclusion of air in the system helps the double-layered material provide increased heat insulation, with the manufacturer claiming a 25 percent improvement in relevant values compared to other materials with a similar weight per unit area.

DuPont International
Operations Sarl
Chemin du Pavillon 2
1218 Le Grand-Saconnex
Switzerland
www.dpp-europe.com
Contacts at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Audrey Helstroffer and Martin Rola
Hall 3, Stand E52
Tel.: +49 30 88 62 58 05
E-mail: martin.rola@froc-berlin.de

Driving simulator for rescue teams

It is not only their personal skills in emergency situations but also the driving skills of rescue teams that impress mere mortals. When emergency vehicles purposefully slice through heavy traffic, many are left wondering where the driver acquired such skills. The answer is provided at INTERSCHUTZ 2010 in the form of a driving simulator from IFE SYSTEMS.

The simulator provides realistic representations of emergency journeys through urban, rural and freeway environments. Drivers can therefore practice a range of scenarios, such as clearing a path between cars in different traffic situations or how best to approach intersections with different priority rules.

IFE SYSTEMS GmbH
Seehausener Str. 27
04158 Leipzig
Germany
Tel.: +49 341 4686-0
Fax: +49 341 4686-222
www.ifesystems.de
Contact at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Nicole Speetzen
Hall 2, Stand F46
Cell: +49 171 630 50 73
E-mail: nspeetzen@ifesystems.de

Safety and prevention of hazards is now an academic subject

Catastrophes such as large fires or airplane crashes are, fortunately, rare. However, society must still be prepared for them. To this end, scenarios are developed that allow protective measures and suitable management strategies to be established. An important aspect of this is sound scientific knowledge and a fundamental technical basis. And skills in the management of crisis situations are equally important. Experts in safety and the prevention of hazards will emerge from a course of the same name now offered by the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, which is presented at INTERSCHUTZ 2010.

The course provides the required knowledge in basic safety-relevant subjects as well as key areas of knowledge pertinent to technical safety. Important skills and knowledge are acquired in lectures, practical exercises and hands-on training relating to, for example, subjects such as heat transfer and combustion, fire and explosion protection, pollution dispersion and preventative structural fire protection. Alongside the general engineering principles and technical training, the course also includes subjects such as leadership, management, emergency planning, psychology and legal issues.

Hochschule Magdeburg-Stendal (FH)
Fachbereich Bauwesen
(Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences)
(Department of Civil Engineering)
Gebäude 7
Breitscheidstr. 2
39114 Magdeburg
Germany
Tel.: +49 391 8864-212
Fax: +49 391 8864-213
www.hs-magdeburg.de
Contacts at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Anja Schulte and Hanna Biermann
Hall 1, Stand E08
Cell: +49 176 412 451 73 and +49 176 620 996 25

Big protection for little hands

Also the smaller members of volunteer fire brigades show total commitment. Good protective clothing is of course even more important for them. In order to ensure that even small hands receive great protection, Seiz GmbH will be presenting the new SEIZ-JF junior fire department gloves at INTERSCHUTZ 2010.

What is unusual with these is the small sizes in which they are offered. Protection for children's hands is available from glove size 3 and upwards. The gloves also provide a high degree of tactility, grip and flexibility. The palm, backhand and cuff are all made of durable Amara leather. Further features include the inclusion in the glove of knuckle protection on the backhand and also pulse protection. A double Velcro fastening ensures a perfect fit.

The cuff also features a ring and hook system that enables the gloves to be fastened to a protective jacket. The gloves are certified by the German TÜV test agency and are guaranteed free of any substances classed as allergenic.

Friedrich Seiz GmbH
Neuhauser Str. 63
72555 Metzingen
Germany
Tel: +49 7123 1704-0
Fax: +49 7123 1704-44
www.seiz.de
Contact at INTERSCHUTZ 2010:
Holger Sailer
Hall 3, Stand E57
Cell: +49 172 317 04 23
E-mail: hsailer@seiz.de