Michael Dorencz
Professor Stonich
FSCI 113 – Safety
06 December 2012
Technology of Future Firefighting Technology is an ever changing science always adapting to the latest and greatest inventions and concepts. Society has come to the point where no matter what it's population does, technology is playing a large part of that activity or task. Firefighting is not left out by these technological advances, however it's population is very slow to change. Through a two million dollar federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) manufacturer MSA and many other companies have begun development of a new style of SCBA devices. This SCBA equipment serve as a lifeline to all firefighters, and other rescuers, in hazardous situations. One of the major revolutions of the new MSA SCBA equipment is the newer sleeker design. This new design cuts down the added profile of the firefighter from the now standard eight inches to now only four inches. This new flatter design will greatly help any firefighter close confinement situations. This new SCBA model is also lighter than the previous models of years past. With these lighter packs, the firefighters shall cut down on their air consumption time, leaving the probability of rescuing someone inside alive greater. This new SCBA looks more like an elongated backpack with some reflective striping along it. All the fittings are exactly the same as all other MSA SCBAs, so refilling station and mask compatibility will not be an issue once these packs begin to go mainstream. The weight saving comes in with the new cylinder design. There are 10 small cylinders in the “backpack” style SCBA. These cylinders are covered with a material called hydrell, as compared to the heavier metal liners of today. The fire resistance, however, comes from the Nomex carrier providing three layers of protection. Questions have risen as to whether or not the three layers of nomex is enough to effectively protect those ten small cylinders. These packs are still in the developmental phases and in field testing these concerns have come up unfounded. Overall, these new packs have the ability to cut down on over straining injuries and back-related injuries. With today's military the words drone, unmanned, and robot have begun to take root. These revolutionary concepts of the new age could be no so far off in the future for the fire service. The United States Navy and a private company have begun work on a new robot that is being programmed to seamlessly work with firefighters on the fire ground , and in a burning structure. Based on Verbal and visual commands from a firefighter, the robot is able to enter a burning room and extinguish the fire. These new robots would cut down on the amount of manpower required in a burning structure, one of the fire service's most dangerous battle grounds. This lowering of