FiRST - Fire-fighter Rescue and Support Technology

Project FiRST (Fire-fighter Rescue and Support Technology) will produce a pre-production
prototype of a novel Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) concept, that provides a stepchange
in fire-fighter situational awareness when tackling fires in a range of environments,
but particularly those challenges represented by fighting fires indoors.
Fire-fighters tackling indoor blazes face exceptional hazards; from direct heat/hot gases
produced from burning materials, structural instability, through to severely impaired
situational awareness due to poor visibility, noise, and the difficulties Incident Commanders
have in knowing the location and status of their teams inside larger structures. These
particular circumstances have combined in past incidents, together with sudden and
catastrophic rises in temperatures, to directly lead to fire-fighter fatalities.
STS Defence is employing its extensive expertise to develop a prototype system to support
front line Fire & Rescue Services. It is non-invasive, integrated onto existing breathing
apparatus sets, and provides increased awareness of the fire-fighter to his/her surrounds. A
robust radio-frequency communications link back to the Incident Commander provides the
data and therefore the means of identifying the status of the teams, and their location in GPSdenied
indoor locations.