KIMTEK CORPORATION, manufacturers of modular skid units for firefighting and emergency medical transport in ATVs / UTVs, and brush trucks, recently implemented its latest line of skid units that support energy efficient electric vehicles.  KIMTEK's commitment to environmental sustainability, quality construction and convenient, modular design features provides important advantages for makers of electric vehicles such as Polaris GEM and Ranger EV models and, most recently, for the California-based Tropos Motors team. Tropos Motors has just debuted its ABLE™ FRV and ABLE™ EMS fire and medical first responder electric vehicles with KIMTEK FIRELITE® Transport 300 series truck skid units and the MEDLITE® Transport MTSTR-104 Transport Cot Units aboard. Ideal for first response coverage at large events, parking garages, commercial buildings, and entertainment venues featuring smooth or paved surfaces, electric vehicles allow fire and EMS personnel access to hard to reach areas where standard full-size fire and rescue vehicles do not fit.

"Our latest pairing of MEDLITE and FIRELITE skid units with electric vehicles is part of KIMTEK's history of partnerships with American manufacturers to serve the varied and emerging needs of public safety professionals, " KIMTEK's Founder and President, Kimball Johnson, said. "We are constantly seeking relationships that reflect energy efficiency as well as product combinations that best adapt KIMTEK equipment with the needs of our first responders in the many environments in which they work."

For more information about KIMTEK's full line of public safety skid units for fire, rescue, EMS, and brush trucks, including those specifically for electric vehicles, please visit the KIMTEK websites at kimtekresearch.com and brushtruckskids.com.  

About KIMTEK Corporation

KIMTEK Corporation is the largest producer of ATV/UTV-specific skid units for public safety agencies in the U.S.  KIMTEK's FIRELITE® fire and rescue skid units and MEDLITE® medical skid units are now in service in all fifty U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces and one territory, all branches of the U.S. military, the National Park Service, numerous NASCAR tracks, sporting complexes, schools, universities and in several countries worldwide. Founded in 1984 as a research and development company dedicated to advances in life safety technology in the fire sciences, KIMTEK Corporation manufactures and markets a full line of FIRELITE and MEDLITE Transport skid units for emergency service UTVs and pick-up trucks. More information about KIMTEK is available at 888-546-8358 or www.kimtekresearch.com.

 

Dr. John G. Blitch

At the Emerging Technologies classroom, “The Yin and Yang of Robot Assisted Emergency Response,” Dr. John G. Blitch reviewed the development of robotics, its future, and the possible application to the emergency services.

Blitch is a senior research professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Department of Behavioral Science and Leadership.

He presented various attempts to enable robots to deal with obstacles, developing reliability through self-correction, self-righting, and anti-snagging capabilities. Other common behaviors developed include retro reversing, seeking light, wiggling the antenna, and self-cleaning when the device encounters difficulties. “Sometimes you can’t avoid an obstacle; you just have to go over it,” Blitch said.

He cautioned attendees on working with vendors, recommending considering at least three; there is strength in diversity. “Your vendors may want to sell you something that fulfills a role that fits their model, not yours.”

Although there has been much progress in robotic development over the years, Blitch noted, robots lag far behind humans in their physical and intellectual abilities. In the end, “Humans rescue humans; robots are just a tool.”

On April 26 at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC), HYGENALL CORPORATION, announced the launch of 3 new Full-Spectrum™ cleaning and decontamination products aimed at helping to reduce hazards associated with modern firefighting chemical exposure. Modern fires can expose firefighters to dangerous cancer-causing chemicals that may contribute to statistically higher than average cancer rates and other ailments over the rest of the workforce.

In 2010, Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. (UL) published a limited study on particulates found in smoke, which highlighted chemicals such as plastics, and metals including lead and mercury.  Heavy metal oxides, such has Hexavalent Chromium (CrVI), which comes from heating stainless steel, chrome, and some anti-corrosion coatings, combined with incorrect hygiene practices may be powerful contributing factors to statistically increased cancer rates amongst firefighters and other first responder professionals.

 “And cancer may not be the only problem firefighters face after exposure to toxic smoke and soot,” said Michael McKinnon, Firefighter Safety Product Manager at Hygenall Corporation. “For example, lead released from burning carpets and many household and industrial products can cause irreversible cognitive problems for adult firefighters, and through a process characterized as “Toxic Hand-Off”, their children and families may be at risk at home as well.”

Hygenall adds 3 new products to the more than 30 Hygenall firefighter cleaning and decontamination products that are designed to address the entire lifecycle of a firefighter’s day. “From the moment a firefighter walks into the front door of the station, until he or she leaves to go home, we have them covered with products that have been shown to be more effective than common anionic surfactant based soaps or baby-wipe type products alone,” McKinnon added.

Hygenall FieldWipes™, P/N FW902AFF, is a non-alcohol extra-large 8” x 12” disposable wipe meant for full-body cleaning and decontamination from Full-Spectrum™ exposure such as: plastics, drug residue, cationic chemicals, germs, and metals, including radioactive substances.

Hygenall ToxOff™, P/N HT50121Q, is an improved version of an existing ToxOff brand of surface cleaning and decon of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), and is compliant with NFPA 1851 standards.

Hygenall HandScrub™, P/N HHSP64, an FDA registered scrub soap, decontaminates the dirtiest of hands, used by mechanics and maintenance technicians.

According to Hygenall Corporation, hydrocarbons and other non-ionic chemicals, which regular baby wipe type products work well at cleaning off, are not very effective at cleaning off everything that is dangerous to firefighters. Chemicals and metals that stick to skin and surfaces through strong electrostatic bonds will not clean off very well with common soaps and wipes, no matter how hard you scrub. Firefighters can subsequently carry toxins home, exposing family members every day.

Hygenall FieldWipes™, FieldScrub™, FieldWash™ HandScrub™, and ToxOff™, are called Full-Spectrum cleaners, because they do more than clean off hydrocarbon laden soot, grime and germs. Hygenall’s firefighting products are designed to displace and clean off chemicals such as carcinogens, plastic residue, germs, toxic metal oxides, including radioactive material, drug residues such as opioids, and others.

All Hygenall products are manufactured in the United States by Hygenall Corporation and are made

Two men safely escaped from a house fire Wednesday afternoon in Pasco. At about 5:15 p.m., firefighters arrived to flames coming from the upper story windows of a home at 514 Shoshone Street, according to Pasco Fire Department spokesman Ben Shearer. Several fire crews responded to the home and knocked out the fire within minutes.
- PUB DATE: 4/26/2018 4:03:19 AM - SOURCE: YakTriNews

Monroe, NC—3M Scott, a leader in innovative respiratory and personal protective equipment and safety devices, presented First Responder Center for Excellence and Firefighter Cancer Support Network each with $25,000 to aid in their efforts for cancer awareness and prevention. The organizations are the first two recipients of 3M Scott Fire & Safety’s new two-year charitable-giving initiative.

The program reflects the company’s commitment to protect the first responder. Over the next two years, 3M Scott will donate $100,000 to the firefighter community.

“Our goal is to enable other organizations to join our fight in minimizing carcinogen hazards facing firefighters,” said John Dinning, business unit manager at 3M Scott Fire & Safety. “These two groups share our mission to help protect and support first responders and their families, and we’re honored to recognize them and support them in their efforts.”

The First Responder Center for Excellence is a Maryland nonstock charitable corporation organized to support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (“NFFF”) through charitable and educational activities. The center’s goal is to become the leading resource for first responders and their family members in addressing physical, emotional and psychological health issues. The charitable organization will increase awareness of first responder health issues and prevent first responder deaths and injuries by promoting research in relevant fields. With 3M Scott’s donation, the center will develop innovative methods to address the growing concerns related to the presence of cancers within the First Responder Community and expand Stress First Aid, a new behavioral health intervention program, as well as similar programs.

The Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) is a nonprofit organization that provides assistance and one-on-one mentoring to thousands of cancer-stricken firefighters and their families. The mission of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network is to help fire/EMS members and their families cope with cancer and to provide occupational-cancer awareness and prevention training nationwide. FCSN created the popular train-the-trainer program which gives instructors the cancer-fighting tools and curriculum they can take back to their departments. An online cancer awareness and prevention course was created in cooperation with FCSN in May 2016 to educate and aid the International Association of Fire Fighters. FCSN leaders are participating in cancer-related engineering and medical research across the nation to further research and development.

“It is our mission to help protect those who protect our communities, and this program gives us a unique opportunity to do that,” Dinning said. “With this initiative, we help fund like-minded groups who are building awareness, sharing best practices and working toward cancer prevention for first responders.”

3M Scott will share details on other funding opportunities for 2018-2019 in the coming months at www.ScottSafety.com.