Concern over higher rates of occupation cancer among firefighters prompts additional efforts in decontamination and cleaning of turnout gear to reduce particulate accumulation. But will turnout gear stand up to more washing and drying along with the hard work firefighters do? TenCate Protective Fabrics wanted to find out, and now firefighters at FDIC International 2018 will be able to see for themselves. The Georgia Fire Academy in Forsyth, Georgia, took three sets of turnouts featuring outer shells and thermal liners from TenCate Protective Fabrics. Each went through grueling fire evolutions and multiple extraction cleaning.

TenCate sent sets of its three outer shell offerings, paired with a variety of thermal liners and moisture barriers, for a wear test at the academy. The three that will be on display at booth #2213 in Hall D at the Indianapolis Convention Center, including these sets:

• Kombat™ Flex, an outer shell featuring PBI® fiber, which saw 500 fire evolutions and 51 wash/dry cycles.
• Agility®, an outer shell featuring DuPont™ Kevlar®, which experienced 379 fire evolutions and 50 wash/dry cycles.
• Pioneer™, an outer shell featuring a DuPont™ Nomex® blend, which went through 140 fire entries and 35 wash/dry cycles.

Be sure to stop by the TenCate Fire Station booth #2213 at FDIC International 2018 to see for yourself how TenCate outer shells and thermal liners hold up. Find out why it's all about the fighter...not the fire.

The U.S. Fire Administration has announced the official on-duty death of Firefighter Gregory Jackson, 50, of the Fort Benning Fire Department on April 19, 2018.

Firefighter Gregory Jackson became ill at the end of his shift on April 14, 2018. He was transported to a local hospital where he passed away on April 19, 2018. The nature and cause of fatal injury are still to be reported. 

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Jackson at http://apps.usfa.fema.gov/firefighter-fatalities/

To date, 28 firefighter fatalities have been reported to USFA in 2018.  Year-to-date and annual USFA firefighter fatality reports are posted online at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/data/statistics/ff_fatality_reports.html

Fatality status is provisional and may change as USFA contacts State Fire Marshals to verify fatality incident information.

By Chris Mc Loone

FDIC International has long been a venue for manufacturers to introduce their newest products. This year is no different, but Phil Gerace, vice president, marketing for Task Force Tips (TFT) and AMKUS, adds that FDIC International is “the ability to come to one place together, face to face to discuss, display, and demonstrate. At FDIC, we can share new ideas with and better understand the needs of the fire service, apparatus manufacturers, and our distribution network.”

On the demonstation side, TFT is highlighting several products this week:

• A new compact monitor for wildland and interface apparatus.
• Tactile Touch Blue Tooth controls for TFT monitors.
• New nozzles for big water and industrial foam applications.
• Tools to help reduce firefighter cancer risk from dirty PPE.

For AMKUS, Gerace adds, “We will be unveiling AMKUS’s new ION 2.0 battery-powered rescue tools. They’re compact but incredibly powerful using the new DEWALT FLEXVOLT battery—the same battery already used on many other tools found on the apparatus.”

In addition to introducing and demonstrating new products, Gerace says TFT and AMKUS look most forward to receiving user feedback at FDIC International. “Our company was created by a firefighter whose sole mission was to provide firefighters with the best products to keep themselves and those they protect safer,” he says. “We’re most looking forward to hearing from our users on how TFT/AMKUS and our products are performing as well as hearing more about the new needs that have arisen because of the ever-evolving role of the fire service worldwide.”

By Chris Mc Loone

For Paul Darley, president and CEO of W.S. Darley & Co., the most important part of exhibiting at FDIC International is, “Getting to see so many current and new customers from around the world in one place and being able to introduce new products to market.” In terms of introducing new products to market, Darley is very active on the emerging technologies front this year.

For example, Darley is actively participating in FDIC International’s Emerging Technologies Summit and Pavilion, sponsored in part by W.S Darley. The Pavilion will be a place for exhibitors to showcase the newest techniques and technologies in the fire industry and is open from April 25 to 27.

In the realm of emerging technologies, Darley is introducing its new FLAIM Trainer™ this week. FLAIM Trainer is a firefighter training simulator that provides an immersive virtual reality environment combined with a patented haptics feedback system, breathing apparatus, and heated personal protective clothing to provide a unique training experience. FLAIM Trainer can be easily integrated into a broader training program for firefighters, complementing and extending current training systems. The base solution is configurable to support customer specific scenarios, and performance monitoring.

Firefighters using the FLAIM System will be able to compare their performance to other FLAIM System users. The system will be on display, and demos will be open to participants at W.S Darley’s booth 3721.

W.S Darley will also be deploying an FDIC-first Drone Cage. W.S Darley will be operating a variety of drones including the DJI Matrice 210, the Yuneec H520, and the Phantom 4 Pro inside the cage. The drones will be equipped with thermal and zoom cameras, which will be used to demonstrate practical use in the fire industry. The drones will be using Drone Sense to stream their video to nearby monitors, giving the audience a better sense of the drone’s capabilities. Darley drone experts will be on hand answering questions related to training, department grants, and what a drone can do for a fire department.

And, even for exhibitors, FDIC International is a place for exhibitors to see what’s new in addition to debuting their own products. I look forward to seeing some many of our customers/friends,” says Darley. “I always look forward to seeing what new products companies are introducing.”

W.S. Darley & Company is displaying at FDIC International Booth 3721.