By Michael W. Michelsen Jr.

Mention the name Ray Russell to someone on the street, and chances are good that you won’t cause much of a stir. Mention the same name among a group of firefighters, on the other hand, and the chances are pretty good that you will be treated like a rock star.

This is because not only has Russell spent a great portion of his career in the fire service, but for the past 40 years he has spent a lion’s share of his time producing products that better protect his brethren. In the process he has created a legend of sorts. His product? Fire helmets.

Origins

All of this started in 1969 when Russell, who at the time was a captain in the California Division of Forestry, met Ronny Coleman, who was a captain with the Costa Mesa (CA) Fire Department, over a mutual interest in collecting fire helmets from all over the world. One day, while discussing their interest in collecting, Coleman asked Russell if he was happy with his fire helmet.

“When he asked that,” Russell recalls, “I had to say no, and we decided to meet to discuss what we thought we could do to create a better helmet, one that offered better protection and was more ergonomically designed, not to mention more comfortable to wear. Interestingly, when we met, we discovered that we had each designed a helmet that was virtually the same. I guess that’s evidence that great minds really do think alike.”

The helmet the pair designed was what is now called the company’s First Due series, which not only featured a roomier fit but also allows wearers to use interchangeable parts, such as chin straps, liners, ID brackets, D rings, and other features that allow users to customize their helmets.

1 The first helmet Ray Russell and Ronny Coleman designed was what is now called the company’s First Due series, which features a roomier fit and the ability for wearers to use interchangeable parts, such as chin straps, liners, ID brackets, and D rings. (Photos courtesy of Phenix Fire Helmets.)

The men created prototypes of their design, which each of them wore while working. Other firefighters began asking them for copies of those helmets for use. Before the two friends knew what hit them, the demand spread. The duo started their business with $22,000 and high hopes to produce a line of helmets that would not only incorporate the tried-and-true designs of traditional fire helmets but be complete with the latest and greatest in materials. After four years in this experimental mode, they were selling nearly 1,000 of their helmets each month.

Today, the company, called Phenix Technology, is headquartered in Riverside, California. Since it is a privately owned company, officials do not reveal sales figures, but they do concede that they are a multimillion-dollar business. Phenix is family owned and operated, with several members running their own portion of the enterprise. Russel serves as president of the firm, while daughter Nichole Clesceri serves as chief financial officer. Shaun Russell, a son, serves as national sales and marketing manager. Three other family members also work

By Carl Nix

Training with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) at the firehouse is possible and has many benefits.

It’s true that nothing can replace real smoke, dangerous heat, and the intensity and adrenaline of entering a burning building. There is really no way to simulate the conditions of a real fire at a firehouse, but there are many ways to train with a TIC that don’t involve a live fire or smoke conditions. My goal with these training tips is to help firefighters become proficient with a TIC so they stay safe when responding to a live fire.

1 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Inside Scenarios

Let’s look at a few training scenarios that incident commanders can set up at the fire station for their firefighters.

You can use your apparatus room or day room by closing all the doors, putting tin foil over the windows, and turning off the lights to make the area as dark as possible. Have your firefighters gain familiarity with thermal imagery and its basic functions by scanning the room with the TIC in this dark setting. Expand your training environment to areas such as the kitchen, closet, bathroom, and bunkroom, which all closely mirror what you might encounter in a fire. Try building a house layout by setting up tables, chairs, couches, and other household items. Your team can begin navigating around the room and becoming comfortable moving from room to room.

Once your firefighters have become proficient in using the TIC to navigate in the dark rooms you have created, have them put on their turnout gear including their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Now you have replicated the conditions your firefighters will encounter when using a TIC in a real fire event. You can take this training one step further by placing a firefighter (a victim) in one of the rooms in your station and challenging your team to find the victim. You can time your team with and without the aid of a TIC to show how beneficial a TIC can be in quickly clearing rooms and identifying victims.

2 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Find a space heater at your fire station, and place it on the other side of a closed door. Give the door several minutes to warm up. Have your firefighters conduct a search and see if they recognize the heat pattern prior to opening the door. Whether they notice it or not, you can use this opportunity to talk about the benefit of recognizing smaller heat sources. If you have both solid core and hollow core doors in your station, you can set up several space heaters to show the difference between these door construction types.

Ask several firefighters to sit or lie down on the furniture at the firehouse and assume different positions. Let them stay there for several minutes and then tell them to get up. What you will see on the TIC is the amount of body heat that the furniture absorbed and is now reemitting. This latent thermal effect can be used to show that a firefighter, during search and rescue, may see signs of victims before actually locating the victims. There might be latent thermal images on furniture or be

By Carl Nix

Training with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) at the firehouse is possible and has many benefits.

It’s true that nothing can replace real smoke, dangerous heat, and the intensity and adrenaline of entering a burning building. There is really no way to simulate the conditions of a real fire at a firehouse, but there are many ways to train with a TIC that don’t involve a live fire or smoke conditions. My goal with these training tips is to help firefighters become proficient with a TIC so they stay safe when responding to a live fire.

1 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Inside Scenarios

Let’s look at a few training scenarios that incident commanders can set up at the fire station for their firefighters.

You can use your apparatus room or day room by closing all the doors, putting tin foil over the windows, and turning off the lights to make the area as dark as possible. Have your firefighters gain familiarity with thermal imagery and its basic functions by scanning the room with the TIC in this dark setting. Expand your training environment to areas such as the kitchen, closet, bathroom, and bunkroom, which all closely mirror what you might encounter in a fire. Try building a house layout by setting up tables, chairs, couches, and other household items. Your team can begin navigating around the room and becoming comfortable moving from room to room.

Once your firefighters have become proficient in using the TIC to navigate in the dark rooms you have created, have them put on their turnout gear including their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Now you have replicated the conditions your firefighters will encounter when using a TIC in a real fire event. You can take this training one step further by placing a firefighter (a victim) in one of the rooms in your station and challenging your team to find the victim. You can time your team with and without the aid of a TIC to show how beneficial a TIC can be in quickly clearing rooms and identifying victims.

2 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Find a space heater at your fire station, and place it on the other side of a closed door. Give the door several minutes to warm up. Have your firefighters conduct a search and see if they recognize the heat pattern prior to opening the door. Whether they notice it or not, you can use this opportunity to talk about the benefit of recognizing smaller heat sources. If you have both solid core and hollow core doors in your station, you can set up several space heaters to show the difference between these door construction types.

Ask several firefighters to sit or lie down on the furniture at the firehouse and assume different positions. Let them stay there for several minutes and then tell them to get up. What you will see on the TIC is the amount of body heat that the furniture absorbed and is now reemitting. This latent thermal effect can be used to show that a firefighter, during search and rescue, may see signs of victims before actually locating the victims. There might be latent thermal images on furniture or be

By Carl Nix

Training with a thermal imaging camera (TIC) at the firehouse is possible and has many benefits.

It’s true that nothing can replace real smoke, dangerous heat, and the intensity and adrenaline of entering a burning building. There is really no way to simulate the conditions of a real fire at a firehouse, but there are many ways to train with a TIC that don’t involve a live fire or smoke conditions. My goal with these training tips is to help firefighters become proficient with a TIC so they stay safe when responding to a live fire.

1 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Inside Scenarios

Let’s look at a few training scenarios that incident commanders can set up at the fire station for their firefighters.

You can use your apparatus room or day room by closing all the doors, putting tin foil over the windows, and turning off the lights to make the area as dark as possible. Have your firefighters gain familiarity with thermal imagery and its basic functions by scanning the room with the TIC in this dark setting. Expand your training environment to areas such as the kitchen, closet, bathroom, and bunkroom, which all closely mirror what you might encounter in a fire. Try building a house layout by setting up tables, chairs, couches, and other household items. Your team can begin navigating around the room and becoming comfortable moving from room to room.

Once your firefighters have become proficient in using the TIC to navigate in the dark rooms you have created, have them put on their turnout gear including their self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Now you have replicated the conditions your firefighters will encounter when using a TIC in a real fire event. You can take this training one step further by placing a firefighter (a victim) in one of the rooms in your station and challenging your team to find the victim. You can time your team with and without the aid of a TIC to show how beneficial a TIC can be in quickly clearing rooms and identifying victims.

2 Examples of thermal heat signatures. (Photos courtesy of Bullard.)

Find a space heater at your fire station, and place it on the other side of a closed door. Give the door several minutes to warm up. Have your firefighters conduct a search and see if they recognize the heat pattern prior to opening the door. Whether they notice it or not, you can use this opportunity to talk about the benefit of recognizing smaller heat sources. If you have both solid core and hollow core doors in your station, you can set up several space heaters to show the difference between these door construction types.

Ask several firefighters to sit or lie down on the furniture at the firehouse and assume different positions. Let them stay there for several minutes and then tell them to get up. What you will see on the TIC is the amount of body heat that the furniture absorbed and is now reemitting. This latent thermal effect can be used to show that a firefighter, during search and rescue, may see signs of victims before actually locating the victims. There might be latent thermal images on furniture or be

By Alan M. Petrillo

The United States Forest Service (USFS) Missoula Technology and Development Center (T&DC), in Montana, is working on a redesign of the emergency fire shelters used by wildland firefighters, making progress in both the materials being used to construct the fire shelters as well as their overall design.

1 The current design of emergency fire shelters used by wildland firefighters is the U.S. Forest Service M2002 regular fire shelter, left, and the large fire shelter. (Photos courtesy of U.S. Forest Service.)

One of the designs being considered comes from the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, that incorporates high-temperature materials developed for space entry vehicles reengineered as flexible thermal protection.

Current Offerings

The current design of the emergency fire shelter, the M2002, was last updated in 2002, says Tony Petrilli, the Center’s fire shelter project leader. “The current shelter is a quonset hut with rounded ends and a rounded body so it reflects radiant heat much better than the old flat triangle-style pup tent it replaced that was designed back in the 1960s,” he says. “It offers three times more protection in convective heat environments and direct flame contact than the older model, and 24 lives have been attributed to being saved by the M2002.”

2 The U.S. Forest Service’s Missoula Technology and Development Center used the University of Alberta fire test facility, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to conduct a full-scale convective test on a fire shelter.

The USFS regular fire shelter is issued folded in a case that’s 8½ inches high, 5½ inches wide, and four inches deep. It’s designed for firefighters up to six feet tall with a girth not exceeding 53 inches at any point and, when deployed, is 86 inches long, 15½ inches high, and 31 inches wide. The large fire shelter deploys to 96 inches long, 19½ inches high, and 33 inches wide and is designed for firefighters taller than six feet one inch and with a girth of greater than 53 inches at any point. The regular size weighs 4½ pounds, while the large size shelter weighs 5.2 pounds.

Materials Update

Petrilli says that NASA’s Langley Research Center is one of a number of entities that has shown an interest in submitting materials to the Center for third-party testing at the University of Alberta’s fire test facility in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. “The current pattern and shape of the emergency fire shelter most likely will not change,” Petrilli observes, adding that the advances in materials technology is where he expects major modifications.

Mary Beth Wusk, game-changing development program manager for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at the NASA Langley Research Center, says the deaths of 19 Prescott, Arizona, Granite Mountain Hotshot firefighters on June 28, 2013, when they were overrun by the