I mentioned in last month’s column about how much better the fire service would be if there was more cross-pollination of ideas among the various fire services around the globe. This thought stemmed from my attending Interschutz 2015 in Hannover, Germany. Interschutz is the world’s largest fire expo and occurs every five years. Fifty-one countries were represented and more than 157,000 people attended-up from 123,000 in 2010. However, it is primarily a European show with a heavy German influence.
The show lasts six days and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Interschutz is not marketed strongly in the United States, and only a very small number of U.S. fire service personnel attend. Yet, those who do attend almost always return.
The show is very different in many ways than shows in the United States. There are no classroom offerings. However, there are product demonstrations. The exhibit spaces are far more elaborate than those found at U.S. trade shows. It is common for the larger exhibits to have complimentary food and beverages (especially beer) for their guests. Some even have live entertainment.
Positive-Pressure Ventilation
I was surprised to see the large number of fans or blowers. They are clearly a big part of fire suppression throughout the world. There were quite a few larger fans on display, including truck-mounted, trailer-mounted, and track-mounted. As noticeable as the number of fans was the fact that the majority had misters attached. Whether or not you are a believer in using positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) during fire attack, one of the benefits of the mister is after knockdown. When you introduce humidity into a structure after knockdown, the heat goes down faster and greatly diminishes the chances of a rekindle. The Kill-the-Flashover project has clearly illustrated this factor. Joe Starnes, who heads this project, makes a valid analogy when he says you can’t strike a match in a sauna.
Cancer Prevention
One of the areas I focused on was cancer prevention. U.S. fire departments are slowly realizing the importance of keeping personal protective equipment (PPE) clean. However, this focus has been primarily on turnout gear. There is little emphasis on helmets, masks, gloves, and boots. A few manufacturers were displaying equipment for cleaning these particular items. For example, one vendor had a machine with clamps to hold helmets or face pieces. There was a boot-cleaning station that looked like a typical footwear brush scraper but also had a handheld brush that was tethered to the scraper. In discussions about PPE decontamination, the experts are saying the most overlooked component is probably the headband of the helmet. In the United States, rarely, if ever, is the headband cleaned, and it is worn at one of the most vulnerable spots for toxins to enter the body.
PPE
Someone once told me that PPE was not “sexy” like fire apparatus when it comes to equipment displays and discussions about equipment. This is true. But, it was most noticeable that the PPE section of Interschutz had more buzz than any of the other “inside” sections. I think it is true that Europeans have more interest in their PPE than Americans.
European PPE basically looks like American PPE, except for the helmet. They use the same materials, and their patterns are basically the same. They do use lighter-weight gear with slightly less thermal protection. It was striking how an American product, PBI, has been accepted throughout the world as a premier protective material.
Many U.S. PPE manufacturers have a presence in the European and world markets. Viking Life Safety Equipment had an interesting design feature. Its coats and trousers had a series of elastic loop ba