Mission Statement

“To use advanced technologies available from

the Federal Laboratories, industry and
academia to reduce the risk and enhance the
safety of firefighters and first responders.”
MOU: Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire & NASA
GOAL:

To use advanced technologies to reduce the risk

and enhance the safety of the firefighting service.

PBF – FFTF – NASA

 Sponsors
• Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)
• NASA Northeast Regional Technology Transfer Center - Center
for Technology Commercialization (CTC) - Public Safety
Technology Center
Member Departments

Boston, MA
Fremont, CA
Miami, FL
Minneapolis, MN
New York, NY
Pittsburgh, PA
Portland, OR
San Antonio, TX
St. Louis, MO
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Between
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
Metro Fire Chiefs (MFC)
and
Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC)

*Initially signed in 2001 & renewed in 2003

 Areas of Investigation
• Improved Communications
– noise reduction & control technologies
• Vision enhancement technologies
• Advanced tracking system for locating personnel & equipment in
a burning building
• Environmental monitoring systems
• Lightweight, heat-resistant, self-extinguishing materials for fire
fighting equipment, clothing & hoses
• Improved lightweight tools
• Apparatus
 Technology Priorities
• Hands - free communication in high noise
• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke
• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings
• Next generation fire apparatus
• Wildland fires
 Laboratory Members
• Armstrong Laboratory,
Brooks Air Force Base
• •
Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen
• Army Research Laboratory, Ft. Benning
• Berkeley National Laboratory
• Defense Advanced Research Projects
Agency (DARPA)
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Los Alamos National Laboratory
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• NASA Johnson Space Center
• NASA Kennedy Space Center
• NASA Langley Research Center
• NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
• Naval Research Laboratory
• Naval Surface Warfare Center,
Indian Head
Naval Surface Warfare Center,
Panama City
• Naval Undersea Warfare Center
• Navy Clothing & Textile Research Facility
• Night Vision & Electronic Sensors
Directorate
• National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health (NIOSH)
• National Institute of Standards and Testing
(NIST)
• Picatinny Arsenal
• Sandia National Laboratories
• University of Maryland
• US Fire Administration / Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Wright Patterson Air Force Base
 FFTF Technology Transfer Process
• End User Driven - Close interaction between FFTF Coordinator
and Firefighting Service

• Champion at Each and Every Stage -

Project Coordinator
End User Sounding Board/Trials & Demo (by Fire
Departments)
FLC/Lab Commitment - Extra Mile
Industry - Commit to Bridge R&D
Technology Transfer Process
Technology Transfer Process
 Technology Priorities
• Hands - free communication in high noise*
• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke
• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings
• Next generation fire apparatus
• Wildland fires

*Licensed by the Navy to Radioear/Sensory Devices

 Bone Conduction Headsets

Standard Tactical Firefighter

 Bone Conduction Headsets
Transmitting:
The act of speaking causes the skull to
vibrate. These vibrations are picked up by
the forehead contact microphone.

Receiving:
• Radio Message is fed into bone conduction
speaker
• Speech is converted to vibration
• Skull bones are vibrated by speaker
transmitting vibration to inner ear
• User hears radio message the same as if it
had been transmitted via air through outer
and middle ear

Advantages:
Firefighters do not have to shout, thereby
conserving energy and maintaining calm;
background noise is greatly eliminated.
 Technology Priorities
• Hands - free communication in high noise
• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke*
• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings
• Next generation fire apparatus
• Wildland fires

*CRADA between Night Vision & Electronic Sensors Directorate & Sage Technologies
 Helmet Mounted Thermal Imager
• Light weight, low cost helmet
mounted imagery systems
• Improves mobility, survivability,
fire detection, personnel rescue
and incident command

Weight 17 ounces
Housing Ultem
Mounting Helmet or mask
Battery Type 9v Lithium
Battery Life 3.5 Hours
Temp Ranges 70°c for 45 min
120°c for 10 min
340°c for 5 min
 Technology Priorities
• Hands - free communication in high noise
• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke
• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings
• Next generation fire apparatus
• Wildland fires
 Position-Location System
• Accurate (to 1 meter), easy to
set-up and operate, affordable
firefighter position location and
tracking system
• Designed for interior operations
Range: 150-350 feet indoors
Accuracy: 1 meter both horizontal & vertical
Usability: All normal residential and low-rise
commercial office buildings
• Each firefighter transmits a
unique digital identification code
• Small worn or dropped Ultra
Wide Band (UWB) Transceivers
track relative locations
• Combination of UWBs creates a
wireless network
• Signal “Flight Time” (TDOA-
Time Delay Of Arrival) and
arrival angle determines exact
horizontal and vertical position
 Position-Location System
• Base station uses angle of arrival
(AOA) to fix exact position of at least
3 nodes
• Other nodes use ranging to position
themselves in the network
• Nodes broadcast ID and ranging
information - base station builds
node map
• Firefighter unit ranges to 3 or more
nodes and broadcast ID and range
information
• Base station receives firefighter
information and displays position of
nodes and track of firefighters
• Firefight unit displays position of
base station and other firefighters
 Technology Priorities
• Hands - free communication in high noise
• Enhanced visibility through dense smoke
• Tracking & monitoring inside buildings
• Next generation fire apparatus
• Wildland fires
Wildland Firefighting Tanks
 Conclusion

The technology transfer process used by the

Fire Fighting Task Force is an end-user
driven model and can only be declared
successful if it ultimately results in affordable,
practical and reliable commercially available
products/devices to enhance the safety of
firefighters and first responders.
Thank You For Your Time
Please contact me
Robert Saba
FFTF Coordinator

4170 La Tache Court

Allison Park, PA 15101

Email: rbsaba31@verizon.net
Phone/Fax: 412.492.8551