Fire Brigade Research Articles

Research on Fire Alarm System Based on Entropy Power Method and Topsis Superiority and Inferiority Solution Distance Method

According to the statistics of China Fire and Rescue Bureau, in 2021, 748,000 fires were reported to the national fire and rescue teams, with 1,987 deaths, 2,225 injuries and direct property losses of 6.75 billion yuan. The loss of these innocent lives and the loss of a large amount of property make us think while deploring: is there a more effective, scientific and accurate way to prevent the great harm caused by the occurrence of fire. The fire alarm system studied in this paper can be used to reduce the hazards. Firstly, the number of real fires is given 430 times by using three indicators of fire occurrence: address, machine number and loop. After selecting the high-frequency parts in the loop, machine number and component type respectively and finding their corresponding false alarm rate and failure rate, the evaluation weights are obtained using the entropy weight method. A comprehensive evaluation model based on the entropy weight method is established to score each major component. Two most reliable components of the fire alarm system are obtained: the intelligent photoelectric probe and the manual alarm button. Next, the normalized management level of each fire brigade needs to be analyzed. First, the five important parameters of normalized average coverage rate, normalized component reliability, normalized component failure rate, normalized jurisdictional fire frequency (times/hour), and normalized false alarm rate are derived for each fire brigade. The comprehensive score index of each brigade was derived and ranked by the Topsis superiority and inferiority solution distance method, and it was concluded that M brigade, L brigade, and F brigade were the three jurisdictions with the lowest comprehensive management level.

Dunántúli tanítói életképek a 19-20. századból – Németh Márton ágostai hitvallású evangélikus oskolamester hagyatéka

Lutheran elementary and secondary schools played a significant role in public education and culture already in the 19th and 20th centuries. Enrolling students, holding weekly meetings, providing training training for teachers and designing syllabuses were all part of their educational activities. Teachers had a significant impact on the life of the local community, as the establishment and operation of associations and community institutions (fire brigade, granary, clubs etc.) gave people a sense of stability, perspective and faith, even in the more difficult years of the century. Márton Németh, an Augustana Lutheran teacher, served the Transdanubian Congregation of the Lutheran Church in Iván-Egerszeg (now Vasegerszeg) for more than four decades. The work of the Németh family of teachers is thus rightly included in the county’s heritage. The work of his grandson, who is now an honorary citizen of Vasegerszeg, is commemorated on a plaque in the town.

Acoustic Based Emergency Vehicle Detection Using Ensemble of deep Learning Models

The temporal and spectral structure is possessed in the time-frequency domain by sound events. Analyzing and classifying acoustic environment using sound recording is an emerging research area. Convolutional layers can quickly extract high-level features and shift-invariant features from the time-frequency domain. In this work, emergency vehicle detection (EVD) like fire brigades, ambulances, and police cars is done based upon their siren sounds. Dataset from Google Audioset ontology was collected and features are extracted by Mel-frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC). Three deep neural networks (DNN) models (dense layer, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN)) with different configurations and parameters have been investigated. Then, an ensemble model has been designed with optimum selected models by performing experimental tests on various configurations with hyper-parameter tuning. The proposed ensemble model provides the highest accuracy of 98.7%, while the recurrent neural network (RNN) model provides an accuracy of 94.5%. Also, performance analysis of deep learning models is done with various machine learning models like Perceptron, SVM, decision tree etc.

Методика улучшения работы пожарной охраны на примере территориального управления

Introduction. Using the example of territorial administration, the article presents organizational solutions to improve the work of the fire department when using new methods of organizing voluntary fire protection. Goal and tasks. The goal is to develop a methodology that combines the experience of foreign and domestic developments in the field of voluntary fire protection, which includes an area related to the training of firefighters. Objectives - to study the weakest points in the work of the fire department on the basis of the territorial administration; develop organizational solutions to improve the work of the fire department using new methods of organizing the voluntary fire department; explore the possibilities of supporting the voluntary fire department from enterprises located on its territory; consider the possibility of autonomous operation of the district’s voluntary fire department without the need to interact with regional structures. Methods. System analysis. Synthesis. Results and discussion. As a result of the study, a number of solutions were developed that, according to the authors, can radically change the work of the fire department, taking into account the use of a new approach to the organization of voluntary fire protection based on territorial administration. The use of voluntary units on such a scale can significantly simplify the work of the fire department throughout the region discussed in the article, and can also be used in other regions of Russia, taking into account regional specifics. Conclusion. The developed organizational solutions can be used to restructure the fire department. It is shown that improving the work of the voluntary fire department will increase the efficiency of firefighting, as well as solve a number of issues related to such problems as the distribution of departure areas between departments, the staffing of departments with workers and the necessary firefighting equipment to perform assigned tasks. Keywords: fire protection; voluntary fire brigade; All-Russian voluntary fire society; training; foundation.

Volunteer Fire Brigade (OSP) Firefighting Sports Competitions in the Context of Key Problems of Contemporary Rural Poland

Volunteer Fire Brigades (OSPs) are the most numerous and widespread category of rural nongovernmental organisations in Poland. The emergency rescue focus of their activity is conducive to undertaking initiatives in the field of sports, i.e. projects aiming to improve the physical fitness and technical skills of volunteer firefighters. Firefighting sports competitions are the main form of sports rivalry among firefighters. Due to the fact of their long-time and regular organisation, team character, complying with a set of strict rules and rituals, and also the fact that this is rivalry between teams representing local communities that neighbour one another, they are a social and cultural phenomenon in which the problems of today’s rural Poland come into focus. Based on field research completed just before the COVID-19 pandemic and an overview of the literature, the author sets out to identify the functions of firefighting sports competitions in local systems. Considering the scale of the OSP organisation and the fact that it is permanently rooted in rural Poland, the paper may be considered a contribution to the discussion on effective ways of promoting physical culture outside urban centres.

COOLING THE BURN WOUND AMONG THE CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS IN THE FIREFIGHTER PRACTICE

Aim: The analysis of the cases of cooling the burns by NFRS firefighters. Material and methods: The data of Decision Support System of State Fire Brigade made accessible by the State Fire Bureau of the Operation Planning was analyzed concerning cooling the burns among the children between 1.01.2019-31.12.2020. 49 incidents were analyzed in terms of the mechanism, localiza¬tion, depth, extend of the burns, season of the year and day. Results: Burns were cooled in 1211 out of 126241 casualties, including 1023 of 7616 in fires and 188 of 118625 in local threats. Burn were cooled in 49 children out of 1211 casualties- 23 in local threats and 26 in fires. Cooling burns more often concerned in thermal (45), contact burns (27), I/II (48), up to 10% TBSA (32), in boys (25), 14-17 years (18), in October (9), from 1-11 p.m. (27) and in IV quarter of the year (19). Conclusions: 1. Among the injured the minor ones with the burns are not often cases. 2. Cooling the burns is more often associated with those ones injured in the fires and in boys. 3. Among the injured up to 17 years cooling the burns is more often seen during afternoon and autumn-winter season. 4. The fire¬fighters more often cool thermal, contact, superficial ones of minor burns and concerning different parts of the body within the upper its parts.

‘의용봉공’의 기원에 관한 연구

‘UiYongBongGong’, which is commonly used by Korean volunteer fire brigades, is a relic of the Japanese Colonial Era and has its roots in the Samurai culture of pre-modern Japan. In Japanese traditional culture, ‘UiYongBongGong’ meant that the Samurai show loyalty to their lords by sacrificing their lives. After the Meiji Restoration, the subject of loyalty was expanded to the general public, and the object of loyalty was also expanded to the emperor. It was used as essential ethics for the aggressive wars of Japanese Imperialism. Koreans were also compelled to follow these morals during the imperialist periods. After World War II, it remained taboo, but recently, Korean volunteer fire brigades have been using it publicly.

Problems and Directions of Cooperation of the National Rescue and Firefighting System with the Structures of Local Self-Government

Cel: The aim of the article is to identify directions for improving cooperation between the national rescue and firefighting system (KSRG) and local government units. The authors of this article have analysed the structure of KSRG and the powers of local government in the area of public safety, with particular emphasis on issues relating to the principles of operation, potential and tasks of the rescue and firefighting system, as well as the organizational structure of local government and its tasks in maintaining public safety. The discussion of the cooperative strategy of KSRG and local government units was also a contribution to formulating conclusions and postulates that can be used to set new directions for improving cooperation between the two entities. This is important due to the fact that they play an important role in building a security system for citizens and their property. Wprowadzenie: Ensuring security is one of the top priorities in every country’s policy. In the area of public safety, in addition to national units (State Fire Service, State Medical Rescue) and local government units, properly prepared, organized and specialized formations such as OSP, ZHP, WOPR, GOPR, TOPR and others also participate. Regardless of the type of security units, in any case, the identification of potential hazards is the basis for planning preventive measures, it allows to define the areas that involve the greatest risk of natural disasters and technical failures. Metodologia: The article uses theoretical research methods, including an analysis of the provisions of the Act on Fire Protection, the Regulation on the Detailed Organization of the National Rescue and Firefighting System, the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, the Act on Volunteer Fire Brigades and the acts regulating the status and tasks of local government. The article discusses the structure and tasks of the national rescue and firefighting system, with particular emphasis on the cooperation of KSRG with the local government units. The publication also formulates de lege ferenda postulates. While presenting proposals to improve the cooperation of entities operating within KSRG, the authors also used their knowledge and experience gained during many years of work and service for fire protection. Wnioski: The national rescue and firefighting system is an integral part of our country’s public safety system. The experience of recent years has confirmed that it is an effective guarantee of the safety of people and property, while its structure forms a coherent system of rescue forces and resources centred around various entities. Constant technological and political-economic changes impose the need to improve the system and adapt it to current social needs. Therefore, the development of KSRG still requires setting new tasks and looking for solutions to effectively achieve the goals of the system. An important element to improve the operation of KSRG is the construction of the best possible form of cooperation between the rescue formations of the PSP and OSP and local government, since effective security protection is not possible without the cooperation of government and local administration. Słowa kluczowe: public safety, rescue and firefighting system, local government, fire protection

Phoenix: Aerial Monitoring for Fighting Wildfires

Wildfires have become a global problem in recent years. Authorities are looking for various technological and auxiliary solutions to deal with this environmental crisis. One of the advances being utilized in the forest fire field and its aftermath is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs play a fundamental role in wildfire-fighting solutions due to their ease of use and high accessibility. However, the energy constraints of a single UAV and the fire areas make monitoring challenging. Therefore, to address these issues, we propose a monitoring application called Phoenix. We make three main contributions with the Phoenix application. Firstly, we implement a monitoring application consisting of path planning, graph engine, and modified TSP algorithms to help the UAV’s fire tracking and shorten its route. Secondly, we develop a network architecture to transfer the tracking data we obtained to provide information to the fire brigade and other firefighting units. Thirdly, we provide energy optimization for a single UAV mission. The first part of the application uses the elliptical fire model and simulation. In addition, Phoenix utilizes fuel moisture content (fmc) data of the fire zone to analyze the critical fire regions. The simulation results show that our Phoenix application reduces energy consumption by 38 % and enhances coverage by up to 51%.

Intelligent Dashboards to Monitor the Occurrences in Smart Cities – A Portuguese Case Study

This article concerns the needed response by the Professional Fire Brigade Regiment (FBR) in the city of Lisbon. To solve and answer the question "How to improve FBR intervention requests when an emergency is detected?" the project aims to create a functional prototype containing interactive dashboards allowing the analysis of indicators that improve decision capacity. As results attest, 58% of false alarms are cancelled even after the emergency and rescue means have been activated to the location. About 97% of the suspended requests are not cancelled before the means are sent. The number of records of occurrences tends to increase over the 8 years of study. Sunday is the weekday with the highest number of associated records, with 23.33%, specifically at 9 am and 8 pm. Autumn is the season with more occurrences, with 26.51%. More than 50% of the occurrences are in the administrative services closing time and more than 50% of the registrations send only one vehicle to the place. These indicators aim to understand if these variables are probabilistically associated with requests for interventions to be able to anticipate these scenarios and help in decision-making whenever necessary.

Overstromingen en klimaatverandering: de impact van wateroverlast op ziekenhuizen

Flooding and climate change: the impact of inundations on hospitals In the future, climate change is expected to increase the risk and occurrence of extreme weather events, including flooding. This means that hospitals must take into account situations in which severe weather or natural disasters endanger the continuity of care. Hospitals must therefore include a water test in their technical design and take this into account in their contingency plans, in which a total evacuation only needs to be considered as a last resort. Coordination with other hospitals, the government, fire brigade, Red Cross, military and other actors in emergency services is crucial, as are joint multidisciplinary exercises and simulations. In the summer of 2021, this turned out to be not only a theoretical threat, but pure and harsh reality. In this article, the impact of the threat of flooding on Belgian and Dutch hospitals along the river Meuse, as well as their previous experiences and approaches to this precarious situation in the summer of 2021 are described. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, contingency plans and evacuation protocols are also required to take into account specific hygienic measures, which make the response to such calamities even more challenging. In this article, the risks of flooding for the health care sector are discussed and suggestions for daily practice are provided.

Enabling Remote Responder Bio-Signal Monitoring in a Cooperative Human-Robot Architecture for Search and Rescue.

The roles of emergency responders are challenging and often physically demanding, so it is essential that their duties are performed safely and effectively. In this article, we address real-time bio-signal sensor monitoring for responders in disaster scenarios. In particular, we propose the integration of a set of health monitoring sensors suitable for detecting stress, anxiety and physical fatigue in an Internet of Cooperative Agents architecture for search and rescue (SAR) missions (SAR-IoCA), which allows remote control and communication between human and robotic agents and the mission control center. With this purpose, we performed proof-of-concept experiments with a bio-signal sensor suite worn by firefighters in two high-fidelity SAR exercises. Moreover, we conducted a survey, distributed to end-users through the Fire Brigade consortium of the Provincial Council of Málaga, in order to analyze the firefighters' opinion about biological signals monitoring while on duty. As a result of this methodology, we propose a wearable sensor suite design with the aim of providing some easy-to-wear integrated-sensor garments, which are suitable for emergency worker activity. The article offers discussion of user acceptance, performance results and learned lessons.

ИЗ ИСТОРИИ КАЗНЫ УФЫ

In the article archival documents of implementation of the Letter of Legitimacy of rights and benefits to Rus- sian towns, signed on April 21, 1785 by Catherine II, are investigated and the history of Ufa city budget formation in XIX century for realization of its vital functions in the framework of the city government is examined. Of special interest are the tables of Ufa's annual incomes and expenses, the reports of Ufa town council on the incoming and outgoing money, bills of exchange and other monetary documents. The following are consid- ered the main sources of replenishment of Ufa's treasury: taxes and dues from land (for construction of houses, different enterprises and institutions) and real estate (profitable houses, drinking houses, inn, etc.), dues from trade and crafts (registration of different documents, certificates, auction sales), revenues from exploitation of the city property (trade rows, bathhouses, warehouses, etc.), deductions from profits of public banks, libraries, theatres and museums, and also fines and donations from different public organizations and private persons. Using a concrete example, the structure of the cost estimate was examined: participation in the maintenance of government institutions; maintenance of the city public administration and orphan's court; military service; maintenance of the fire brigade; public education; medical, veterinary and sanitary units, etc. Of interest is the history of discussions on the consolidation of the bank in the bishop's quarter, the erection of a fence around Ushakov Park, and the issue of an ammeter and photometer for checking the light intensity of electric lamps. The presented materials draw special attention to the detailed consideration of the budget items of income and expenditure by the members of the Ufa City Council, the care of the savings of the citizens of the city, the expenditure of funds with the actual economic situation and with the forecast for the future.

A comprehensive investigation of the impacts of discovery time and fire brigade response time on life safety and property protection in England

The investigation of fire incidents in buildings is essential in understanding the consequences on occupants and property. Moreover, a fundamental role in life safety and property protection is represented by the minutes after the fire ignition. Therefore, it is possible to evaluate the effects that the discovery time of occupants and response time of the fire brigades have on a successful evacuation, reduction of fatalities and fire confinement in buildings. The Dwellings and Other buildings fire statistical databases published by the Home Office in England with data from 2010/11 to 2016/17 are investigated to determine how the fatality/casualty rates vary with different discovery times in Dwellings according to the methodology provided by Ramachandran, and adopted in the PD 7974-7:2003. Furthermore, the average response time of the fire brigades for Dwellings and Other buildings appears to be between 7-8 and 8-9 minutes, respectively. When the response times are analyzed in terms of the fatality/casualty rate, there is an upward trend in Other buildings. Finally, response time is also examined considering fire spread, fire and total damage showing that in Other buildings the classes of more severe fire damage increase for a response time between 6 and 8 minutes.

Quantitative Risk Assessment Methodology for Hydrogen Tank Rupture in a Tunnel Fire

This study presents a methodology of a quantitative risk assessment for the scenario of an onboard hydrogen storage tank rupture and tunnel fire incident. The application of the methodology is demonstrated on a road tunnel. The consequence analysis is carried out for the rupture of a 70 MPa, 62.4-litre hydrogen storage tank in a fire, that has a thermally activated pressure relief device (TPRD) failed or blocked during an incident. Scenarios with two states of charge (SoC) of the tank, i.e., SoC = 99% and SoC = 59%, are investigated. The risks in terms of fatalities per vehicle per year and the cost per incident are assessed. It is found that for the reduction in the risk with the hydrogen-powered vehicle in a road tunnel fire incident to the acceptable level of 10−5 fatality/vehicle/year, the fire-resistance rating (FRR) of the hydrogen storage tank should exceed 84 min. The FRR increase to this level reduces the societal risk to an acceptable level. The increase in the FRR to 91 min reduces the risk in terms of the cost of the incident to GBP 300, following the threshold cost of minor injury published by the UK Health and Safety Executive. The Frequency–Number (F–N) of the fatalities curve is developed to demonstrate the effect of mitigation measures on the risk reduction to socially acceptable levels. The performed sensitivity study confirms that with the broad range of input parameters, including the fire brigade response time, the risk of rupture of standard hydrogen tank-TPRD systems inside the road tunnel is unacceptable. One of the solutions enabling an inherently safer use of hydrogen-powered vehicles in tunnels is the implementation of breakthrough safety technology—the explosion free in a fire self-venting (TPRD-less) tanks.

Optimization of Firefighting Posts in Tabanan District

Tabanan is one of the districts in Bali which has ten sub-districts. The size of site in Tabanan will affect the handling of fire incidents in each area in Tabanan district. This handling relates to the response time of fire brigade, who must be able to arrive at the location after 15 minutes from received fire report. Travel time from existing fire station to other remote districts will take more than 15 minutes. This is considered to result in delays in handling fire disasters—the impact of adding new fire fighting posts in other sub-districts outside Tabanan District. However, setting up a fire station in every sub-district in Tabanan district will impact the number of costs that need to be incurred for constructing fire station. Therefore, to overcome these problems, a location optimization method is required to provide aspects of effectiveness of planning the establishment of a new fire station. The set covering problem can overcome this problem, providing the optimal number of fire stations by considering the distance travelled. This method will give results in the form of the optimal number of fire stations so can cover all areas with a response time of 15 minutes. This study uses two-speed data obtained from interviews with Tabanan districts Fire Department and speed data obtained from google maps. This study also uses the support of the QGIS application to determine the distance between sub-districts and uses the centroid point as the midpoint utilized to draw the line between the sub-districts.

Study on the effects of cooling phase and construction technology on the fire performance of R/C tunnels

Fire performance of tunnels can represent a critical issue in the design phase, even more than for other structures and infrastructures, due to some inherent features such as (a) the fire compartment geometry often leading to very high temperature (also making difficult the intervention of fire brigades), (b) the structural redundancy caused by soil restraint fostering the development of relevant indirect actions, and (c) the high compression state in the lining (all the more during the fire exposure) that increases the spalling propensity and severity. Within this context, the role played by key parameters such as lining thickness and stiffness are investigated by comparing the fire performance of two different technological solutions for the lining: (1) traditional cast-in-situ lining and (2) pre-cast segmental tunnel lining. The fire scenario also considers the cooling phase, in order to discuss the main critical points to be solved when facing the final stage of the fire. 3D finite element analyses have been performed, proving that (I) higher thickness and stiffness does not necessarily correspond to a higher safety factor due to the indirect actions, and (II) fire cooling phase (if any) can be even more critical than the heating phase.

Use of maximum entropy to improve validation and prediction of active fires in a Brazilian savanna region

Monitoring fires using satellite images is a fundamental tool for managers of protected areas (PAs). However, false alerts hinder their ability and make their application unfeasible, since there are few fire brigades available for field checks. Thus, this research proposes the validation, identification, and prediction of active fires for the years 2001 to 2018 for a protected area of the Brazilian savanna. The validation was performed by counting the active fires that were effectively contained in a burning area by cross-referencing MODIS sensor images. Identification was performed by analyzing the spectral behavior of burning and non-burning in the active fire area. The maximum entropy was calculated from the spectral values and compared between an active focus with and without burning. In the prediction, the climatic conditions of the month before burning were analyzed, and the maximum entropy value was evaluated for model viability. The results indicated that only 30% of the active fires were actually in a burned area. The use of maximum entropy favors the improvement of the MODIS active fire product. The confirmed fires were in regions where the probability was above 75%, whereas the non-burning fires were approximately 60%. The variables evapotranspiration, wind speed, water deficit, and road proximity were the most relevant for the active fire prediction model. For the validation years 2019 and 2020, this method predicted the location of fires in 75% of the cases. This methodology, once employed by PA managers, can ensure accurate, efficient, and cost-effective monitoring of forest fire prevention and combat.

Discovering an Orphan Source of Ionizing Radiation with Respect to Occupational Safety and Health

Compliance with the principles of occupational safety and health is one of the preconditions for avoiding emergency events. Without a doubt, this is one of the underlying duties of every employer or operator of waste recycling centers. The risk to health resulting from an orphan source of ionizing radiation in the form of scrap metal is quite high and can affect a significant number of people. As part of the precautions relating to employees, the employer must analyze the risks associated with working with scrap metal and emphasize the possibility of any previous contamination. In practice, various methods and procedures are used to assess the risks at scrap metal collection facilities, which are mostly based on the knowledge and experience of their inspectors. However, this is not usually done by means of appropriate risk analysis methods, which is the main disadvantage. The goal of this article is to point at the risks related to discovering an orphan source of ionizing radiation by using the Ishikawa diagram and the point method. Furthermore, this article also deals with the demarcation of a safety zone with respect to the protection of health and the environment. The specification of risks, the proposal of recommended precautions, and the expeditious demarcation of a safety zone in the case of the intervention of fire brigades in order to protect and/or decontaminate the persons are also included. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-11-013 Full Text: PDF

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF FOREST AND LAND FIRE MANAGEMENT POLICY IN INDONESIA DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) has raised questions about changes in subsequent environmental effects, mainly forest and land fires. This paper evaluates the implementation of land and forest fire management policies in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in 2020. A qualitative approach was conducted in policy implementation analysis based on George Edward III's theory by looking at bureaucratic structure, resources, communication, and disposition factors. The research focused on the operational work of the Forest and Land Fire Brigade, known as Manggala Agni, in Indonesia. The results showed that the collaborative work of Manggala Agni and the other forest and land fire task forces successfully reduced the hotspots; hence there was a significant decrease in the burned area. It is also inseparable from climatic factors. During this period there was no haze disaster although the task of controlling forest and land fires still encountered several obstacles during the pandemic. This is because of training, technology transfer, budget support, and synergy between stakeholders and Manggala Agni’s team members, so a significant reduction in forest and land fires during 2020 can be achieved.