Fire Truck Research Articles

Enhancing Situational Awareness with VAS-Compass Net for the Recognition of Directional Vehicle Alert Sounds.

People with hearing impairments often face increased risks related to traffic accidents due to their reduced ability to perceive surrounding sounds. Given the cost and usage limitations of traditional hearing aids and cochlear implants, this study aims to develop a sound alert assistance system (SAAS) to enhance situational awareness and improve travel safety for people with hearing impairments. We proposed the VAS-Compass Net (Vehicle Alert Sound-Compass Net), which integrates three lightweight convolutional neural networks: EfficientNet-lite0, MobileNetV3-Small, and GhostNet. Through employing a fuzzy ranking ensemble technique, our proposed model can identify different categories of vehicle alert sounds and directions of sound sources on an edge computing device. The experimental dataset consisted of images derived from the sounds of approaching police cars, ambulances, fire trucks, and car horns from various directions. The audio signals were converted into spectrogram images and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient images, and they were fused into a complete image using image stitching techniques. We successfully deployed our proposed model on a Raspberry Pi 5 microcomputer, paired with a customized smartwatch to realize an SAAS. Our experimental results demonstrated that VAS-Compass Net achieved an accuracy of 84.38% based on server-based computing and an accuracy of 83.01% based on edge computing. Our proposed SAAS has the potential to significantly enhance the situational awareness, alertness, and safety of people with hearing impairments on the road.

Emergency Vehicle Classification Using Combined Temporal and Spectral Audio Features with Machine Learning Algorithms

This study presents a novel approach to emergency vehicle classification that leverages a comprehensive set of informative audio features to distinguish between ambulance sirens, fire truck sirens, and traffic noise. A unique contribution lies in combining time domain features, including root mean square (RMS) and zero-crossing rate, to capture the temporal characteristics, like signal energy changes, with frequency domain features derived from short-time Fourier transform (STFT). These include spectral centroid, spectral bandwidth, and spectral roll-off, providing insights into the sound’s frequency content for differentiating siren patterns from traffic noise. Additionally, Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs) are incorporated to capture the human-like auditory perception of the spectral information. This combination captures both temporal and spectral characteristics of the audio signals, enhancing the model’s ability to discriminate between emergency vehicles and traffic noise compared to using features from a single domain. A significant contribution of this study is the integration of data augmentation techniques that replicate real-world conditions, including the Doppler effect and noise environment considerations. This study further investigates the effectiveness of different machine learning algorithms applied to the extracted features, performing a comparative analysis to determine the most effective classifier for this task. This analysis reveals that the support vector machine (SVM) achieves the highest accuracy of 99.5%, followed by random forest (RF) and k-nearest neighbors (KNNs) at 98.5%, while AdaBoost lags at 96.0% and long short-term memory (LSTM) has an accuracy of 93%. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of a stacked ensemble classifier, and utilizing these base learners achieves an accuracy of 99.5%. Furthermore, this study conducted leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) to validate the results, with SVM and RF achieving accuracies of 98.5%, followed by KNN and AdaBoost, which are 97.0% and 90.5%. These findings indicate the superior performance of advanced ML techniques in emergency vehicle classification.

Expanding the Accessible Forest Areas by Improving Forest Road Standards and Utilizing Mobile Fire-fighting Teams

In Turkey, most of the roads (66%) in forests consist of Type-B secondary forest roads with limited technical standards. The lack of technical standards used on these roads and the lack of road structures and surface material limit the fire truck’s speed and increase the travel time of the firefighting team. Improving forest road standards will contribute to driving safety and increasing the design speed, thereby expanding the forest areas that can be reached within the critical response period, reducing possible wood raw material losses. There is no study in the national and international literature investigating the contribution of forest road standards improvement to firefighting activities and the effects on possible wood raw material losses due to forest fires. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of improving forest road standards on expanding accessible forest areas within the critical response time, especially in forests with high fire risk, and thus reducing potential wood raw material losses. Antalya Forestry Regional Directorate, where forest fires are seen most frequently and the amount of burned area is the highest in Turkey, was selected as the study area as one of the forest regional directorates where forest fires are seen most frequently and the amount of burned area is the highest in Turkey. In the solution process, primarily the forest areas that can be reached by the firefighting team (including mobile teams used in emergencies) within the critical response time were determined by considering the existing road network in the study area. Then, the possible increase in the accessible forest areas was investigated when the road standards are improved. Within the scope of the study, the impact of mobile teams used in emergency situations on forest areas reached during the critical response period was also evaluated. According to the results, in the scenario where current road standards and stationary teams were evaluated, it was determined that only 59.54% of the forest areas could be reached by initial response teams during the critical response time, and if road standards were improved, this rate increased to 71.69%. On the other hand, in the scenario where current road standards and stationary and mobile teams were evaluated together, it was determined that 70.40% of the forest areas could be reached by initial response teams during the critical response time, and if road standards were improved, this rate increased to 78.17%. The results obtained have shown that improvements in road standards and the presence of mobile teams have a very effective role in combating forest fires.

Research and application on modeling and landing point prediction technology for water jet trajectory of fire trucks under large-scale scenarios

To let water jets land at the fire, pitch angle of the fire monitor has to be adjusted manually with successive rounds, which seriously affects the efficiency of fire extinguishing. To improve the efficiency, this paper proposes a technology for water jet trajectory modeling and landing point prediction to help with extinguishing automatically. Considering fragmentation and atomization of water jets, trajectories are analyzed and the predicted trajectory is closer to the real situation. Secondly, a compensation method for the prediction is proposed to further reduce the deviation between the predicted and the actual landing point, taking into account the combined effects of high altitude, initial jet velocity, and wind. On this basis, considering the difficulty of directly solving the analytical solution to the target initial pitch angle of the jets, a searching method is also proposed, which greatly improves the solving efficiency. Finally, through practical experiments and verification, the proposed model takes an average time of 0.00292 s, which is far less compared with other methods. The prediction error is improved by at least 45.3%, and the average deviation is less than 2 m.

INTEGRATED CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS APPLICATION FOR ROAD TRAFFIC EFFICIENCY

Road traffic is a problem that every country has to face for the benefit of its population. Everything related to the transportation of people, goods, and services can be delayed due to a deplorable infrastructure. From minor tasks like individual shopping to important services like ambulances and fire trucks, all vehicles in Romania will eventually pass through a traffic light-controlled intersection that is not managed in real-time and that is also highly inefficient. At such a location, it is critical for traffic flow to be as smooth as possible to prevent time losses, and for traffic information to be stored into a cloud for process optimization. The purpose of the developed application is to reduce the real-time traffic jams to allow the optimal vehicles movement in safe conditions for all traffic participants. Using deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, the application is based on two convolutional neural networks (CNN’s), respectively one for real-time detection of cars and people, and another one for real-time detection of cars license plates. The cars detections with CNN’s is important for road traffic optimization, for the efficient pedestrian detection necessary for crosswalks, and the car licence plates detection necessary for preventing traffic violations. The developed application contains several modules that operate based on deep learning and devices that communicate with each other, ensuring efficient data saving in cloud, data visualization, real-time traffic light control, and the information processing from traffic cameras.

Numerical Simulation of Internal Flow Field in Optimization Model of Gas–Liquid Mixing Device

This article studies the influence of structural parameters of the optimization model for the gas–liquid mixing device of a fire truck (compressed air foam lift fire truck, model JP21/G2, made in China) on the liquid phase volume fraction, static pressure, velocity streamline, and the influence of smaller flow rates on the mixing effect. By using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software FLUENT 2021 R2, numerical simulations were conducted on the fluid domain model of the gas–liquid mixing device of the JP21/G2 fire truck. The changes in the mixing effect time dimension, liquid phase volume fraction, static pressure, and velocity streamline inside the gas–liquid mixing device were obtained. The optimal mixer structure combination in practical applications was inferred through orthogonal experiments, and the influence of flow rate on the optimal pipe diameter and shortest mixing distance was obtained through variable flow rate simulation experiments. The numerical simulation results show that the presence of bent pipes in the JP21/G2 real vehicle model hinders the gas–liquid mixing process. A straight pipe section of at least 8 m was added after the bent pipe to ensure the mixing effect. The optimal parameter combination for orthogonal experiments had an accurate value of 50°-50°-220 mm. Under the same pipe diameter, using a larger flow rate can achieve better mixing effects.

ВЫБОР ОПТИМАЛЬНОЙ МОДЕЛИ ВОЗДУШНОГО КОМПРЕССОРА ДЛЯ ПРИМЕНЕНИЯ В ПОДРАЗДЕЛЕНИЯХ МЧС РОССИИ МЕТОДОМ ЭКСПЕРТНОЙ ОЦЕНКИ ТЕХНИЧЕСКИХ ПАРАМЕТРОВ

For smooth operation, as well as effective and safe maintenance and repair of fire trucks, air compressors are used in fire and rescue units of the federal fire service of the State fire service of EMERCOM of Russia. The air piston compressor allows you to create the necessary air flow pressure for the operation of the pneumatic tool. Therefore, an urgent issue is the choice of a compressor model with optimal parameters. The paper evaluates the technical parameters of compressors by the method of expert evaluation. Based on the results of the assessment, the most significant parameters affecting the reliability and efficiency of the compressor were determined, and optimal models of reciprocating compressors for staffing maintenance posts of fire and rescue units and repair and technical centers were proposed.

Experimental evaluation of performance of geo-mat system on weak to intermediate subgrade

Geo-mat system is considered as an alternative to a flexible or rigid pavement that can be used for fire lanes, parking areas, or roadway shoulders for cars, pickup trucks, utility/delivery trucks, and fire trucks. Also, it can be used to reduce the thickness of the base course in unpaved roads. In this investigation, six cyclic loading tests were conducted to assess the efficacy of the geo-mat system on weak to intermediate subgrade layers, characterized by California Bearing Ratios (CBR) of 2%, 3%, and 4%. Control sections, consisting of a 300-mm thick base course over subgrade layers with CBR values of 2% or 4%, were compared against the test sections comprising a geo-mat system placed atop aggregates of varied thickness (150 or 50 mm) on a geotextile layer over the same subgrade layers. Each test section underwent cyclic loading, progressively increasing from 17.8 to 71.2 kN using a 300-mm diameter steel plate. The results demonstrate that the geo-mat system, particularly when placed over a 150 mm-thick aggregate base, exhibited comparable or superior performance to the control sections with a 300 mm thickness, especially under substantial cyclic loading. This was evidenced by the reduced permanent deformations beneath the loading plate and a wider load distribution. The increase of the subgrade CBR value reduced the permanent deformation significantly. When the intermediate subgrade with a 4% CBR was used, the geo-mat system played a more important role than the aggregate base and the base thickness had a minor effect on the performance.

Hierarchical dynamic estimation of fire service accessibility based on POI big data

Failure to obtain timely fire services will lead to thermal runaway phenomenon, which will seriously threaten the lives of people and property safety. In this study, a dynamic method was proposed to estimate fire service accessibility based on real-time traffic. To validate the method, a total of 110,055 POls extracted from online maps and existing 12 fire stations in Yiyang were used as fire service demand points and supply points. Travel times of fire trucks from supply points to demand points were calculated based on real-time traffic, and a total of 550,275 valid samples were obtained. The results showed that the ≥10 min fire service coverage rate in Yiyang is only 71.60 %. Based on the distribution area of demand points ≥10 min, the locations of three optimization solutions of new fire stations are proposed. By calculating the total average time (TAT) of the three optimization solutions of proposed new fire stations, it is concluded that TAT decreases by 743.99 s, 99.72 s, 92.59 s, respectively. From perspectives of safety and economy, the construction of the 10 fire stations of optimized solution I will effectively improve the regional fire service level.

Wasting public money to buy turnout: quasi-experimental evidence from the Polish battle for fire trucks

ABSTRACT It is well known that incumbents enjoy advantages in elections. Among others, they may use public resources to increase their electoral chances by mobilizing specific social groups to vote. In the 2020 presidential elections, the Polish government organised a competition: small municipalities with the highest turnout could win a fire truck. We exploit the threshold of 20,000 that arbitrarily divided municipalities into competing and non-competing for this public good and apply the quasi-experimental Regression Discontinuity Design. The competition aimed to increase the turnout in districts supporting the incumbent president. However, we find no evidence of any significant impact of the competition on the turnout or support for the incumbent around the threshold. We discuss why similar practices are common despite this result.

СЕРВИС ПОЖАРНОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ ПО КРИТЕРИЯМ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЙ ГОТОВНОСТИ МАШИН СПЕЦИАЛЬНОГО НАЗНАЧЕНИЯ

The issue of diagnosing the operational and technical readiness for emergency response to fire risks of special-purpose vehicles is considered according to the criteria for the acceptable efficiency of the functioning of power plants of fire vehicles under operating conditions. An original instrumental apparatus is proposed for the implementation of an intelligent diagnostic process, including a working mathematical and analytical model in the form of a system of multiple regression equations, which relates the efficiency indicators of fuel equipment adjustments (cyclic fuel supply gc nom, injection pressure Rinj, free section of nozzles µf avtr, injection advance angle inj) with a combination of quality parameters of the combustion process (exhaust gas smoke K, CH, NOx, CO2, CO), measured (controlled) by gas analyzers. The diagnostic method can be implemented according to a program by the on-board processor of a fire truck of 4–5 technological generations or using pre-prepared nomograms.

О НОВЫХ ПОДХОДАХ К СОЗДАНИЮ ВЫСОТНО-СПАСАТЕЛЬНЫХ АВТОМОБИЛЕЙ НА СОВРЕМЕННОМ ЭТАПЕ

Information is provided on the development and production of high-altitude rescue vehicles at the present stage, as well as on the transition of domestic standards to the international standardization system within the framework of the states belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States. The differences between the requirements of modern standards for fire ladders and car lifts, which come into force in Russia on July 1, 2024, and those in force, are considered. The analysis of modern terminology in the design and operation of fire ladders and car lifts, new approaches to some of their parameters, as well as the introduction of additional parameters is given. The requirements for the chassis that ensure the prompt departure of high-altitude rescue vehicles to the place of fire (accident), the conditions for ensuring cargo static and dynamic stability when applying fire extinguishing agents, the need for equipment with control devices and pointers in connection with the use of computer technologies in their control systems have been formed. The technical solutions for providing modern fire trucks with automatic boom stage alignment systems are analyzed, promising approaches to creating boom stage alignment systems are substantiated. The conclusion is made about the compliance of modern high-altitude rescue vehicles with the requirements of Interstate standards.

Fire Station Management System Based on Digital Twin

To streamline travel, alleviate traffic congestion, and enhance overall traffic safety, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) technology has emerged. This not only simplifies the lives of modern individuals but also integrates with other technologies, fostering advancements in various fields. Notably, the integration of digital twin technology with IoV is widespread, enabling the visualization of road conditions for informed route decisions and optimization. This paper focuses on applying this capability to a fire truck management system, empowering swift route selection, optimal vehicle deployment, and efficient execution of rescue activities in the shortest time and at the lowest cost.

Traffic Management using Real-time Density-Based Traffic Light Control System

Abstract: In modern times, cities commonly encounter a big challenge dealing with traffic issues. It's hard to find empty roads nowadays, and waiting at red lights takes forever. The traffic lights are set based on average traffic, but this causes issues at certain spots where traffic suddenly gets heavy. That's why we need a smart system that can handle traffic jams better by looking at how much traffic there is. This system would change the traffic lights in real-time, making things smoother and reducing wait times. In simple terms, we need a clever system to fix the traffic mess in our cities. One of the solution is to manage traffic on signal, traffic signal timing (TST) optimization is one of the fastest and most economical ways to curtail congestion at the intersections and improve traffic flow in the urban network. In this paper we are going to discuss some of the existing traffic light control systems, their drawbacks as well as our proposed system where we are trying to avoid the drawbacks of existing systems. The main objective of our project is to provide a smooth flow of traffic and to reduce the time duration for which one has to stand at the traffic signal. The cameras will monitor the density of vehicles standing at the signal using image processing.This camera takes pictures, and those pictures are analyzed to figure out the density of vehicles in particular lanes. The camera can also recognize sirens and, when it does, it changes the traffic light to green so that emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks can pass through.

Survey and Investigation of Usage Status According to the Installation of Underground Fire Extinguisher Boxes in Korea’s Traditional Markets

Currently, traditional markets are structurally vulnerable to fire because of the dense concentration of old wooden buildings with tangled wires, such as aging facilities. Particularly in traditional markets, street vendors are usually disorderly located, and nearby roads are crowded due to illegal parking and vehicles stopping on the driveway. When a fire breaks out, it is difficult for the fire truck to enter, which is necessary to extinguish the fire in the early stages and prevent it from expanding into a large fire. With modernization, the number of fires is on the decline; however, fires in traditional markets continue to increase. According to the analysis of fire statistics from January to November 2023, 49 out of 819 fires in sales facilities were in traditional markets, accounting for 5.98% of fires in sales facilities. This is an increase of about 18 cases and an increase of 2.8% compared to fire statistics of about 3.19%, or 31 out of 972 fires at sales facilities as of 2017. Through these statistics, we can observe that the number of fires in sales facilities has decreased; however, the number of fires in traditional markets has increased. Traditional markets are at high risk of accidents due to the poor management of aging facilities and the lack of safety awareness among merchants. Specifically, in the event of a fire, which is likely to develop into a large fire in a short period due to structural problems, construction of high-density shopping malls, and mass loading of highly flammable goods, raising concerns about safety issues. As these problems have continued, the National Fire Agency has developed an emergency fire extinguisher box that could be buried underground in districts requiring fire prevention reinforcement, such as traditional markets and dosshouses. On January 20, 2018, and on May 2, 2018, ten units were first installed in the Seoul area. In this study, we conducted a survey on the current status of underground fire extinguishing systems boxed in traditional markets to identify the merchants' perceptions and analyze the operation of underground fire extinguishing systems boxed in the market.

Empowerment of Togong-Tanga indigenous people through the development of apiculture-based conservation villages

The Kokolomboi Lestari Program (ProKlim) is a community empowerment initiative aimed at empowering the Togong-Tanga Indigenous Peoples in Central Sulawesi Province. It focuses on developing sustainable apiculture systems in Leme-Leme Darat Village, aiming to increase forest resource productivity and improve ecosystems and habitats for endemic animals. The program provides employment opportunities and income from forest bee management and environmental services. A study found that solid waste treatment from PT Pertamina EP Donggi Matindok Field operations contributes to global warming potential (GWP), with CO2, N2O, and CH4 emissions being major contributors. The program also uses non-B3 waste from fire truck tires as a conservation medium, and biosulfur slury as fertilizer for agricultural activities. This program has achieved sustainability goals, improving social life, economic and environmental standards, and strengthening the economy of indigenous peoples.

Development of a lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic water tank for fire trucks

In the event of a fire outbreak, it is very important to extinguish it before it becomes a blaze. Since the increase in firefighting water capacity for this purpose leads to an increase in the vehicle's load, it is necessary to reduce the weight of the tank. In this study, by changing the material from stainless steel to CFRP, the weight of the firefighting tank was reduced by 47.9% while increasing the capacity by 13.3%. The CFRP tank was manufactured by a vacuum infusion process using 12k filament carbon fiber and vinyl ester resin. After driving a firetruck equipped with a firefighting water tank for 5000 km, the dissolution test and the test to withstand the internal pressure performed on the tank corroborated that it can be equipped on firetrucks and used as a drinking water tank.

Investment Analysis of New Fire Truck: A Case Study of Purchase or Rent Option

PKT, as a petrochemical company with high potential hazards, prioritizes emergency preparedness and response by complying with regulations and standards. In addition to serving its own needs, PKT’s fire and rescue department also provides emergency services to four neighboring companies through an annual fee cooperation scheme. To enhance the emergency response services, PKT conducted an evaluation and identified the need for an additional fire truck unit with up-to-date technology. To determine the most suitable option, PKT is considering purchasing or renting the new fire truck units. A financial modeling analysis was conducted using income from health and safety services. The financial feasibility analysis, considering parameters such as NPV, IRR, and discounted payback period, resulted in a feasible outcome. The Purchase option exhibited better economic value, with a predicted NPV of Rp. 569,276,495, an IRR of 11.56% (higher than the discount rate of 10.5%), and a discounted payback period of 9.35 years. Sensitivity analysis, using tornado and spider charts, revealed that the annual fee from clients or joint venture companies had the most significant impact on the project’s financial performance, followed by manpower costs. A 20% increase in annual fees led to a significant increase in NPV Rp. 6,639,013,466, while a 20% decrease resulted in a significant decrease in NPV (−Rp. 5,500,460,477). Similarly, a 20% increase in manpower costs resulted in a decreased NPV of Rp. −3,500,609,667. Based on the sensitivity analysis, the two significant factors influencing the purchase option were identified as the annual fee and manpower cost. Recommendations that are also put forward for this study are identification to anticipate increases in labor costs and to keep manpower costs under control. The increase in manpower costs must be accompanied by an increase in income. Exploring opportunities to attract additional clients, particularly companies in the industrial complex that do not yet have an agreement with PKT, is also advised. By implementing these recommendations and ensuring cost control, PKT can optimize its emergency response services and maintain a financially viable operation.

Research based on open space collaborative intelligent fire system

The open space collaborative intelligent fire protection system studied in this article uses STM32F407 as the main control chip of the drone, and the STM32F103 is used as the main control chip of the fire truck. ZigBee wireless communication and other modules. The main innovation of this article is to use OpenMV's ground black line recognition positioning, the attitude fusion algorithm of the main controller module, and the PID control algorithm for real -time positioning of drones and fire trucks in the testing area of the test. After actual testing and verification, this system can complete the full coverage of the patrol area in different environments, fire identification in the patrol area, and fire extinguishing tasks. Through the ZigBee wireless communication module Essence.

Prospects for the development of modern fire trucks

The issues of fire protection of residential buildings, national economy facilities and forests are of great importance in the system of national measures. Fire extinguishing and rescue operations for people in danger are the most important tasks that can be solved with the help of fire fighting equipment. The development and creation of special fire trucks equipped with power plants, the latest means of extinguishing fires and rescuing people in distress are urgent tasks of the present time. The article discusses the design of a fire truck equipped with all of the above systems. Keywords fire truck, project, combined power plant, fire extinguishing means