FirefightingSafe, Effective Shipboard Firefighting

Fire on board! This is a grave danger for any ship, but especially so when a ship is ostensibly safely docked in harbor – where “normal” firefighters are on duty and have to cope with the special challenges on board a ship. Since 2005, 44 potentially disastrous incidents have occurred in German ports alone, including 15 fires and 13 spills of hazardous materials. EFAS, a joint project coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics (FKIE), is aimed at significantly improving firefighters’ safety and effectiveness through optimum equipment and technological innovations.

The countless types of vessels and their different structures coupled with the unique aspects of firefighting operations on the water present unusual and difficult operating conditions for traditional firefighters and involve many risks. For an engine room fire, for instance, firefighters have to battle their way through smoke and heat on multiple decks to reach the ship’s inside, all while wearing full gear and carrying a heavy hose.

The “operations support system for fire departments to combat risks on board sea-going vessels” (Einsatzunterstützungssystem für Feuerwehren zur Gefahrenbekämpfung an Bord von Seeschiffen, EFAS) is aimed at minimizing these risks. A joint project, it is being funded through the German government’s “Research for Civil Security” framework program (2012-2017) in the category “civil security – innovative rescue and security systems” (see also www.sifo.de). After three years of research, the project partners have now developed a system that can optimize firefighting in these kinds of situations and even others too.

Fraunhofer snotes that besides Fraunhofer FKIE, project partners include the Institut für Sicherheitstechnik/Schiffssicherheit e.V., the German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf, MARSIG (a software manufacturer), ATS Elektronik (a security technology supplier), and S-GARD (a manufacturer of protective clothing for firefighters). The Wilhelmshaven fire department was closely involved in the project as well, serving as an adviser for hands-on operations.

“One of the most important innovations of EFAS is that fire chiefs – that is, heads of operation and team leaders – use an operational support system that runs on tablet computers,” says Dr. Daniel Feiser, project coordinator. This is the component that Fraunhofer FKIE contributed to the project. A display system gives the fire officers a continuous electronic picture of all aspects of the situation on the ground, providing additional guidance.