Patented technology to help locate firefighters

Officials at Survivair have announced that the company has concluded an agreement with Summit Safety to develop and market a firefighter locating system based on Summit's patented Pulse technology.

Officials at one of the industry's leading respiratory protection equipment companies, Survivair, have announced that the company has concluded an agreement with Summit Safety to develop and market a firefighter locating system based on Summit's patented Pulse technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, Survivair is granted exclusive rights to design, manufacture, distribute and sell Pulse-based systems to firefighters, emergency medical responders, police and related personnel throughout the world.

"We are delighted to be able to incorporate this leading-edge technology into our respiratory protective equipment," says Richard Sustello, VP strategic marketing for Survivair's parent company Bacou-Dalloz.

"The emergency response industry has long been in need of better systems to track firefighters and others in smoke-filled environments.

"Initial field tests show that our Pulse-based Survivair Pathfinder system can help reduce the time required to locate and rescue a downed firefighter by as much as 80 per cent".

"We, too, are delighted to partner with a world-class manufacturer such as Survivair," says Summit Safety president, Wayne Haase.

"Summit was founded in the wake of the tragic 1999 Worcester, MA, warehouse fire with the express purpose of developing a system for firefighters to use in tracking their way in and out of a fire scene and to locate one another inside when necessary.

This agreement with Survivair moves us much closer to our goal of making these systems available to firefighters everywhere".

The Pulse technology (which stands for personnel ultrasonic locating safety equipment) developed by Summit consists of an omni-directional transmitter (the beacon) and a narrowly focused receiver (the tracker).

The Survivair Pathfinder system, integrated into a Survivair Panther SCBA, will allow rescuers to locate a downed firefighter regardless of the smoke concentration.

Because the system utilises ultrasonic signals that are reflected by walls, disabled firefighters can be located around corners or when hidden by obstacles.

Rescue personnel can be led directly to the individuals while avoiding blind alleys and other obstacles, as can happen with radio frequency (RF) technology.

According to Sustello, development of the Pathfinder system incorporating Pulse technology is already well underway, and product is expected to be available by the end of 2004.

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