1. Center for Firefighter Safety Research and Development

2. Management Team MFRI Internationally recognized firefighting training Institute  Outreach to firefighters and policymakers  Demonstrations and training  Product assessment and end-user input Fire Protection Engineering Department Unique national resource in fire science education over the past 50 years  Research coordination  Project management  Fire dynamics, fire modeling, burn injuries, smoke movement, toxicity

3. Key Contributors Small Smart System Center A multi-disciplinary center for research and education in small and highly integrated systems with physical and Information components  Sensors  Data analysis Electrical & Computer Engineering Research programs that cover a wide spectrum of activities in Communications, Computer Engineering, Electrophysics, Microelectronics, and Nanotechnology Department of Kinesiology Study of human physical activity from a variety of perspectives and at many levels of analysis

4. Goals Bring together University based resources in a coordinated fashion to generate solutions using proven research methodologies Develop solutions incorporating new and current technology in all aspects of firefighter safety

5. Goals Evaluate the effectiveness of the solutions utilizing real world fire incidents and scenarios Make the solutions and technologies available for commercialization in a cost range affordable to fire departments

6. R&D Process Identification of firefighter safety needs Research, development and prototyping Interactive assessment at MFRI Product refinement and manufacturing Product performance assessment by end-users at MFRI Technology transfer

7. Technology Transfer Engineering Research Center Development and commercialization organization within UM Technology Advancement Program University based incubator that provides business and technical support for technology-based start- up companies (750 new jobs created while securing $325 million in investment funding) MIPS program Matching grants for industry/ university research projects leading to product or process development (more than 150 projects brought to commercialization)

8. Homeland Security Firefighters are the first responders to acts of terrorism The proposed research directly addresses operational deficiencies identified in the 9/11events The outcomes of this research are applicable within the entire first responder community

9. Past Research Efforts Environmental and physiological analysis of over 200 firefighters in live-fire training evolutions Provides guidelines for the national fire service on health management of firefighters during training Funded by DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program

10. Past Research Efforts Greater appreciation of hypo- hydration in firefighters Better understanding of hydration needs of firefighters Published Hydration Policy for Firefighter Training

11. Current Projects Firefighter Accountability Technology Thermal Performance Indicator Firefighters and Intensive Resistive Exercise

12. Firefighter Accountability TRX Sentinel Tracking System Mobile unit and remote command station Provides seamless tracking indoors and outdoors Requires no antenna setup-deploys rapidly during emergencies Allows incident replay for training and lessons learned

13. Thermal Performance Indicator Designed to timely alert firefighters to excessive heat exposure Dual sensors on the gear outer surface sample once per second Processors predict up to five scenarios based on each sample Head’s up display communicates information to the firefighter

14. F.I.R.E. Study Assessing a broad range of physical attributes thought to be important for firefighter performance Will establish the efficacy of a strength training program designed to improve these physical attributes and performance in CPAT

15. Future Projects Firefighter Accountability Technology Vapor Dynamics and Smart Garment Technology Physiological Effects of Structural Firefighting

16. Center for Firefighter Safety Research and Development 4500 PAINT BRANCH PKWY COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742 301.226.9960 www.mfri.org/fireresearch