Tag Archives: firefighting

Future firefighters and wearable technology

I imagine this wearable technology would also be useful for the military too. However, the focus for these researchers from China is firefighting. (Given the situation with the Canadian wildfires in June 2023, we have 10x more than the average at this time in the season over the last 10 years, it’s good to see some work focused on safety for firefighters.) From a January 17, 2023 news item on phys.org,

Firefighting may look vastly different in the future thanks to intelligent fire suits and masks developed by multiple research institutions in China.

Researchers published results showing breathable electrodes woven into fabric used in fire suits have proven to be stable at temperatures over 520ºC. At these temperatures, the fabric is found to be essentially non-combustible with high rates of thermal protection time.

Caption: Scientists from multiple institutions address the challenges and limitations of current fire-fighting gear by introducing wearable, breathable sensors and electrodes to better serve firefighters. Credit: Nano Research, Tsinghua University Press

A January 17, 2023 Tsinghua University Press press release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, provides more technical details,

The results show the efficacy and practicality of Janus graphene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole), or PBO, woven fabric in making firefighting “smarter” with the main goal being to manufacture products on an industrial scale that are flame-retardant but also intelligent enough to warn the firefighter of increased risks while traversing the flames.

“Conventional firefighting clothing and fire masks can ensure firemen’s safety to a certain extent,” said Wei Fan, professor at the School of Textile Science and Engineering at Xi’an Polytechnic University. “However, the fire scene often changes quickly, sometimes making firefighters trapped in the fire for failing to judge the risks in time. At this situation, firefighters also need to be rescued.”

The key here is the use of Janus graphene/PBO, woven fabrics. While not the first of its kind, the introduction of PBO fibers offers better strength and fire protection than other similar fibers, such as Kevlar. The PBO fibers are first woven into a fabric that is then irradiated using a CO2 infrared laser. From here, the fabric becomes the Janus graphene/PBO hybrid that is the focus of the study.   

The mask also utilizes a top and bottom layer of Janus graphene/PBO with a piezoelectric layer in between that acts as a way to convert mechanical pressures to electricity.

“The mask has a good smoke particle filtration effect, and the filtration efficiency of PM2.5 and PM3.0 reaches 95% and 100%, respectively. Meanwhile, the mask has good wearing comfort as its respiratory resistance (46.8 Pa) is lower than 49 Pa of commercial masks. Besides, the mask is sensitive to the speed and intensity of human breathing, which can dynamically monitor the health of the firemen” said Fan.

Flame-retardant electronics featured in these fire suits are flexible, heat resistant, quick to make and low-cost which makes scaling for industrial production a tangible achievement. This makes it more likely that the future of firefighting suits and masks will be able to effectively use this technology. Quick, effective responses can also reduce economic losses attributed to fires.

“The graphene/PBO woven fabrics-based sensors exhibit good repeatability and stability in human motion monitoring and NO2 gas detection, the main toxic gas in fires, which can be applied to firefighting suits to help firefighters effectively avoiding danger” Fan said. Being able to detect sharp increases in NO2 gas can help firefighters change course in an instant if needed and could be a lifesaving addition to firefighter gear.

Major improvements can be made in the firefighting field to better protect the firefighters by taking advantage of graphene/PBO woven and nonwoven fabrics. Widescale use of this technology can help the researchers reach their ultimate goal of reducing mortality and injury to those who risk their lives fighting fires.

Yu Luo and Yaping Miao of the School of Textile Science and Engineering at Xi’an Polytechnic University contributed equally to this work. Professor Wei Fan is the corresponding author. Yingying Zhang and Huimin Wang of the Department of Chemistry at Tsinghua University, Kai Dong of the Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Lin Hou and Yanyan Xu of Shaanxi Textile Research Institute Co., LTD, Weichun Chen and Yao Zhang of the School of Textile Science and Engineering at Xi’an Polytechnic University contributed to this research. 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Textile Vision Basic Research Program of China, Key Research and Development Program of Xianyang Science and Technology Bureau, Key Research and Development Program of Shaanxi Province, Natural Science Foundation of Shaanxi Province, and Scientific Research Project of Shaanxi Provincial Education Department.

Here are two links and a citation for the same paper,

Laser-induced Janus graphene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) fabrics with intrinsic flame retardancy as flexible sensors and breathable electrodes for fire-fighting field by Yu Luo, Yaping Miao, Huimin Wang, Kai Dong, Lin Hou, Yanyan Xu, Weichun Chen, Yao Zhang, Yingying Zhang & Wei Fan. Nano Research (2023) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5382-y Published12 January 2023

This link leads to a paywall.

Here’s the second link (to SciOpen)

Laser-induced Janus graphene/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) fabrics with intrinsic flame retardancy as flexible sensors and breathable electrodes for fire-fighting field. SciOpen Published January 12, 2023

This link leads to an open access journal published by Tsinghua University Press.

Ceramic firefighting foam: better at extinguishing fires and nontoxic

A Dec. 14, 2015 news item on Nanowerk announces a new ceramic firefighting foam developed in Russia,

A team of chemists from ITMO University, in collaboration with research company SOPOT, has developed a novel type of firefighting foam based on inorganic silica nanoparticles. The new foam beats existing analogues in fire extinguishing capacity, thermal and mechanical stability and biocompatibility.

A Dec. 14, 2015 ITMO University press release on EurekAlert, which originated the news item, provides more details,

Fighting large-scale fires usually involves firefighting foams based on synthetic substances, such as prefluorinated surfactants, that, despite their effectiveness, are extremely toxic for living organisms. Complete biodegradation of such foams can last for more than 200 years [emphasis mine], with residues quickly penetrating deep into soil and surface water. This leads to the the accumulation of toxic elements in living organisms, such as plants, animals and men. Many countries have declined the use of such fire extinguishing agents or opted for reducing the production of such substances despite the absence of any decent alternatives.

A group of scientists from the International Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Technologies (SCAMT) at ITMO University in Saint Petersburg and research company SOPOT devised a foam, which was awarded full biodegradability and whose fire extinguishing capacity is higher than that of any existing analogue currently in use by fire fighters. After the fire is extinguished, the substance actively absorbs water, softens and falls apart into bioinert silica particles. And even when the foam accidentally enters living organisms, it does not not pose any danger to them.

“Our foam is based on silica nanoparticles, which create a polymer network when exposed to air,” says Alexander Vinogradov, deputy head of the SCAMT laboratory. “Such a network embraces and adheres to the burning object and momentarily cools it down. At the same time, the foam itself hardens. The inorganic origin of this polymer network allows it to resist temperatures above 1000 degrees Celsius, which ensures gigantic stability from the aggressive environment in the midst of a raging fire.”

“Most existing foams are made of organic materials and quickly deteriorate when temperature approaches 300 degrees Celsius. In our case, the foam creates a hard frame that not only puts out the fire, but also protects the object from re-ignition. With ordinary foams, re-ignition occurs within seconds after flame is applied to the object again.”

The scientists conducted a series of large-scale experiments of the hardening foam, including the imitation of an actual forest fire. The foam was used to create a flame retardant belt that was supposed stop the spread of the fire. The tests demonstrated that the foam easily localizes the forest fire seat and can stay active during the whole fire season.

“The flame retardant belt made of our foam will prevent the spread of any forest fire, regardless of its strength and level of complexity,” says Gennady Kuprin, head of SOPOT. “We can localize the fire and be sure that the adjacent territories will be safe. This is crucial to organize evacuation works during forest fires, where 9 of 10 people die in our and other countries.”

The standard firefighting foam can take up to 200 years before completely degrading? I hope this new foam is all they say it is and that they can get it to market. In the meantime, here’s a link to and a citation for the researchers’ paper,

Silica foams for fire prevention and firefighting by Alexander V. Vinogradov, Denis Kuprin, Iosif Abduragimov, Gennadii Kuprin, Evgeniy Serebriyakov, and Vladimir V. Vinogradov. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b08653
Publication Date (Web): October 22, 2015

Copyright © 2015 American Chemical Society

This is paper is behind a paywall. But, the researchers have made an image of the foam available,

Caption: This is an electronic microscope image of hybrid silica foam. Credit: ITMO University

Caption: This is an electronic microscope image of hybrid silica foam. Credit: ITMO University

For anyone curious about SOPOT, here’s more from the company’s About page,

  “NPO Sopot” was founded in 1994 in St. Petersburg. Its creation was preceded by many years of scientific research and experimental design work done in person at the head of the firm basis of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, as well as, with the participation and cooperation with representatives of several institutions of the defense industry (the Sukhoi Design Bureau, Institute TRANSMASH, Academy. Zhukovsky etc.), the Ministry of Civil aviation, Fire Prevention Russian Interior Ministry, the Russian Interior Ministry VIPTSH

General Director of JSC “NPO” Sopot “Gennady Kuprin. Winner of the National Industry Award” Bison-2006 “, the grand prize Emergencies Ministry in 2005 and 2006., Awarded the” Golden Shield of the Russian economy, “international diploma” European quality “member of the International Academy of Patronage, the World Academy of Integrated Security.