Firefighting is very difficult work, so different types of equipments and tools are required to save victims, to assist fighting fire and salvaging property.Every piece of equipment is checked regularly to ensure it is in top working order. Mechanical problems are often fixed by engineers.
Gas-powered chainsaws are similar to the saws available to the public. The key difference is the carbide-tipped blade. Unlike common blades used to cut trees, these special blades can slice through roofs made of a variety of building materials.
The circular saw compliments the standard chainsaw and is used to cut through metal and concrete of buildings.
Positive pressure fans are used for ventilation and are located in compartments on all the fire trucks. They blow smoke from structures and are placed at the entrances of the building or room where the operation is going on. Some fans are powered by gas, others by electricity.
Fires aren't always easy to see, so firefighters employ other tools to locate flames. One is a relatively simple tool, while the other is a highly sophisticated piece of electronic hardware
Pike is the more simplistic of the two tools .It is a long tool, measuring six to ten feet, with a tipped point and hook used to destroy ceilings to expose fire so it can be extinguished.
Thermal imaging camera is designed to search for fire behind walls. The camera sees through smoke and walls to detect sources of heat where ever inside the building. Besides fire, heat sources include people or pets that may be trapped within burning buildings. The view screen creates an image through the wall or smoke that allows firefighters to see inside .This is very important equipment for finding out fire.
Jaws of Life are those tools which are available in various styles and sizes to serve variety of jobs. Victims aren't always trapped inside burning buildings. Sometimes it is seen that on road accidents drivers and passengers are trapped inside vehicles. Extracting a victim from a vehicle is a complicated process that requires neatness combined with the power of tools .In this time it becomes necessary to cut metal and rip through high-grade steel, this tool is required in this time .Jaws of Life is hydraulically powered. Two types of Jaws of Life are available. One of these tool is used to force open metal, such as car doors or roofs, while other chops through metal.
A hydraulic ram is used to provide leverage to force dashboards or other obstacles out of the way so that firefighters can extract victims from vehicles or other areas.
Firefighter’s truck Firefighters use trucks as apparatus. They use different types of trucks as vehicle when they get a call to extinguish fire. Different types of tools, a long folding ladder and hose pipe are also carried in the truck.
Firefighting gear is the dress used by firefighters as they need maximum protection from the intense heat and flames of fires. This is also known as turnout gear or bunker gear which provides that protection. The gear weighs about 50 pounds, excluding tools.
Multi-functional firefighter's tool has a head mounted on a long handle which is covered with an electrical and thermal insulator to decrease the occurrence of heat and electrical shocks to the user. An axe blade with a polygonal aperture sized to engage a typical gas valve is formed on one side of the head, the aperture having small bulbous cutouts at the vertices of the polygon. The mouth of a wrench is also formed at an edge of the head, the mouth defining two stepped surfaces to provide a multi-sized wrench. A spanner wrench sized for coupling and decoupling water hoses is formed on the other side of the head relative to the longitudinal axis of the handle, the spanner wrench being defined by a pry bar portion and a hook portion formed at an appropriate distance from the pry bar portion.
Firefighters have to carry heavy hoses, nozzles and other equipment at blazes besides their protective gear. The tools firefighters use are designed to assist them in searching for victims, knocking down obstacles and extinguishing fire.
Article provided by Future-tech Inc.
