Product News
Published: 01 January, 2009
New products now available
A new beam gantry system that aims to outrival current systems available in the market has been introduced by Scottish company Anderson Engineering.
“Current beam gantry systems on the market have been the same for 30 years,” commented MD of Anderson Engineering Graham Anderson, “We felt that our design would dramatically improve on the existing system, whilst keeping costs as competitive, if not better, than what’s currently available.”
The system has fewer extrusions than current gantry systems – two as opposed to the standard four or five. “We have also built into the extrusion ‘T’ slots for adjustments, making new ladder configurations easier to change rather than changing the whole beam. In addition, our CAD designers have reduced the height of the extrusions and increased strength, again helping us keep costs which we pass on to our customers.”
The new gantry is retrofittable and can be fitted on any older vehicle, using existing ladders.
Anderson added that the company is getting much interest from Europe, Australia and South East Asia.
Rosenbauer has launched a new fire boot with a special lacing system that uses no lace.
The new Twister boot instead uses a tough special steel cord that passes over robust loops, winding round a knob which fixes the cord. When the knob is pulled out, the lace is released, thus allowing the firefighter to take off the boot very quickly.
As well as the new BOA lacing system, the boot features a Sympatex membrane as well as hydrophobic waterproof leather outer, to make it both water-repellent and breathable.
Trapped or missing firefighters can now be located with the new Draeger FRT 1000 Fire Rescuer Transceiver, which has been designed for resuce operations where visibility is limited or background noise excessive.
Worn on the waist, the device is activated before entering a potentially dangerous area. The FRT 1000 sends and receives low frequency signals that are unaffected by walls and other obstacles.
If a wearer is montionless for 30 seconds, the devices sends an audible alarm signal and begins transmitting.
When rescuing a downed colleague, firefighters can switch to “search” mode and the devices will indicate the distance to a casualty. If several firefighters are montionless, the device will isolate the strongest signal (from a distance of around 10 metres), identifying the closest victim and enabling casualties to be located sequentially.
Illuminex has announced its new Xscape range of mini-downlighters.
Designed to replace a standard downlighter ceiling fitting, the units use a high output solid state light source to give an intense, pure white bright light with very low current consumption. The control electronics are contained in a separate lightweight module that can be inserted through the mounting hole in a suspended ceiling.
The units are environmentally friendly, offering long life, low energy consumption and easy end of life disposal. The light source is more than 40 times brighter than a conventional LED and has a life expectancy of 60,000 hours – four times that of a fluorescent lamp. Under European legislation, electrical and electronic components have to be disposed of safely, or where possible, recycled. The rechargeable lithium ion batteries used in the Xscape family contain no dangerous heavy metals such as lead or cadmium that are commonly found in alternative batteries. The units can be installed as stand-alone devices or networked systems, and enable all areas within the premises to be provided with the optimum type of emergency lighting. All units have embedded intelligence that monitors the key parameters and self-test the unit to meet the legislative requirements specified in BS 5266-1 2005, BS5266-8 2004 (BSEN50172) and BS 5266-7:1999 (EN1838).
An innovative working-at-height platform that can be configured to meet any access application is growing in popularity, with the National Urban Search and Rescue team having purchased it for 21 of its rescue teams.
The Lobo Tower System and Trestle Kit is assembled without the use of tools and uses a unique patented clamp that provides a safe working facility up to a maximum of 10 metres.
“My team attended an incident where a large heavy goods vehicle had overturned leaving the driver trapped inside his cab,” recalls station manager for Merseyside FRS Kevin Longshaw, “We needed a piece of equipment that could be constructed quickly over the top of the vehicle to access the cab area and use our cutting equipment to free the driver.
“The Lobo system provided the ideal solution, simple to use, robust and quick to assemble, the parts just locked into place.”
By fixing wheels, Lobo can be moved around a site and it is easy to flat-pack for transport.
London Luton Airport has purchased a Rosenbauer Panther 6X6 CA5 FLF 12,000 fire vehicle.
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony the new vehicle was named “Florian”, the patron saint of firefighters and also – coincidentally – the patron saint of the town where it was built, Linz, in Austria.
“After considerable research, this particular model was chosen for its reliability and cutting edge technology; we are delighted with the new addition to our fleet which will enhance our emergency response capability”, commented Chief Fire Officer Kevin Hornett.
London Luton has a 52-strong fire and rescue team and a fleet of four vehicles. The airport is operated by a consortium of which infrastructure provider Abertis Infraestructuras is the leading shareholder.
MSA’s exisiting range of Ultima XE gas monitors are now available with highway addressable remote transducers (HART).
The HART feature allows two-way digital communication between intelligent field instruments and host systems. This results in better management of plant assets through convenient set-up, calibration and diagnostics and increased sensor data.
Users now have the option to use laptops, handhelds and Ultima controllers for calibration of gas monitors.
Ultima XE gas monitors are used in multiple gas detection coverage in gas and oil applications and other industries.
The monitors use catalytic, electrochemical and infrared technologies for detection of combustible and toxic gases and oxygen deficiency.
A new range of high visibility disposable masks has been launched by Sperian Protection.
As well as guaranteeing respiratory protection the new Sperian High Visibility masks meet the colour and reflection requirements of British standard EN 471for high visibility clothing.
The two series were designed following a request from a South African mining company looking to improve the visibility of its employees.
The Sperian High Visibility 5,000 series features a unique exhalation valve for breathing comfort, and it has passed the dolomite dust clogging resistance test.
The SuperOne is a cost effective high visibility solution in an ergonomic design without a nose bridge.
