Trial by fire
Published: 01 April, 2009
SINE, the Danish public safety network, has undertaken several live situational fire tests on Sepura’s STP8000 hand-held radio for firefighters in Denmark.
In a training exercise staged by Vordingborg Fire Brigade, Sepura’s STP8000 was put through its paces while directly exposed to the heat from flames at a house fire.
Officers outside the house could hear every word during the trial, even when the temperature of the fire passed 400 degrees oC and the plastic of the radio’s antenna started to soften.
Nikolaj Marquart, a senior officer with SINE, stood inside the burning house for 10 minutes, sweating while witnessing how the radio handled the heat. “During the test, the face mask started to melt and wires between the radio and the remote microphone short circuited,” he said.
“In fact, the fireman’s protective suit and mask, as well as accessories, were damaged to the point that the suit became unusable - but the STP8000 continued to operate.”
Outside, Brian Larsen, who managed the exercise for the Fire Brigade, talked to Marquart, saying: “I had no difficulty hearing him. The sound was perfect throughout most of the test.”
Another test was carried out on the Stena Saga ferry, which carries 2,000 passengers and 510 cars between the Danish port of Fredrikshavn and the Norwegian capital, Oslo.
The aim of the test was to assess the performance of the STP8000 whilst communicating throughout the decks of the ship, from the bridge right down to the depths of the hull.
Sven Ingvardsen’s fire brigade team positioned one radio on the bridge - the 11th deck on the ship - and from there attempted to communicate with other STP8000 radios. These were moved down through the lower decks, to assess radio reception throughout the ship’s metal infrastructure - an environment that normally impedes radio transmission and reception.
As expected by the firefighters, the signal weakened halfway down the ship, but once the STP8000’s Repeater functionality was brought into play communication was loud and clear, even deep down in the vessel.
Even when taken into a room enclosed completely by metal walls, the STP8000 continued to perform effectively. “We left one radio there and tried to gain contact from different decks. On the top deck the radio had to be moved around to find a signal - but it could be done,” he added.
Sepura’s STP8000 also impressed Lolland Fire brigade, which is responsible for the safety on board ferries between the Danish ports of Rodby and Puttgarden.
In the past, analogue radio systems provided only limited coverage, and were the only option. “Now, we can use the STP8000 in a ship’s steel hull where radio communication had previously been almost impossible,” said Finn Antonisen, Lolland’s fire chief.
