Case Study

Lighting the way to safety

No longer simple tools, modern professional flashlights are designed to help firefighters work under a wide variety of conditions, including dense smoke. A new display from Streamlight shows how

When navigating in dimly lit, smoke-filled conditions, few tools are as important to firefighters as their flashlights. But developing optics that will penetrate through dense smoke is particularly challenging, as flashlight manufacturers will attest.

Smoke is mostly carbon particles, produced as materials burn. Because carbon absorbs light energy, and the area around a carbon particle reflects light, it is difficult to shine a light through smoke so it can reflect off the illuminated object and “return” through the smoke to the user, according to David Myers, Chief Technical Officer of Identification Services LLC of Tallahassee, Florida, which provides consulting services to the flashlight industry.

“Gasses also tend to reflect light back in a glaring way, which further reduces a user's ability to see beyond the smoke,” said Myers. “And mass amounts of light energy will cause carbon molecules to vibrate, causing the reflective area around the molecule to reflect even greater amounts and further reducing visibility.”

This critical need for smoke-penetrating lighting tools has led to numerous technology advances in recent years, such as rear-facing lantern taillights that can help locate a firefighter no matter which direction the light beam is pointed; special incandescent xenon bulbs with anti-glare coating for maximizing visibility; and superbright LEDs that provide longer-reaching, brighter beams than standard LED technology.

But while all fire departments routinely train their personnel to use equipment - including flashlights - under smoke-like conditions, many firefighters still are not aware of recent improvements in professional lighting technology, particularly in area of smoke-cutting optics. That's what gave Streamlight European Business Manager Patric Lausch, a volunteer firefighter medic with the Budapest Fire Department, the idea to borrow the department's training “smoke tent” and use it to showcase how modern lighting technology is lighting the way to safety in smoky environments. The tent was featured as part of Streamlight's display at Interschutz 2005.

“I saw the tent as a way to get visitors to our booth at Interschutz actively involved in trying the latest models of flashlights and use them to help them visualise their performance in smoky environments - something every firefighter can relate to,” said Lausch. “Firefighters appreciate being able to touch, feel and ‘play' with products, as firefighting is not a theoretical experience, but a practical one.”

The tent display was so well received at Interschutz that Streamlight decided to create one of its own, designed as a participatory, ‘walk-through' experience, complete with environmentally- safe, non-toxic ‘smoke' (created with a ‘disco smoke' generator) and a dramatic red panel which, when backlit, simulates the look of flames. The tent's variable design permits assembly in a straight line, ‘U' or ‘L' shape, and is some 2.5m wide and 5m-16m long depending on its configuration. The display can accommodate up to ten people.

The ‘smoke tent' experience begins with a brief presentation on the comprehensive line of flashlights available to meet the rigorous demands of firefighters, especially smoke.

Lausch's presentation also reviews other recent developments in battery and bulb technology, which have led to even higher standards in rechargeability, and dramatically reduced the size and weight of many lights, resulting in increased portability. Continuing safety enhancements, permitting professionals to use lighting equipment under a wide variety of conditions, including hazardous environments or confined spaces, also are reviewed.

“While the presentation and tent display are geared towards lights for use under smoky conditions, we also try to teach firefighters how to choose lights for a wide variety of applications, as no one light is ideal for all environments,” said Lausch.

Participants next enter the tent for the opportunity to test lights featured in the presentation under smoke-like conditions. Lausch said that firefighters are consistently impressed by several models designed to optimize smoke performance, including:

• Lanterns featuring dual LED tail-lights, enabling firefighters to be seen even in the thickest smoke regardless of which direction the light is shining. They also are ideal markers for delineating room doorways, stairwells, landings, escape routes and other egress points in a burning structure.

• Handheld lights with a right angle head designed to clip on to turn-out gear for easy, hands-free use. Some models feature smoke-cutting optics, consisting of a “black dot” xenon bulb that penetrates smoke, fog and mist with high levels of candlepower to give firefighters a superior level of visibility.

• Lights constructed of a polymer engineering resin that is virtually indestructible, heat proof, shock resistant and non-conductive.

• Lights equipped with Luxeon LED technology, offering the long life and reliability of an LED with the brightness and range of a conventional bulb - up to seven times brighter than a standard high-intensity LED.

“We also try to relate our own personal experiences using the lights, which is helpful to attendees,” said Lausch, who was a Red Cross volunteer and firefighter in the US before relocating to Hungary in 2001.His firefighter background led him to the Budapest Fire Department, where he eventually became a volunteer firefighter medic. He also is a volunteer with the country's National Rescue Team, one of 32 teams worldwide certified for international rescue work by the United Nations Office of Disaster Relief. He joined Streamlight's European division in 2004.

“It's important to demonstrate that we are volunteers and professionals just like them, who are interested in finding the best lighting solutions to the problems we all face in firefighting and rescue work. We're not just sales people who are selling flashlights,” he said. “If I didn't believe in these products, I wouldn't be selling them.”

To date, Lausch has used the tent at several trade shows as well as at numerous trainings. He even uses the display as a "tactical" tent to enable police and special forces to practise aiming flashlights at targets to better visualise their illumination patterns under smoky, low-light conditions.

And research in the critical area of smoke-penetrating optics continues. For example, Streamlight is currently testing specific light frequencies and intensities to see if they will calm carbon particle movement, allowing more light to pass through the smoke, reflect more effectively off an object and then return through the smoke to the flashlight user.

Meanwhile, the smoke tent exhibit is helping firefighters and other public safety professionals ‘road test' flashlights for use under dense smoke conditions. “The exhibit is an ideal method for showcasing continuing advancements in lighting technology that are helping firefighters navigate under these and other environments they routinely face - and to do so safely and effectively,” said Lausch. “That's a responsibility that all of us at Streamlight take very seriously.”