Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA

Dräger, an international pioneer in medical and safety technology, has renewed its sponsorship of the National Breathing Apparatus Challenge (NBAC), as part of its commitment to supporting the firefighting community and promoting industry best practices. In its 16th year, The Challenge sees teams of five firefighters from across the UK competing where success depends on the expert use of breathing apparatus to manage an incident and the deployment of intelligent strategies such as tactical ventilation. Four areas of competition The competition, judged by over 30 highly experienced national assessors, is split into four areas designed to cover the full spectrum of how breathing apparatus is used across all firefighting roles: command and control; breathing apparatus procedures; fire ground procedures; and entry control. The event is held at the Fire Service College each year using three of their carbonaceous training venues where challenges replicate a wide range of real-life fire incident scenarios, including domestic, high-rise, and industrial. The competition takes place over a weekend and concludes with a Silver Service awards dinner. keeping entry costs low Dräger’s sponsorship helps to cover the costs of venue hire, accommodation, materials, and the awards dinner Dräger’s sponsorship helps to cover the costs of venue hire, accommodation, materials, and the awards dinner, so as to keep competition entry costs as low as possible. Mark Andrews from NBAC says there has been an increased need for realistic training over recent years, “We now have fewer fire emergency callouts, which is undoubtedly a success story for the industry. But it means realistic training is more important than ever to ensure fire crews can respond quickly, dynamically, and instinctively when emergencies happen.” realistic training in breathing apparatus “The national challenge provides an excellent opportunity to provide firefighters with realistic training in breathing apparatus use to further that goal, while also being an event to bring the industry together and celebrate achievements. We are thrilled Dräger continues to sponsor such an important event,” said Mark. Liz Millward, Marketing Manager for Emergency and Rescue Services, Dräger, says the NBAC demonstrates what physically demanding and complex roles our firefighters undertake, “The competition takes a firefighter from site investigation, entry control board use, and communication through to quickly and efficiently accessing water supply and unloading ladders and PPE equipment." respiratory protection "It showcases how breathing apparatus is not just used to provide respiratory protection to wearers but also to inform strategies, monitor firefighters’ health, and connect the whole team,” she says. “We have been a sponsor from the start of NBAC and are delighted to continue our sponsorship in support of the firefighting community.” The 2024 NBAC event took place on October 12th.

Emergency response teams worldwide use different tools and personal protective equipment, including mobile gas detectors to warn the rescuers from dangerous gas concentrations. Dräger mobile gas detectors are produced for a wide range of industries, including the Fire Service, Mining/Mine Rescue and Industry. Rescue teams in those industries have a growing demand for realistic training, including portable gas detection. Multi-Gas training simulator To satisfy this rising demand for safe, repeatable and effective training, Dräger and Argon have cooperated to create the X-am 2x00/5x00 series Multi Gas training simulator, which looks, feels, acts and alarms like real portable multi-gas detectors - Dräger X-am 2500, 2800, 5000, 5600 or 5800 to deliver a safe, realistic training experience for users of Dräger portable gas detectors. Users can configure settings, like alarm limits, and select simulated sensors/gases to represent their operational X-am 2x00 or 5x00 series detector. Personal Air Monitoring gas detectors Gas sources can be simulated in different ways, including Argon’s Ultra Sonic beacons Gas sources can be simulated in different ways, including Argon’s Ultra Sonic beacons, which are compatible with their Chemical Warfare simulators for those more advanced multi-detector exercises. Rüdiger Weich, Global Product Manager for portable gas detection from Dräger in Germany, said, "I am very happy, that the powerful portfolio of Personal Air Monitoring gas detectors of Dräger X-am series are accompanied now with a safe, realistic and useful training simulator from Argon Electronics." Dräger mobile gas detectors Rüdiger Weich adds, "This will help many of our customers to train even better for their important jobs in rescue in the Fire Service, Mine Rescue teams, and industrial environments." Being a Volunteer Fire Fighter working in HazMat-Teams, Rüdiger knows from his own experience how important realistic training is. HazMat training solutions Argon Founder and Managing Director - Steven Pike, said: "I am delighted Argon was selected as a partner to create this superb training system. Dräger is the latest in a long line of detector manufacturers we have had the pleasure to collaborate with delivering world-class CBRN and HazMat training solutions for use by emergency responders and specialist agencies on a global basis." Argon simulators have transformed CBRN and HazMat training, enabling safe, environmentally friendly training exercises to be set up with ease and in minutes, permitting exercises to take place how, where and when needed.

Dräger, an international pioneer in the fields of medical and safety technology, has provided the Sellafield Nuclear site with 65 self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) PSS Airboss® sets and six Merlin® telemetry entry control boards (ECB) to protect firefighters from the inhalation of dangerous gases during incidents and training events.  Sellafield, formerly known as Windscale, and situated on the Cumbrian coastline, is Europe’s largest nuclear site, with the most diverse range of nuclear facilities in the world on a single site. Sellafield repackages Sellafield was initially constructed as a nuclear deterrent following the Second World War and later became the world’s first nuclear power station to export electricity on a commercial scale to the public grid.   Sellafield repackages and stores nuclear materials, while mitigating risks to the environment. The vast inventory and scale of the site (650 acres) and its labyrinth of more than 1,200 buildings, plants and silos, mean fire safety is of critical importance. Safety for future generations Sellafield Fire & Rescue Service needed an upgrade to its safety tools to further protect on-site personnel A specialist fire and rescue service protects the site from fire, chemical and nuclear related incident risk, dedicated to the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) during its formal decommissioning process.   To reflect its mission to provide safety for future generations, Sellafield Fire & Rescue Service required an upgrade to its existing safety equipment to further protect on-site personnel and its 85-strong fire crew from harm in a high-risk and potentially hazardous working environment.   Dräger's PSS® AirBoss Connect SCBA The team assessed many different products to protect their employees. After thorough consultation, Dräger's PSS® AirBoss Connect SCBA was selected because of its advanced functionality and future proofed design, as well as its best-in-class ergonomics and light weight. Through shifting the center of gravity relationship between the user and the set, the weight of the PSS® AirBoss is carried by the legs and pelvis, rather than the shoulders and back. This reduces the risk of strain-related injuries and fatigue when wearing the set operationally, as well as extending potential working duration as a result of reduced physical exertion.  PSS® AirBoss SCBA links PSS® AirBoss SCBA links to Merlin® Telemetry system, enabling remote monitoring of the wearers’ vital core The PSS® AirBoss SCBA links to the the Merlin® Telemetry system, enabling continuous remote monitoring of the wearers’ vital core temperatures and key statistics including air pressure and remaining cylinder volume, overseen and communicated through the Entry Control Board (ECB).  When the user enters, a tally is inserted into the ECB, wearers of the SCBA are added, establishing a direct communication channel to Entry Control.  Quick and strategic response In utilizing the telemetry system, Sellafield will enable a means for quick and strategic response in the event of an emergency. This will be particularly useful given that a number of buildings located at the Sellafield site comprise of thick concrete walls which act as a shield against the dangers of radiation, but render location services such as GPS and direction-based location systems ineffective.  PSS® AirBoss Connect Dräger will also support the training of its specialist fire crew, station managers, and on-site personnel Users of the PSS® AirBoss Connect can also combine additional safety and communication systems into a single, integrated safety solution thanks to enhanced Bluetooth capability, which also opens up an opportunity to connect new and emerging Dräger technologies in the future.  Dräger will also support the training of its specialist fire crew, station managers and on-site personnel in how to safely and securely use the PSS® AirBoss Connect SCBA set and Merlin® telemetry system.   Similar industrial applications Sean Hevey, former Station Manager at Cumbria Fire and Rescue and serving Watch Manager at Sellafield Ltd, says Dräger’s service and tailored support during the life of its products exceeds expectations: “The ability of a company as big as Dräger to provide tailored and unique services to customers like us is truly exceptional." "Joining Dräger user groups also allow us to seek guidance, advice and support from similar services within similar industrial applications. This is invaluable and provides confidence that a network of professionals are at our doorstep should we need them.”  Technological developments and enhancements Elizabeth Milward, Marketing Manager Emergency and Rescue Services at Draeger Safety UK, says Sellafield has an admirable focus on personal firefighter health and safety: “The complex scale and nature of the site required products that protected the fire and rescue crew and site personnel from the dangers of fire in the midst of added chemical and nuclear risks."   “By integrating the Bluetooth connectivity of the AirBoss and the Merlin® telemetry system with one another, not only will the team benefit from enhanced personal safety and communication, but also from compatibility with the next wave of technological developments and enhancements.”