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Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
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VidetteMonkey
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Better to have the green glowing goop emitted from knee pads because most of your time is spent crawling, which would never leave a trace with the boots.

Standing in a fire is not really an option because A) you won't be able to see, whereas it might be perfectly clear near the floor (might is a key word here if you are lucky), and B) the heat increases greatly as you stand, and at levels that will kill you.

As my partner behind me crawls through the goop, will he/she also glow? That would be fun in itself.

Top notch, accurate GPS systems with finely tuned altimeters on the firefighters would provide the X,Y,Z coordinates of your firefighter for a quick rescue.
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KendraOpossum
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Fireman here (Kansas City, MO). I don't know how feasible these things are but one of the trickier things to do when you get lost in a fire is finding your way back to the hoseline which should (hopefully) lead you back to the front door. If these glowy footprints were visible, even if you had to get on your face on the floor to see them in the smoke, they could be handy.

Also they may not help all that much in figuring out where a certain fireman went, but they would show where he "didn't" go which could save a lot of time.

BTW LCD screens and fancy things like this are probably a long ways away from being useful at a fireground. We typically destroy any and all equipment over time and are 10x worse on anything even slightly fragile.

Just my two cents
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Noobs-R-Us
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Nah, this is too simple and too cheap. Knowing how governmental agencies work, they will opt for some augmented reality heads up display that will show each firefighter where they are, where the exits are, and where each of their teammates are in the building as well as schematic of the building.
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OMG! Ponies!
09/24/09

@Noobs-R-Us: You've got that backwards. The way agencies work, they go with the low-bid, regardless of safety. When choosing between cheap and safe, the government always goes with cheap.
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Noobs-R-Us
09/24/09

@OMG! Ponies!: I seem to "recall" $500 toilet seats and $1000 hammers back during the Reagan years?

get it? I said "recall"
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Edited by Noobs-R-Us at 09/24/09 4:49 PM Noobs-R-Us was starred Noobs-R-Us was unstarred

NelsonAntinous
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
@OMG! Ponies!
Non-breaking ropes and working radios! What a concept! I would have loved that when I was a firefighter.
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nutbastard
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
right, because nothing will be more obvious in the middle of an enormously luminescent fire than something that glows.
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dimsum4u
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
I saw a how it's made on fire fighter suits and boots and the process is majority all done by hand. Not sure how easily it would be to apply this goo, then i'm assuming you would have to refill the goo. I want to say having a small LCD screen that drops down from the helmet would be better: Maybe have it be able to track how hot the location is where they are at, heart rate, some how maybe have a sensor on the boots that the LCD can pick up where someone walked. If they got a floor plan of the building have it pop up on the LCD and then they see the little red dots of where the team is. Just thinking out loud, fire fighters run into a burning building, I think they should have some kick ass gear. This seems like a good start of an idea.
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WD- Forte
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
It sounds good in theory. But having been a firefighter for about 10 years now I can tell you that in an actual firefighting scenario these things would be totally useless. You literally cannot see your hand in front of your face and you do so much back and forth work that if you did end up needing to follow these tracks to get out youd be walking in circles. Not to mention the fact that if everyone was wearing these there'd be green footprints all over the damn place- not just yours. I'm not totally knocking them though. In the U.S. about 100 firefighters die every year- but mostly due to structural collapse and flash over, not so much to being lost (if that happens we just start breaking things till we find a way out). I give it 2 stars (out of 5) cause the fire service really could use a technological overhaul at some point in the near future.
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TheDuckOfDeath
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
So, after a fire, you'll have to replace all your carpets, along with everything else damaged in the fire. Kick in the nuts.
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gadam07
09/24/09

@TheDuckOfDeath: Dude, after a fire, you pretty much have to replace every bit of upholstery anyway. It'll be all smokey and stuff.
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J_Frank_Parnell
09/24/09

@gadam07: Depending on the level of smoke damage, upholstery and carpet can often be cleaned and restored.
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Kaiser-Machead
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Personally I'd rather have the motion sensor and personnel locater like the little wrist watch that Ripley used to track down Newt.

Why complicate the boots? Maybe they should be able to drop the glowing liquid from a squeeze bottle, so it would look like you're hunting a wounded Predator.
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ceilingFANBOY
09/24/09

@Kaiser-Machead: I think they already have locators. The problem with those is that if you are not familiar with the building, you may find yourself running into a dead end. This would let you know how the firefighter got where he or she is. Also, at some point you may need a backup to the electrical safety devices.
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dimsum4u
09/24/09

@Kaiser-Machead: As funny as it was to read "hunting a wounded predator" I think thats a cool idea. These guys run in with oxygen tanks just attach something to the oxygen tank that when they run into the building they activate and it drops the glowing liquid every 5 - 10 seconds. Might be easier. But what if there really was a predator though...
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
09/24/09

@Kaiser-Machead: "Game over, man. Game over!"
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OMG! Ponies!
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
How about we get the firefighters ropes that don't break under stress and handie-talkies that get reception in buildings?

I don't see this as part of bunker gear anytime soon.
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Kaiser-Machead
09/24/09

@OMG! Ponies!:

Farnsworth:Be careful! That line is a diamond filament tether! It's unbreakable!

Bender:Then why should I be careful?

Farnsworth:It was a gift from my grandmother.
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maxentropy
09/24/09

@OMG! Ponies!: Volunteer firefighter here and we actually use cheap rope light during smoke conditions. Depending on how well you can see the glow in the dark goop, this probably won't be feasible. Plus, that means I have to carry more weight in my boots, not to mention what happens when that goop gets hot within my boot reservoir.

Honestly, when will someone come out with the sonic echo-location type device that was in the new Batman. Design that and then hook it to our facemasks for augmented reality (seeing through smoke and fire). Then you've got yourself a winner...
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Pope John Peeps II
09/24/09

@maxentropy: Wouldn't fire mess up sound? All those heat waves and sudden bursts of air? I'm curious now.
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OMG! Ponies!
09/24/09

@maxentropy: In NYC back in 1980, there was a bad fatality involving to firemen. One was a Captain about 2 years from retirement; the other was still a probie.

Fire forced them to evacuate through a window using their safety ropes. Unfortunately, the City, being a government bureaucracy, went with the low-bid. The rope snapped and both men fell to their death.

At the time, firemen could not sue the City and Department for negligence. In 1989, the law was changed so that injury or death from defective bunker gear was a basis for suit.

There's a ton of basic equipment that should work that doesn't. In May 2001, it was the Motorola handie-talkies that failed, leading to a bunch of injured firemen. Then, there are the "self-lubricating" fire hydrants that don't - and rust solid.
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jfeezie82
09/24/09

@Pope John Peeps II: This already exists in a basic form...
[www.scotthealthsafety.com]
As for the boots... Usually you have guys bringing in a hose to fight the fire with, common sense, follow it back out!
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Geisrud promoted this comment jfeezie82 was starred jfeezie82 was unstarred

Geisrud
09/24/09

@jfeezie82: Sometimes you can't find the hose.
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DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
09/24/09

@Geisrud: That sounds like a personal problem.

...I know, I'm sorry, but it was either that or "that's what she said" so I went with the lesser of two evils.
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Geisrud promoted this comment

Geisrud
09/25/09

@DeusExMach: Listen you sorry excuse for an insignificant sack of moldy rat shit - and Mr. Common sense, jfreezie82 - ever been in a room at 2:00 in the morning (after getting out of bed at 1:54) that you've never been in before; temperature it close to 1000* and you can't see your fucking nose because the smoke is too thick for your flashlight to cut through?

Imaging you're trying to find someone who may or may not be there and they're in the unfortunate situation of not having any protective equipment. You go to search a room (or worse, a large area) and the door/hose/rope isn't where you left it?

That's what you call a mayday situation (per NFPA standards) and is a true emergency. Suddenly you realize you're on a very tight time schedule and you're just hoping that the RIT team can find you and get to you before your air runs out. We'll just hope that you didn't get stuck in some type of structural collapse.

So yes, I guess it is a personal problem - one of survival. It's also a problem for every single person on the fireground, and probably the surrounding cities as well. You see, a rescue scenario takes an average of 12 fireifghters and almost 20 minutes to get a person out of the IDLH environment.

As for common sense and "follow it back out", I'd argue that firefighters are some of the most sensible people around. We train on how to follow a hose back out when we can't see the damn thing.

Please do a search for "Bret Tarver", a Phoenix firefighter who lost his life in the line of duty to see what can happen when you get lost and panic sets in.
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maxentropy
09/25/09

@Pope John Peeps II: It may, I'm no physicist so not sure how heat affects sound waves...
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DeusExMach wonders what the hell happened to his star.
09/29/09

@Geisrud: Right. but can you find your penis?
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ubermex
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Fire is pretty bright. This would have to glow super mega bright to be visible through smoke and with bright bright fire nearby.
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Kaiser-Machead promoted this comment Edited by ubermex at 09/24/09 2:46 PM ubermex was starred ubermex was unstarred

GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Figure your average trucks holds 4 Fire Fighters. How can you tell who from who, especially considering only certain colors to well in low lights, so you are limited there.
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jerritp
09/24/09

@GitEmSteveDave_WillingToBeTased: the tread would have their name
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appletoad
09/24/09

@GitEmSteveDave_WillingToBeTased: Different patterns/name stamped on bottom of boot.
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ceilingFANBOY
09/24/09

@GitEmSteveDave_WillingToBeTased: Perhaps each boot leaves a distinct footprint, or they aren't too worried about knowing which boot prints belong to who.
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Jrsy Devil's Advocate®
09/24/09

@jerritp: Or just a number since that would probably be easier to read than something like, Wojciehowicz...
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GitEmSteveDave_HurtHisKnee
09/24/09

@appletoad: @jerritp: @ceilingFANBOY: we would hope there would be some water being thrown on the fire, and you would also need perfectly clean floors to preserve the tread pattern.
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Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
09/24/09

In reply to Firefighter Boots Leave Goopy, Glowing Trail of Firefly Carcasses
Pssh. If they can't make me jump 15 feet in the air I'm not interested.
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Masonvrocks
09/24/09

@Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected: Not even if you hit 14.9?
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Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
09/24/09

@Masonvrocks: Mastered the art of lurking.: Nope. Some people would settle, but not me. I have standards.
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ceilingFANBOY
09/24/09

@Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected: I can help you with that.
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Mike Zuniga: That was Unexpected
09/24/09

@ceilingFANBOY: That's exactaly what I was thinking of, I just couldn't find the clip. Kudos.
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