Networked Sensors

Sometime this month a couple of engineering professors, at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, will be testing networked sensors. These sensors are used to track firefighters while inside a burning building. One of the things mentioned in the article is something I personally never thought about. The fire-retardant jackets, worn by the firefighters, actually deflects flames so well that the firefighters do not realize how hot the flames really are. Not only will the sensors alert the firefighters just before flashover, which is when a room reaches 1,100 F, but the sensors also send their location and vital sighs to a laptop located outside of the building. This really hits close to home for me, because both my brother and husband are volunteer firefighters and several of my sons friends are junior firefighters. I really think this is a great technology that all fire stations should take advantage of if at all possible.