A group of Colorado State University engineering professors is developing a breathing apparatus that will cut the heat stress faced by firefighters and hazardous-materials handlers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded the professors a $917,000 grant to make it easier to cool firefighters as they work. Professors Thomas Bradley, Wade Troxell and John Williams are working with Niwot Technologies, a northern Colorado company, to build the apparatus.
Niwot Technologies LLC — under its operations manager, Hal Gier — has developed a prototype product called the SuperCritical Air Mobility Pack, known as SCAMP, for NASA that uses cryogenic or extremely cold air to provide air to firefighters in a thin, compact case.
CSU will develop a design to improve the pack’s endurance and cooling function and to allow its commercial civilian use.
The National Fire Protection Association estimates that about 43 percent of the line-of-duty deaths of firefighters are the result of cardiovascular failure, which can result from repeated heat stress, said Bradley, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
“Their heavy coats do a great job of isolating firefighters from the high temperatures associated with a fire,” Bradley said, “but meanwhile, they are roasting on the inside because there’s no way to get the heat out.”
Firefighters generate about 600 watts of metabolic heat performing common tasks such as climbing stairs and carrying heavy loads, Bradley said. “It feels like having 10, 60-watt light bulbs under your coat,” he said. “Firefighters have a dangerous job, and their equipment should not make it worse.”
The CSU team is developing the next generation of firefighter and HazMat airpacks so that the air supply and cooling lasts longer. The development of the SCAMP toward the HazMat application will require research into manufacturing processes for thin-film thermoelectric cooling devices, improved system design and further development of the firefighter and machine relationship, Bradley said.
The project team includes CSU engineering seniors Nikki Dunlap, Joe Kennedy, Chris Record, Jake Renquist and Andy Rodriguez.
Poudre Fire Authority crews will help in the design review and field testing of the airpack.
“This is promising technology that addresses the personal-protection concerns of the modern firefighter,” said John Mulligan, Poudre Fire Authority chief.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
