The International Fire Buyer Awards are designed to spotlight the most significant breakthroughs shaping the future of fire safety, rescue, and emergency response on a global scale.
This year, the Active Innovation of the Year category recognises a development that has transformed search and rescue capability worldwide: the Arcón Method, created by Dr. HC Jaime Parejo García.
For decades, one of the most critical challenges in disaster response has been the ability to locate survivors who are buried, trapped, or otherwise impossible to detect through conventional means.
Despite advances in equipment and training, no tool had proven consistently effective in the most complex and time-critical scenarios. That changed with the creation of the Arcón Method, the result of twelve years of rigorous scientific research, behavioural analysis, and real-world testing.
The Arcón Method has revolutionised canine search and detection by decoding and enhancing the cognitive processes that underpin effective rescue work. Dr. Parejo was the first researcher in history to analyse and optimise, with deep precision, the interplay of key behavioural mechanisms such as olfactory perception, memorisation, motivation, psychological autonomy, attention, and concentration.
These insights allowed him to design a training methodology that dramatically increases the reliability, endurance, and detection capability of search-and-rescue dogs.
Today, the Arcón Method is regarded internationally as a scientific milestone and a legacy of immense humanitarian value.
What makes this win especially significant is the altruistic mission behind it. Dr. Parejo continues to dedicate his life to voluntarily teaching and disseminating the Arcón Method globally, ensuring as many rescue teams as possible can benefit from its extraordinary capability.
As the international fire and rescue community faces increasingly complex emergency environments, the Arcón Method stands as a pioneering advancement and a testament to what sustained scientific inquiry, practical innovation, and humanitarian purpose can achieve.
Fire Buyer congratulates the Arcón Method and Dr. HC Jaime Parejo García on this well-deserved award.
