The simulators were officially opened by the IMO Secretary-General The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna purchased a 360° Class A Full Mission Bridge simulator and an Incident Management Simulator for training of its Naval and Merchant marine students. The simulators were officially opened by the IMO Secretary-General Mr. Koji Sekimizu and the Dutch Ambassador in Bulgaria Mr. Tom van Oorschot during a ceremony at the academy on September 14th. The ceremony was attended by high ranking officials from the Bulgarian and Romanian Navy, as well as the Bulgarian Maritime Administration and was concluded with the official acceptance of the simulators by the Naval Academy Commandant, Captain Boyan Mednikarov. The NAUTIS DNV Class A Full Mission Bridge (FMB) Simulator and the RescueSim incident Management Simulator were delivered and installed at the Naval Academy in Varna by VSTEP and its Bulgarian partner NavySim. The NAUTIS Full Mission Bridge simulator has a complete 360° surround horizontal field of view and is compliant with the Class A DNV Standards for Certification No. 2.14 for Maritime Simulator Systems and IMO model courses 1.22 and 1.32. At the request of the Naval Academy, VSTEP has also added advanced oil spill recovery and onboard fire training to the simulator. The RescueSim Incident Management Simulator will be used to train and prepare for any thinkable incident, both on and offshore. It has specialized modules focusing on training for Shipboard incidents, port incidents, industrial incidents as well as offshore incidents. The port of Varna was custom made in full 3D and implemented into the RescueSim simulator. VSTEP Director, Pjotr van Schothorst: “It is an honor to have our VSTEP simulators become part of the rich tradition of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy. To have Bulgaria’s finest maritime students use our simulators to become better mariners makes us very proud. Throughout the project, it has been a real pleasure working with the Naval Academy and we look forward to continue this strong relationship in the future.” The Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy is the oldest technical school in Bulgaria. With its illustrious history and traditions in training sea specialists, it is one of the symbols of Varna and Bulgaria in the world maritime community. At present, the Academy trains specialists for both Navy and merchant marine in all areas of maritime life. More info about the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, visit www.naval-acad.bg More information about VSTEP Simulation, visit www.vstepsimulation.com

Helps NZ get it right Victaulic, the world’s leading manufacturer of mechanical pipe-joining systems, will be sending industry experts to present at the FPANZ “Getting it Right” seminars across New Zealand. The first seminar kicks off on 22 September and runs from 10:30am – 12:30pm for five consecutive days in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Flexible sprinkler drop technology has gained ever-growing acceptance around the world since its development. It is the latest in fire protection technology easing concerns commonly associated with hard pipe sprinkler drop installation and performance. While New Zealand is an early adopter of flexible drops, the market continues to evolve as better product designs lead to higher system performance and more efficient installation. Victaulic Senior Engineer Jack Carbone, will be leading the Victaulic section of the FPANZ Getting it Right seminar series, sharing his knowledge on fire protection systems, including fire protection valves and sprinklers, flexible sprinklers systems and how Victaulic supports installers in the use and application of flexible drop systems. David Sharkey, Vice President Australia, New Zealand, and South East Asia said, “As Victaulic continues to release increasingly innovative products, our influence in the fire protection industry continues to grow. We believe this seminar will help installers deliver systems of the highest calibre to their clients, while providing them with the tools needed to grow their business.” Seminar attendees can expect to walk away with the ability to identify various designs of flexible hoses and brackets and comprehend the important differences in how they perform. Attendees will also learn to recognise and inspect properly installed flexible sprinkler fitting systems, comprehend the hydraulic performances of flexible drop systems, locate technical support information for flexible hoses and lastly grasp why flexible drops are important components in fire safety.

Cutting edge efficiency and reliability during search and rescue operations LEADER is proud to introduce a new generation of search equipment designed for technical search specialists by technical search specialists. They have been vastly improved, offering cutting edge efficiency and reliability during search and rescue operations. Find victims EASIER, FASTER, SAFER! LEADER Hasty The WORLD’S only multi-functional HASTY tool: SEE, SEARCH and SAVE with just one tool! “LEADER Hasty” combines: • A search camera mode for a visual and precise location of victims. Its ultra-lightweight probe is equipped with high intensity lights and flexible articulation of the camera head, which incorporates a microphone/speaker to allow communication between rescuer and victim. • A seismic detection mode for use with up to two wireless sensors with a range in excess of 328’ (100m) in open field for detecting signs of life. The ability to switch instantly between “visual search mode” and WIRELESS “audible search mode” in one deployment vastly improves the effectiveness and mobility of the rescuer. LEADER Search “LEADER Search” wireless life detector is used in rescue operations to detect and then locate the position of victims entombed in collapsed structures. Featuring 3 wireless seismic sensors with a range in excess of 328’ (100m) in open field, and the additional option of up to 3 wired sensors, LEADER Search delivers unequalled flexibility, sound quality and sound propagation. LEADER Search comes complete with an ultra-lightweight and compact control box incorporating a full colour screen and user friendly menus and graphics. Offering versatility in choice – whether you choose the LEADER Search 3 wireless sensors option through to the complete 3 wireless / 3 wired version, it is provided with a robust waterproof two way audio communication probe.   LEADER Scan “LEADER Scan” UWB life search & breathing detection device is the WORLD’S ONLY equipment capable of detecting the slightest chest movements produced by breathing! Designed to detect and locate live victims trapped, buried or entombed, usually following disasters such as: collapse structures, landslides and so on, LEADER Scan allows to locate victims by detecting movements up to 100 ft in free space (about 30m). Using UWB technology (Ultra Wide Band technology), it interrogates the sub-surface that allows identifying the victim’s location by detecting movements. Its sensitivity and stability of signal allows movements’ detection as precise as the chest movement produced from breathing or a finger movement. Graphical User Interface provides depth of victims + small movements produced by simply breathing OR strong movements produced by body movement or possibly stronger breathing patterns. Also, a unique feature displays a real time graph, focusing on the strongest signal received by the sensor. LEADER Cam “LEADER Cam” search camera with communication system is used during rescue operations to enter confined spaces, visually locate and communicate with victims. Its new compact and lightweight features provide the operator unrivalled ease of use. Its ultra-lightweight carbon fibre telescopic probe, extra-large full colour screen, user friendly menu and graphics make the LEADER Cam the ideal tool for search operations. Its flexibility makes it ideal for use in a one man operation or when working as a team. More information: www.leader-group.eu

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Label: Suppression Title: Elkhart Brass Teaser: Fire suppression equipment manufacturing industry Label: Industry Interview Label: Buildings Label: Industry Interview Title: Caltro Ultrasonics Teaser: How to protect vital data centres Teaser: At the forefront of British ingenuity and innovation

Carl Hunter, CEO of Coltraco Ultrasonics, speaks to International Fire Buyer about a successful first year for the company’s Permalevel™ Multiplex liquid monitoring system Last year, International Fire Buyer spoke to Carl Hunter, CEO of Coltraco Ultrasonics, Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers, and Member of the Royal Aeronautical Society, about the company’s Permalevel™ Multiplex clean suppression agent monitoring system. Editor Chris Beck visited his offices 12 months on to find out how the system, and the company as a whole, has progressed. How has the Permalevel™ Multiplex been received by the market? I think it has focused the industry’s mind on the current regulatory climate, in that it has revealed that the monitoring of gaseous fire suppression systems is currently limited to annual certification checks, which take no account of their need for constant monitoring. I think what we’ve set out to achieve is an industry re-focus, and to re-educate them on the benefits our system can bring. We have also had a realisation that we have to get in place an installation and maintenance network and that determines the calibre of the partners we work with. We are now working with some of the most capable clean agent fire suppression engineering companies in the world and we have in our Fire Safety Engineering team a former Deputy Chief of the London Fire Brigade and a Professional Fire Engineer to help guide us in our application understanding of Permalevel™ in clean agent suppression systems. Uptake has been very positive then? Coltraco Ultrasonics have had major interest from governmental and large corporate customers of fire suppression systems in the UK and internationally from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Korea and the USA. We are very proud of that. We are also very grateful to International Fire Buyer for stimulating so much of this. But what really engages our attention is the quality of the fire suppression system design, installation and maintaining companies who are working with us. They know what they need and are the enablers between us and the end-user customers. Having sent the product out to the market, have you had to make any modifications based on feedback you have received? Many. Principally, we have changed the capabilities of the clean agent computer interface and data communication capabilities. We had no idea of the impact that the system has in terms of users being able to manage the data from the continuous monitoring of clean agent suppression systems. We had thought that would be a lot more localised, but it became clear that several users need to monitor national critical infrastructure installations, internationally. We have to keep modifying the system and embed greater capability to enable this, and we are doing this within a UL certification track. We have also done basic mechanical developmental work to the sensors, to assist installers and users alike, to prevent them being accidentally dislodged, for example. We’ve used 3D printers to make sure each component is designed perfectly for each application. It’s the first time we’ve used 3D printing technology. I had no idea how they worked – it’s quite incredible! We are delivering technology that enables greater business continuity potential to critical infrastructure. From a business perspective, how has Coltraco grown over the past 12 months? Coltraco Ultrasonics Ltd. have become the leader in continuous fire suppression monitoring technology from an ultrasonic perspective. I think Permalevel™ will change the company by a significant factor as it takes us from being a product manufacturer to a systems provider. We are focussed on applications for the system on highly sensitive, safety-critical assets. I imagine that once that whole installation and maintenance network is firmed up, and UL certification finalises, Permalevel™ Multiplex will embed itself as a core monitoring technology in clean agent suppression systems, particularly in NOVEC™ 1230 and FM-200™ systems. Were high-end applications always the target for the system? For the first three or four years we dedicated our focus to the technology build and capability enhancements, because we had done so well to create a portable system in Portalevel™, once we realised we had the potential to produce a fixed system that constantly monitors, we were more focused on getting that right than thinking of specific applications. It is only as we began working jointly with some of our international strategic partners, particularly Chubb Hong Kong or Kidde Australia or Tyco Fire & Security UAE LLC that we realised that this system is best-suited to high-end safety critical installations. Our main applications would include mobile telecommunications, relay stations, mass transit railway systems, offshore-petrochemical, data centres, Defence and Naval infrastructure and so on. We had no idea of the scale and size of those sort of installations until we stated speaking to those companies and industry partners. What we have realised is that the primary driver for the customer for Permalevel™ Multiplex is the company or organisation whose value of business continuity outweighs the cost of the fire system by a considerable margin. Often these are large corporations, with huge data centres, and if they get interrupted for a day or even an hour it would be critical in risk management terms. They are the sort of companies we are targeting and teaming with the best of the world’s fire safety companies to enable its integration. Would you say that Coltraco is more recognised internationally now? We export 90% of our portable liquid level indicator products for CO2, FM-200™, NOVEC™ 1230, FE-13, FE-25, FE-36, HFC-225 & 227 and the old Halon 1301 to 104 countries. In terms of our fixed monitoring systems I think we are, yes, largely thanks to the attention we have received from the leading fire suppression technology system providers and to the coverage we have received in the press. I think that set us on a journey to connect with organisations across the world in a more complex and integrated way than we had ever done before.

Eric Combs, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at Elkhart Brass, speaks to International Fire Buyer about the company’s evolution and future development plans Can you give us an overview of the company’s history? Elkhart Brass was founded in 1902, which makes us one of the longest-standing companies in this area of the fire industry. We are a family-owned organisation, on our fourth generation of family ownership and management. Through the history of the company, we’ve been known for bringing ingenuity and new technology to the fire suppression industry – our history is filled with innovations, and many of the products used by fire-fighters across the world and manufactured by a number of different companies were all originated here at this company. Even if you go back to our founder, we have patents on some of the first dry-chem extinguishers, back in the early 1920s. Other examples include the first combination nozzle, the first automatic nozzle, the first electrically actuated valve, the first radio frequency-controlled monitors. They all came out of this company. That’s our legacy and what we continue to do – bring value and technology to the industry to allow our customers to do their jobs better and, most importantly, safer. I started with the company 11 years ago as a design engineer. I came as a mechanical engineer and had a very exciting opportunity straight away to be involved in some pretty exciting design projects for our portable monitors and valves and then eventually on some of the fire truck monitors as well. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to meet some of our customers, both domestically and internationally to learn the market. I then moved into a marketing role upon completion of an MBA. I’m currently the Head of Marketing and New Product Development. Elkhart Brass has been located in the same factory since 1902. How has that factory evolved since then? As you walk through our factory it’s a bit like walking back in time, because you can see the different expansions and improvements that have been made through the decades. We’ve expanded our footprint considerably. It’s something we take pride in. Throughout the facility we have photos going back to the 1920s showing where we’ve come from. However, the company has a very future-focused outlook. We take pride in our legacy, but we’re also looking ahead to what the next evolution and trend is going to be. How has the company as a whole evolved since you have been there? The most notable change is probably the size! The company has enjoyed some fairly aggressive growth over the course of my 11 years here. The number of employees has expanded, and we’ve had to add onto the facility multiple times to be able to house all of them. In addition, we have made a very significant investment in engineering, R&D and technology, as well as in the tools and testing labs we have. That has fuelled the need for investment in our manufacturing capability – upgrading equipment, quality procedures and so on. That same investment has been felt through every area of the company. One area that we have invested especially heavily in is our customer service. While we’re a manufacturer of a product, we also believe that the service we provide to our customers is as important as what we produce, in terms of pre-sale and post-sale service, technical support and overall customer service support. Has improving the customer service had an effect on sales? We’ve greatly expanded the number of individuals in the customer service team. We’ve developed an internal technical solutions team that is able to help solves customer problems by leveraging their industry know-how. Our customer service department has expanded; we’ve lengthened the opening hours and added multi-lingual capabilities. Ultimately we attempt to be able to talk to our customers in their language to minimise any opportunities for miscommunication. In addition to that, we look at sales as a form of customer service – we want to have highly trained technical industry experts who are able to help customers align problems with the right product solution. In many cases, this will mean custom products. We see ourselves as a solution provider. We produce a lot of products but they’re all designed to solve customer problems. Our customer service department has evolved into a more issue-focused department now. We have divided the team by segments – OEM segment, industrial segment, Fire Department segment and so on. This means we can get more expertise into the right place. We understand that our industry covers a broad range of businesses. Everyone isn’t having the same issue as everyone else. We have to be able to cater for all our customers’ needs, right through to things like delivery times or ordering methods. We are continually looking to improve the way we run things to make the process of dealing with us as smooth as possible. We try to find customers who have a true need and tailor our solutions for them. We deal with people who have to work in challenging conditions, and our company is 100% focused on tackling their problems head-on by listening to their needs and providing the best solution possible. We do provide good products that can be ordered right out of the catalogue, but where we excel is in providing bespoke solutions for specific needs. Getting back to the facilities again, can you tell us a bit more about your on-site foundry and the advantages that offers? We are very vertically integrated. We do all our design, casting, manufacturing and testing in-house. The advantages of having our foundry on-site are that it gives us better control over our quality, more flexibility in our lead times and, most valuably, it gives us the ability to be nimble and speedy with the custom of new products. We are no longer reliant on outside resources and waiting for materials to arrive. It saves us money and time on prototyping. As

Emelie Andrén Meiton, Product Line Manager at Siemens Building Technologies, explains how the company’s technology is used to protect vital data centres In the modern world data is at the heart of commerce, with very few businesses which are not in some way reliant on data. There are an estimated 30 million servers worldwide processing ever increasing quantities of video, voice and data through a global network of several billion devices. It is therefore not surprising that business continuity and disaster recovery plans often originate from a corporate data centre position since an incident here has such far-reaching consequences. Central to this is the provision of effective safety and security, including the protection of data from the threat of fire. One of the most likely causes of a catastrophic failure is fire yet its threat is often underestimated. Housing as they do such sensitive, vital information and systems essential to the survival of their clients, data centres present a greater need for absolute protection whilst paradoxically demonstrating an enhanced level of fire risk. The electrical power and extensive cabling that drive the computing systems provide a constant source of potential ignition, particularly under the raised floors, while the many thousands of plastic components supply a plentiful source of combustible materials. Given that an estimated 80 percent of fires are caused by electrical faults, the role of effective, intelligent and safe distribution of power is itself a vital consideration in safety terms. Cooling requirements impact on fire safety Both preventive and active fire protection is therefore particularly relevant in such vulnerable locations. The newer high-performance equipment, such as multi-processor servers and high-speed communications switches are raising rack densities well above 30 kW (equivalent to the drive output of an electric car). In ever more densely packed layouts, today’s servers necessitate air-cooling up to 8600 watts/m2. To help put this into context, on a cloudless day in mid-Europe, the sun will typically generate 700 watts per square metre. The equivalent of a cooling power of 8400 watts/m2 would therefore be like lowering the temperature from 12 suns burning down on one square metre. The resulting higher air exchange from cooling will partly remove any smoke with the airflow, making early detection by traditional systems even more difficult, as well as increasing the risk of the fast spread of fire to other areas. Even a smouldering fire without flames can damage hardware through sooting, corrosion and toxic gases. The time between the initial outbreak of fire and its successful extinguishing after detection, is the critical factor when attempting to prevent operational failure of a data centre. The earliest possible warning Given the susceptibility of data centers to the threat of fire, even in its early incipient stages, detecting it at the earliest possible point is the objective. It is generally accepted that aspirating smoke detection (ASD) is one of the technologies which provides the earliest detection of the incipient stages of combustion. ASD is therefore very widely used to protect IT and telecommunications facilities – the applications for which it was originally developed – protecting the highly ventilated atmosphere which typifies the data centre environment. Aspirating smoke detection systems can detect smoke before it is even visible to the human eye. The systems generally consist of a network of independent pipes with one or more sampling apertures that actively draw air into a highly sensitive smoke-sensing chamber. There, the sampled air is precisely and accurately analysed by a scattered-light detector for smoke particles. If smoke particles beyond a pre-set threshold are detected, the system triggers an immediate alarm. In that way, a timely warning is given – along with the opportunity to fully investigate the cause of the alarm. The most appropriate response can then be initiated to stop the fire gaining a hold and thus prevent injury, damage and disruption to business. Aspirating systems can be up to a thousand times more sensitive than a standard point detection system. By combining this level of sensitivity with an environmental learning capability, it is possible for such a system to provide and maintain the optimum operating level and keep unwanted or ‘false’ alarms to an absolute minimum – without external input. Aspirating systems also usually have the capability to monitor their own integrity and, in the event of the system’s ability to detect smoke being compromised for any reason, an alert is raised. Intervention and extinguishing Shutting down equipment at the earliest indication of fire will stop even corrosive combustion gases developing further. However, in order to prevent false alarms, standards still often require two separate detectors to sound an alarm before the extinguishing system is activated – a single detector causes the system to go into a state of pre-alarm, and only if the alarm is reconfirmed the extinguishing agent will be released. Thanks to modern technology though and to the high detection reliability of today’s point type detectors and ASD, false alarms can be excluded, even when using just one detector, without an alarm verification system. The method of delivering the extinguishing agent and selecting the correct agent for the given application is a very important factor in optimising protection. In critical applications, a dry extinguishing system is essential because of the sensitivity of the IT infrastructure. Water is generally not used as an extinguishing agent in data centres, the only exception being in generator rooms in which combined gas/water solutions are used because of the thermal risk. Two types of gas extinguishing systems are especially suited to data centres: Chemical extinguishing agent systems and inert gas systems. The latter tend to be employed in medium to large-sized data centres while chemical agents are used in small to medium-sized data centres. Since the server rooms are the raison d’etre of a data centre, special solutions have to be employed even on the hardware side of extinguishing: recent studies have shown that the noise of conventional gas extinguishing systems could affect the performance of the hard disk drives. That is why today

In the wake of the company’s 150th anniversary celebrations, International Fire Buyer speaks to Antonio Benedetti, CEO of Magrirus, about the event and the company’s future How long have you been with Magirus and CNH Industrial – what is your background? I joined Magirus and CNH Industrial in May 2011. Before that I spent 12 years at Fiat Group Automobiles. In those 12 years I had different roles with increasing responsibilities, always on international businesses and with International experiences; for example I spent two years in Istanbul as Deputy CFO and Head of Business Development. Later on, after one year in Fiat Powertrain Technologies, I decided to join Archimica Group Holding BV, one of the major players in the fine chemical world with Head Quarter in Amsterdam. A completely different and very interesting world, from mechanics to APIs. I was the Group CFO, one of the MD of the Dutch Holding and the CEO of the Italian division. The company was owned by the Private Equity Fund Towerbrook – named after Tower Bridge in London and Brooklyn Bridge in New York. After that turnaround experience I was ready for something new and I didn´t hesitate to come to lead the fire-fighting division of Iveco (Iveco Magirus at that time) when has been asked me. Last year you rebranded from Iveco Magirus to just Magirus. What was the reason for doing that? First of all we are body-builders. Our spirit is in that area – we work on the chassis and build the superstructure. We aren’t chassis makers, even though Magirus did it in the past and also belonged to a group that builds them, which is Iveco. Magirus has always been a fire-fighting company since it was founded in 1864. The company’s tradition was to create the best fire vehicles in their class, and we wanted to go back to those roots without creating any confusion between chassis builders and ourselves. We went back to tradition and also considered the fact that Magirus is renowned for quality and innovative products. We definitely saw some of that with the launch of the new products at your 150th anniversary celebrations in June. The idea of going back to the Magirus brand was not an isolated one. It was just part of the equation and the long term plan we set in 2011 – everything has a reason. The change of the brand and its development has to be backed up by a significant change in the products we offer, including the opening of our Excellence Centre in Ulm. We decided in 2011 that this would be the way we would approach it, but we had to come to a point in which the change was tangible. We decided to apply the unveiling of the new Magirus logo to the opening of the new Excellence Centre. The Excellence Centre offers something unique to our customers, as we put everything together in the same facility. People are all connected on the same system – an engineer working on a new project can go into the prototype factory or the engineering room and talk to other functions and to people from other departments. It’s fully integrated. Quality is the most important thing for us. This was the main reason we did all this; not only to provide innovation, but a fully integrated system providing a high-quality finished product. This happens because we can change, for example, the structure of the vehicle in real-time. If a supplier sends across the wrong component with a drawing mistake , for example, we can be faster in reaction because we have engineering, purchasing, logistics and manufacturing all working together. Where are the company’s strongest markets and where are you looking to expand into? Europe plays a very important role for the company, definitely. But we are expanding in any direction, we are receiving more and more orders from fast-growing markets, which in several cases are fully mature economies by now. In terms of exact areas, we are looking at Asia-Pacific, and in particular China, and Africa and the Middle East. Certain countries in Africa are very strategic for us, as is Latin America, where we are increasingly strong. At the open day in June we were displaying a fire vehicle for the Brazilian market, which represents the one of the largest tenders ever in terms of airport fire vehicles. They had to be produced in a very short amount of time because they were needed at the airports in time for the World Cup. This is the first example of integration at our engineering plant and our competence centre. The vehicle is being produced near Milan and was prototyped in Germany. Our engineering was integrated with our factory in Italy, where we have expertise in air-crash vehicles. It was a tremendous challenge for us, because the original winner of the tender were unable to produce the vehicle, so the Brazilian authorities came to us and we had to produce a highly specialised vehicle, which didn’t exist on the market already, in a very short space of time. What will be the specific growth areas within the company? I think all the areas of the market will see some growth. For example, the increasing number of high-rise buildings in the world is pushing Fire Departments across the world to focus on aerial platforms and ladders. I see a huge expansion potential in this area, as well in terms of more standard rescue vehicles and pumpers, because the increasing level of wealth is increasing the perception of risk; citizens want to be more protected and are quite sensitive, so politicians have to make sure this is addressed and provide fire engines to make the people feel safer, and this influences votes as well. I see a huge expansion in that area, although I see the local body-builders remaining dominant especially in strong economies. Do you have other plans to diversify further and find other niches to expand into? Magirus has a

Ottawa Fire is leading the push Ottawa Fire is set to lead a three-year multi-national ‘fire dynamics’ project that will help set the standards for how fire fighters fight blazes. The project will basically re-write the "how-to" hand book for fighting fires. "That is the intent, over this three-year journey of developing this curriculum is it gets implemented fairly quickly and next generation fire fighters and current fire fighters, obviously, approach these environments better educated, better equipped and better practiced in terms of how to respond to these environments," Ottawa Fire Chief John deHooge told CFRA. He said a push over the years for more affordable homes and furniture has led to a change in the way fires burn. "The furnishings, carpeting and wall coverings and so-forth, the way buildings are constructed, the materials that are used; although there are reasons for all of those changes: economics, managing costs of homes, keeping furniture and furnishings affordable, the result is that fires are so much more intense, so much hotter and hazardous in terms of how quickly the environment deteriorates for the public and particularly fire fighters," deHooge said. Fire fighters from across the country and around the world, along with representatives from the National Research Council and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will gather in Ottawa next month to begin work on the $4-million project. "We hope and anticipate that we’ll have our finger prints on evolving fire fighting tactics and if we can save one fire fighter from injury or death or more, or the public ultimately, then we’ve succeeded," said deHooge.