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Europeans' heads are getting bigger, according to new research by
small and medium sized businesses. The discovery was made when a Europe-wide consortium of SMEs scanned
20,000 heads as part of their work on a new firefighter's helmet. The surprise results led to French headgear specialist CFG Gallet
ensuring that the new types of helmet would be suitable until the year
2020. The company will today launch the head protection system at the
European Parliament in Strasbourg in front of Commissioners and MEPs. The
helmet design allows for special add-ons including goggles and a face-shield.
An infra-red device will enable firefights to spot victims in smoky rooms or in
the dark, and an electronic communications system will connect the
fire-fighters to a remote computer so even if they pass out, their colleague
will be able to find them. The European Commission funding half of the 700,000 euro project
through its co-operative research scheme or CRAFT. CFG Gallet called on other SMEs to help it perfect the helmet as it
could not do all the research or testing itself. Gunson Ltd and Audiopack, both British firms, German firms Draeger
Sicherheitstechnik and Syscom, and Dutch company Longa are also part of the
scheme together with a Dutch research organisation TNO Industrie. Designer Adriaan Schot, a former firefighter himself, said:
"Developing a fire-fighter's head protection is a complex operation. It is a
question of defining risks." He explained how the tasks were divided up between
the companies. "Audiopack concentrated on electronic communications systems, Longa
designed neck protection to link the new helmet to the rest of the protective
clothing, Syscom wrote software, Drager Sicherheitstechnik was responsible for
the mask system and we at CGF Gallet focused on headgear design. TNO helped
with everything. They really were the ones that kept everyone else
motivated." The helmet is about to go into production and the consortium expects
to sell around six million at a cost of several thousand euro a go. The unique
selling point of the helmet, according to its makers, is that it is versatile
and can be adapted to the hazards of each situation. Firefighters only spend 15 per cent of their time putting out flames.
Firefighters can also find themselves in dangerous situations like getting
people out of a car wreckage or rescued trapped people. Mr Schot said: "In a building fire, there is a danger of falling
masonry. This obviously does not happen when you are clearing up a chemical
spillage on a road after a truck has overturned, but on the other hand, there
could be noxious vapours. The risks are different again in forest fires or
during rescues." He explained: "We analysed the situation and came to the conclusion
that it was possible to cover the different circumstances with one basic
design, to which "add-on" modular options, such as a communication system or an
infra-red camera, could be fitted, according to requirements." Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin said: "This is another good
example how research can have a direct impact on the daily work of those who
are facing danger in order to same human lives and goods."
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