Out of the Lab, Into the Fire TEEX Office of Research Puts Lifesaving Technology in First Responders’ Hands

When a firefighter crawls through smoke or a hazmat technician steps into the unknown, the tools they carry can mean the difference between life and death. The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) Office of Research exists to make sure those tools work in any emergency situation.

“A lot of great ideas die because they work in the laboratory, but when you get them out in the field, in the dirt and the sand, and you put them in a firefighter’s hands, whose hands are now wearing gloves and in intense environments,” Office of Research Director Ray Ivie said. “Those little buttons don’t work, or they break when they drop it, so we want to figure out how it will work in the same harsh conditions they will experience in the real world.”

To address the need for operation-ready products, the TEEX Office of Research has grown into a hub for applied research and operational testing, partnering with federal agencies, technology developers and Texas A&M University System researchers to evaluate emerging public safety equipment in the environments where they will be used. Facilities like Brayton Fire Training Field and Disaster City^® give developers real fire, real rubble, real props and opportunities to collaborate with trained experts that can stress-test the research materials, so they are field-ready.

One of the most dangerous moments in emergency response comes when responders enter a hazmat scene. Responders walk into contaminated environments wearing bulky suits and breathing apparatuses with limited visibility, often holding a meter in one hand and a sensing wand in the other. After a development company and the U.S. Department of Transportation called Ray’s office for an operational test of new hazmat technology, TEEX conducted developmental testing of a wearable alert system that reduces the risks associated with hazmat response and frees a responder’s hands of bulky sensor equipment.

According to Ray, the protective equipment device, which is still undergoing testing, uses haptic sensors worn in a hazmat suit sleeve that vibrate when chemical detectors register a threat, with patterns that can indicate what kind of hazard is present. During a simulated train derailment, hazmat instructors tested the product in full gear and provided significant feedback, which is already shaping its development, including adding a sensor inside the suit to detect ruptures in the garment itself.

“We gave them a lot of practical advice on how to make the product better and how to make it more usable in an operational setting,” Ray said. “It’s going to be a relatively inexpensive device, and I think it will be very useful for hazmat responders in the field.”

Another project underway at the Office of Research puts actionable information directly in front of a firefighter’s eyes. As part of a Department of Homeland Security testing effort, TEEX is working with Qwake Technologies on an augmented reality fire helmet that displays a thermal image through a reticle over one eye, allowing wearers to see through smoke and darkness while communicating with crews inside and outside a structure, including structures engulfed in flames. TEEX instructors are using the helmets at Brayton Fire Training Field to monitor students through smoke, and the research team is helping the developer explore what else the platform could do, including improving the accessibility of certain firefighting trainings.

“To me, the helmets are going to be the biggest game changer in the next 10 years,” Ray said. “We’re going to be able to put significant, actionable information in front of a firefighter, an emergency medical technician or a police officer so they can avoid or take action on something they’re seeing right in front of their face. So many opportunities can come from these helmets.”

TEEX research is also already protecting responders nationwide. Lithium-ion batteries power everything from phones to electric vehicles, and when they fail, they burn hotter and more unpredictably than traditional fires. TEEX partnered with the Southwest Research Institute on a published study characterizing the contaminants these fires produce and their effects on firefighter protective equipment. That research guides free TEEX training that has reached more than 7,000 first responders across the country, and the agency’s annual First Responder Summit continues turning those findings into practical response strategies. TEEX is now researching potential suppressants for battery fires that current methods cannot extinguish, and the technology grew out of an agency-published report about the dangers associated with lithium-ion battery fires.

“We’re helping companies and researchers test products that make a significant difference in the hands of our first responders,” Ray said. “Our lithium-ion research has already had a great impact on the responder community, and with our other research, I think the best is yet to come.”

Distributed by:
Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service
Vita Vaughn | Director of Communications
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