Firefighters and first responders are frequently exposed to tremendous risks while in the line of duty.
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA):
- A fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds
- One home fire-related injury occurs every 46 minutes
- One home fire-related death occurs every three hours [1]
It takes a very special, courageous, and unselfish type of person to sign up to willingly enter a burning, caving-in house and risk their own life in an attempt to save others— not to mention the high risk for cancer, lung damage, physical injury, and mental scars not due to physical burns from a fire if they do make it out alive.
Firefighters prepare to run through smoke, debris, and whatever unknown chaos or emergency comes their way on a daily basis. Their sacrifice, along with their preparation, is matched by few other professions. Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population, according to research done by the CDC and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) [2]. Cancer caused an estimated 66 percent of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) [2].
Our reverence for firefighters, the great sacrifices they make for others, and the adversity they often face on the job is the heart of our motivation for this project.
Through interviews with first responders and firefighters, and research on firefighters and groups affected by fires, our team has recognized opportunities for us as engineers to improve firefighters’ jobs by making them safer and easier. After lots of feedback and gathering information, we have concluded that firefighters have trouble with their suits, flashlights, masks, gloves, visibility, GPS, and other pieces of equipment. Many common dangers firefighters face due to collapsing structures, climbing, falling, smoke, fire, harmful chemicals, lack of vision, and communication errors can be prevented by improving aspects of firefighter equipment. Team EULER’s goal is to improve or reduce the malfunctions of firefighter equipment and hopefully help save firefighters lives like they save citizens’ lives every day.
[1] “Fire-Related Deaths & Injuries.” Injury Facts, 23 Feb. 2022, injuryfacts.nsc.org/home-and-community/safety-topics/fire-related-fatalities-and-injuries/.
[2] “FAQ.” Firefighter Cancer Support Network, 21 Jan. 2022, firefightercancersupport.org/resources/faq/.