Ivana Kruijff-Korbayová speaking about robot assisted rescue at the CTIF seminar in Ostrava, 2019

13 Jun 2023

Speakers list for the seminar part of Delegates Assembly in Vienna

CTIF Activity Reports and News from our Commissions, Executive Committee and Working Groups

There is a large seminar komponent to this years Delegates Assembly in Vienna. A total of 9 interesting presentations are lined up and will take up most of the extended afternoon.

The Delegates Assembly in Vienna starts at 8:30 am local time. It runs until 6 pm, with two breaks. (1 pm and 3:30 pm).

These are the presentations and the information about the speakers lined up so far. More information about individual presentations will follow.

1. HyResponder project

CTIF Executive Committee

Dennis Davis and Tom Van Esbroeck

HyResponder is a European Hydrogen Train the Trainer programme for responders. Hydrogen is increasingly becoming Europe’s energy source and ensuring its deployment is safe requires informed and properly trained first responders. CTIF therefore became a partner within the “European Hydrogen Train the Trainer Programme for Responders”, which ran from January 2020 until May 2023.

The HyResponder consortium had 16 partners from 10 countries coordinated by Ulster University and included fire and rescue expertise from Ecole nationale supérieure des officiers de sapeurs-pompiers (ENSOSP ), France; Landes Feuerwehrverschule Tirol (LFT), Austria; Service Public Federal Interieur (SPFI), Belgium; Ayuntamiento De Zaragoza (AYTO-ZGZ)/Bomberos Zaragoza (BMBZGZ), Spain; Fire Service College (FSC), United Kingdom; International Fire Academy (IFA), Switzerland; and Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic (MICR), Czech Republic, together with other academics and industry from Italy, Norway and France.

Training was developed in 10 countries with materials available in Czech, Dutch, English, French, German; Italian, Norwegian and Spanish languages. Four different learning levels were defined, corresponding to identified roles and competence levels of Fire fighter; Crew Commander; Incident Commander, and Specialist Adviser. A European Emergency Response Guide (EERG) on hydrogen and fuel cell applications to support operations is also available. All this material is available on a dedicated online platform.

A major goal of HyResponder is to ensure beyond the lifetime of the project that the training remains available and CTIF has designed a framework with qualification requirements for European Qualification Framework at Level 2 for Firefighters offering basic cognitive and practical skills for operational use. The suggestion is for 20 hours of guided study and practice. Full details on the Framework can be found on the CTIF website. The Framework is intended to be flexible and to complement and support local training arrangements.

2. Project 100 Years/ 100 Cities

CTIF Center for Fire Statistics Peter Wagner

The CFS CTIF (Center of Fire Statistics of CTIF) works since 1995 on the creation of the World Fire Statistics. In the first year, report number 1 appeared with the statistical data from 17 countries of the Earth. Today in 2018, we have released the report number 23. Statistical information on activity in almost 40 countries presented. The reports also contain information on the fire situation in major cities around the World. In summary, the CFS CTIF has collected data from more than 70 countries or large cities.

Now it is time to recompile all collected information and to pass it on to the world public for the sake of complaisant knowledge. From our point of view, the best way is an international book publication. The topic is the development of fire risks in the cities in the period 1900-2018. We do not want to accomplish this work alone as a statistics team of the CTIF. We think it is better to carry out this work together with experts from local fire departments in the large cities of the World.

3. Climate politics and firefighters

(Reinhard Steurer)

4. Climate Change, Industrial Hazards, and Natech Events: The Emerging Challenges for Fire Brigades

Hannes Kern

In the wake of intensifying effects of climate change, we are witnessing a paradigm shift in the nature, frequency, and geographic reach of severe weather events. Not only are these phenomena becoming more frequent and intense, they are also reaching regions and production areas previously untouched by such calamities. This unsettling trend brings with it an array of unprecedented challenges for our fire brigades and emergency response units.

On top of this, the fast-paced evolution of industries is introducing new layers of complexity to emergency response efforts. The interplay of natural disasters with technologically advanced industries can lead to Natech events - scenarios where natural disasters trigger technological accidents. Natech events further complicate emergency response procedures and pose significant risks to human safety and the environment.

This talk will provide an in-depth analysis of these interconnected challenges, taking into account the influence of shifting climate patterns on industrial landscapes and the increasing occurrence of Natech events. The implications of these changing dynamics on the strategies, training, and resources of our fire brigades will be explored.

The talk by Dr. Kern will also touch on the need for improved forecasting models, innovative mitigation strategies, and the critical role of collaborative efforts between different sectors in tackling these escalating threats. There is a need to inspire proactive measures to strengthen the resilience of our emergency response units.

5. CTIF Health Commission, present and future

Tommy Bækgaard Kjær

6. Challenges with lithium batteries

CTIF Extrication and New Technology Commission

Mikko Saastamoinen

Battery fires is ”hot potato” all around the world. Lithium batteries are everywhere, but do we realize and recognize their possible behavior. We will see some example’s and case’s all around the world and how these been taken care of.Let’s also check, what researches Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Finnish safety chemical Agency have done.

7. CTIF Airport commission, present and future

Manfred Sommerer

The Commission Fire Rescue at Airports was established in 1971. The first chairman was Jack Meyer (CH). The original idea was to promote an exchange of experiences between fire brigades at airports in order to bring safety standards to the same level.

This idea has not changed much in 2023. It is still the airport fire brigades that form the core element of the Commission. Chairman since 2022 is Manfred Sommerer (AUT). Today's appearance includes a commission board, participants from airport fire brigades, participants from Civil Aviation Authorities and EASA. The Commission Board consists of the three gentlemen Ole Jakob Hansen (NOR), Veli-Matti Saaskilahti (FIN) and Florian Mounthoux (CH), as well as the Chairman. The board takes care of administrative and organizational tasks and determines general procedures and development steps. Veli-Matti Saaskilahti and Florian Mounthoux are from a small group of national aviation authorities and liaise with the EASA European Union Aviation Safety Agency's staff unit, headed by Vasileios Stefanioros Ole J. Hansen is also Vice President and responsible for the Associated Members mainly from industry. These form the second pillar in the commission alongside the fire brigades and always provide us with the latest technological knowledge. In 2022, the member states France, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania could be activated or reactivated and are ready to send representatives of airport fire brigades. The current number of participants is 16 member states airport fire brigades, 4 member states flight control authorities and 10 participants who take part as associated members depending on the occasion. The aim is to link this network with the national fire service associations so that the respective delegate is responsible for exchanging information with the other airports. And brings their concerns into the international exchange of information. Any communication is done via a WhatsApp group. Official dates, invitations and correspondence will be sent via email. The group work is done throughout the year in mutual exchange or by means of surveys. An Annual Meeting is held in person each spring. In autumn a virtual meeting will be held via MS Teams to share essential information and get the contact points.

It is planned to approach other member states to send delegates. All member states are invited to use the network with other airport fire brigades in order to increase safety level at their airports