Fires in high-rise buildings pose complex and extraordinary challenges for firefighters and rescue teams. One of the primary issues is the limited working duration of breathing apparatus, which is critical for large-scale firefighting.
With the increasing number of high-rise buildings, situations are becoming more common where firefighters should remain in a toxic gases environment for a long time and the duration of respiratory protection devices is insufficient for completing critical tasks. This forces them to temporarily disconnect from their compressed air breathing apparatus during rescue operations, significantly increasing the risk of poisoning from hazardous combustion products. The consequences of such poisoning can manifest years later. For instance, 26% of firefighters who participated in the Grenfell Tower fire in London (2017) now suffer from respiratory, traumatic, neurological, and oncological diseases.
Other notable incidents further underscore the importance of addressing this issue:
- September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the USA: The duration of rescue operations required firefighters to leave the fire zone to replace air cylinders, complicating firefighting efforts and reducing the efficiency of rescue operations.
- Port Said fire (Egypt, 2012): Firefighters had to cease operations due to depleted air supplies, significantly impacting their ability to extinguish the fire.
- Lacrosse Building fire (Melbourne, 2014): The restricted operational time of breathing apparatus complicated evacuation and firefighting in the 23-story building.
- The Address Downtown fire (Dubai, 2015): Limited air supply in breathing apparatus forced firefighters to take frequent breaks for refilling, hindering fire suppression efforts on the upper floors of the 63-story hotel.
These examples highlight the need for solutions that provide extended working durations. One such solution is the DEZEGA P-70 compressed oxygen self-contained breathing apparatus, offering up to 4 hours of protection, and the DEZEGA EmSCAPE emergency escape hood, providing 30 minutes of isolating protection. These devices significantly enhance safety and efficiency during rescue operations, particularly in high-rise environments.
With equipment that is 27% lighter than traditional apparatus and offers twice the working duration time, firefighters can substantially reduce fatigue and energy expenditure, allowing them to focus on critical tasks such as extinguishing fires and rescuing victims.
These technologies are already widely used by mine rescue services, where key characteristics such as working duration time, size, and weight of personal protective equipment are crucial. Modern breathing apparatus and escape devices are also employed for fire suppression in tunnels, large industrial facilities, and underground structures where the duration of work complicates operations. Considering advancements in construction technologies and trends in industrialization, these solutions are becoming increasingly vital for firefighting and evacuation in high-rise buildings.
We invite fire departments and rescue teams to participate in a free trial of the DEZEGA P-70 breathing apparatus and DEZEGA EmSCAPE emergency escape hoods to experience the efficiency of these solutions firsthand.