Abstract:
A personnel protection apparatus ( 22 ) for protecting personnel involved in fighting a fire comprising a flexible multi-layer wall member ( 32 ) mounted at an elevated position on a fire fighting truck ( 10 ), the wall member ( 32 ) being arranged to be stored in contracted condition within the vehicle ( 10 ) when not required for use and being arranged to be deployed from the vehicle ( 10 ), externally thereof so as to provide a protective enclosure which extends from the vehicle ( 10 ) to ground level for personnel.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a personnel protection apparatus. 
       BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is known that in fighting fires in bush or forest areas it is necessary for the personnel involved to be protected from risk when the fire is very intense and/or when there is significant ambient wind which may change direction without warning. 
         [0003]    It is known to provide enclosures for the cabs or fire fighting vehicles which offer some protection in an emergency. However, the protection available is limited in the time that it affords protection to personnel in the cab. There is a need for an improved system which provides longer lasting and more effective protection to personnel confronted with a fire fighting emergency. 
         [0004]    The present invention attempts to overcome, a least in part, disadvantages of previously known safety systems for protecting fire fighting personnel. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In accordance with one aspect of the present invention is provided a personnel protection apparatus for use in fighting a fire which comprises a mechanism arranged to be mounted at an elevated position on a fire fighting vehicle, the mechanism comprising a housing containing a flexible multi-layer wall member, the wall member being arranged to be stored in the vehicle in a contracted condition and to be deployed when required for use to extend downwardly externally of the vehicle to provide a protective enclosure for personnel. 
         [0006]    The wall member preferably is a multi-layer wall means in which layers of the wall means are spaced apart when deployed. 
         [0007]    Further the wall member preferably forms a laterally endless wall when deployed. 
         [0008]    Yet further, the apparatus may comprise a frame member contained initially in the housing and the flexible wall member is arranged to be stored in the vehicle in a contracted condition within the frame member. 
         [0009]    Yet still further, the frame member is preferably arranged to be contained within the vehicle when not required for use and to be moved to a position external of the vehicle when required for use. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The present invention will now describe with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which 
           [0011]      FIG. 1  is a side view of a fire fighting truck embodying the apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  is a view similar to  FIG. 1  showing a fire fighting safety apparatus of the present invention ready to be deployed for use; 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  is a view similar to  FIG. 2  showing a side elevation of the fire fighting apparatus in deployed condition; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a rear elevation of the fire fighting apparatus showing  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation of another embodiment of fire fighting truck which is of smaller construction than that of  FIG. 1  but also embodies the apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5 b    is a view similar to  FIG. 5  showing an alternative means of deploying the apparatus of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a view similar to  FIG. 3  showing the apparatus of the present invention in use in protecting personnel from a fire; 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a schematic cross sectional elevation of part of a wall of the deployed apparatus shown in  FIG. 6 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is a schematic side elevation of the deployed apparatus of  FIG. 6  showing the wall structure of the deployed apparatus; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  shows spacer means for use in the apparatus of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    In  FIGS. 1 to 3  of the accompanying drawing there is shown a fire fighting truck  10  of known type comprising a chassis  12  mounted on a plurality of wheels  14 . The chassis supports a front cab  16  for accommodation of a fire fighting crew. Also the chassis supports a plurality of water tanks  18 . 
         [0022]    At a rear end  19  of the truck  10  remote from the cab  16  there is provided an assembly  20  provided with a personnel protection apparatus  22  in accordance with the present invention. 
         [0023]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the apparatus  22  comprises a roof portion  23 . 
         [0024]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the apparatus  22  is arranged to dispense a fire protection assembly  24  from the roof portion  23  by means of a reciprocable arm  26 . 
         [0025]    The arm  26  comprises an outer end connected to a frame member  30  having mounted therein a fire protective wall member  32 . As shown in  FIG. 2  the wall member  32  is disposed initially in contracted condition. 
         [0026]    The roof portion  23  maybe formed of a plurality of layers of corrugated iron, such as three layers, with contiguous layers disposed at 90° to one another. This arrangement provides minimal areas of contact for conduction of heat between the layers. However, the roof portion  23  may have many configurations although a flame proof upper layer is preferred. In fact, has been found that the use of plurality of corrugated iron layers disposed at 90° to one another as discussed above is highly effective. 
         [0027]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , in the event of a fire personnel may gather under the frame member  30 . The wall member  32  may then be released so as to extend downwardly preferably under the influence of gravity, so as to form a protective enclosure isolating personnel under the frame member  30  by means of the extended wall member  32  as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0028]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the protective enclosure  34  may be sufficiently wide or deep to accommodate a plurality of personnel members. Preferably, means is provided for manually releasing the wall member  32  to the position shown in  FIG. 3  and for returning the wall member  32  to the contracted position shown in  FIG. 2 . The manually control means may be in the form of ropes or cords. In an alternative arrangement shown in  FIG. 5 , the fire fighting apparatus  22  of the present invention may be utilized in relation to a smaller vehicle  40 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIG. 6 , the fire protection apparatus  22  may conveniently be disposed at the rear of the truck  10  with the wall member  32  extended downwardly and the truck  10  backed up to an adjacent source of heat  50 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 7 , the wall member  32  is preferably provided with a plurality of layers. At first outer layer  54  may be formed of a highly heat resistant material. An intermediate layer  56  and an inner layer  58  are preferably formed of heat shield fabrics. 
         [0031]    The outer layer  54  may be formed of a ceramic fibre such as silica. This may be in the form of outer mat, which may be produced by the following technique. 
         [0032]    The outer wall ceramic fibre mat maybe made by drawing and spinning a ceramic fibre that is spun with cotton and fine stainless steel wire. The resulting composite thread is woven into a mat and the cotton burned off. The mat is then coated with a polymer to hold the material together. In the event of a fire, the polymer burns off but the stainless steel which is in the form of a mesh holds the woven ceramic material together. The key function of the outer layer  54  is to prevent naked flame contacting the inner layers  56  and  58 . It must be physically robust to sustain prolonged exposure to flame. 
         [0033]    The two inner layers  56  and  58  may be formed of a plastics material provided with a heat reflective layer on one side. The heat reflective layer may be formed of aluminium. A number of similar materials and common wool blanket material give similar results. 
         [0034]    The material of the outer layer  54  needs to be able to withstand temperatures of 500° C.+ for over ten minutes without physical deterioration. The material of the inner layers  56  to  58  should be highly reflective on one side (the hot side). The layers  54 ,  56  and  58  need to be foldable for stowing within the frame member  30 . 
         [0035]    The gaps between the three layers  54 ,  56  and  58  are crucial and are a trade-off between heat rejection and compactness for transport and stowing. The gaps may be in the range of 20 to 100 mm wide, such as about 40 to 60 mm wide, preferably about 50 mm wide. 
         [0036]    Spacing of the walls  54 ,  56  and  58  reduces heat transfer inwardly from the exterior. As shown in  FIG. 8 , it is preferred that the inner most layer  58  extends to ground level to form an inner chamber whilst the intermediate layer  56  is spaced a small amount from the ground whilst the outer layer  54  is spaced a slightly larger amount from the ground. 
         [0037]    The spacing of the layers  54  and  56  from the ground enables intake of cool air to enter spaces  60  between the layers by convection which helps maintain the inner chamber at a moderate temperature even when the external temperature is at very high temperature such as 500° C. or more. The convected air flows upwardly and exits from the apparatus at the level of the frame  30 . Further, the convection effect assists in keeping the chamber within the wall member  32  smoke free and fume free. 
         [0038]    The spaces  60 , between the layers  54 ,  56  and  58  may be maintained by using spacers  70  as shown in  FIG. 9 . The spacers  70  are preferably arranged to spring laterally outward when the wall member  32  is deployed but to fold inwardly when the wall member  32  is folded for stowage. The spacer  70  may be made of steel wire. 
         [0039]    Modifications and variations such as would be apparent to a skilled addressee are deemed within the scope of the present invention. For example, it is envisaged in relation to the embodiments of  FIGS. 5, and 5   b,  that the apparatus  22  could be provided with parallel pivotable arms. In order to deploy the wall member  32 , the pivotable arms could be swung outwardly so that the wall member  32  may be deployed to the rear of the vehicle.