Download a PDF of the Agenda - 28K

Sunday, October 16
SunWorkshopSums.pdf (24K)

Workshops will be held concurrently on Sunday, October 16th during the morning and repeat in the afternoon. Conference participants may select two of the three workshops to attend. The morning session is from 9:00am - 12:00pm and the afternoon session is from 1:30 - 4:30pm.

• Using Agent-Based Simulation for Input Assessment of a Disaster Response: re-enacts the 1994 Northridge, CA earthquake as modeled by FEMA's loss estimation program (HAZUS). Presents a simulation of the event focusing on the initial assessment and response phases. Donald E. Brown & Charles D. Robinson, University of Virginia
  
  
• Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings: instructs First Responders on current topics of concern including; "terrorist ideologies and the threat of energetic materials", "recognition and identification of energetic materials" and "proper response to bombing incidents". This workshop is the performance level version of a full IRTB course sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (SLGCP). A certificate of completion from New Mexico Tech will be issued to each attendee. Lt. Mark Sisson, Christiansburg, VA, Police Department
  
  
• What Responders Need to Know About NIOSH Approved Respirators: discusses respirator approval standards, CBRN respirator approval testing, respirator use and maintenance programs, and the NIOSH SCBA firefighter investigation program. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health/National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory Staff (NIOSH/NPPTL)

6:30-8:30pm Opening Reception at the Inn at Virginia Tech. All conference participants and exhibitors are welcomed to attend. Conference Exhibits will be open.

Monday, October 17
MonAgenda.pdf (36K)

8:00 - 9:00am
Plenary Speaker:
The Honorable George W. Foresman, Assistant to the Governor for Commonwealth Preparedness, Office of Commonwealth Preparedness, State of Virginia
TOPIC: "Metamorphosis: The Transformation in First Response"

9:00 - 10:15am
Presentations on Disaster Response Management

1. National Firefighter Technology Resource Center: presents the Center for Technology Commercialization, Public Safety Technology Center (CTC-PSTC), who developed a comprehensive inventory of firefighter needs and technologies categories. Earnest Mitchell, Center for Technology Commercialization--Public Safety Technology Center
   
   
2. Protecting Public Safety and Rescue Personnel from Vaccine-Preventable Hepatitis: focuses on the need for vaccinations of Emergency Medical Service (EMS), Disaster, and Water Rescue workers against Hepatitis A and B in addition to the Body Substance Isolation (BSI) protocols that now exist. Gerald M. Dworkin, Lifesaving Resources, Inc.
   
   
3. Emergency Planning and Response in a University Environment: describes emergency planning at colleges and universities, and the need to provide interactive discussions between localities, response organizations, and the educational institution(s) toward that end. Zack Adams, Virginia Tech--Environmental Health and Safety Services (EHSS)

10:15-10:45am
Refreshment Break. Exhibits will be open.

10:45am - 12:30pm
PPE Standards for Emergency Responders

1. NPFA Fire and Emergency Services Protective Clothing and Standards Program: describes and outlines the elements of the NFPA Protective Clothing and Standards Program, which seeks to protect first responders through standard requirements for entities that manufacture protective clothing (e.g., coats, coveralls, trousers, hoods). Bruce Teele, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
   
   
2. What Has Changed in the NFPA Hazardous Materials Protective Clothing Standards? Provides a summary of the changes made to NFPA clothing standards and the process by which the changes were adopted. James P. Zeigler, DuPont Personal Protection
   
   
3. NIOSH Best Practices Functional Safety Guidance: What is it and How Does it Apply to Personal Protective Equipment? Describes NIOSH-NPPTL's effort to develop a nine-part series of best practice recommendations for achieving functional safety of systems, focusing on the equipment's entire life cycle instead of only performance testing of finished equipment/software. Joe Waters, Tom Fisher, Janet Flynt; Underwriters Laboratories (UL), CDC/NIOSH/NPPTL, Safety Requirements, Inc.
   
   
4. A Practical Tool for Heat Stress Risk Assessment and Planning: This lecture discusses additions to the Wet Bulb, Globe and Temperature (WBGT) Method of heat stress management. WBGT utilizes key factors that control heat stress (e.g., heat, humidity, work level, clothing) to assess heat stress risk. The addition of psychrometry, historical weather, and updated clothing factors to the WBGT in an effort to provide a more comprehensive analysis of heat stress risk is presented. James P. Zeigler, DuPont Personal Protection

12:30 - 2:00pm Lunch
Featured Luncheon Speaker
Richard M. Duffy, Assistant to the General President, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
TOPIC: "Challenges in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Performance"

2:00 - 3:40pm
Human/PPE Interface: Issues and Solutions

1. Physiological Changes Associated with Fire Exposure in Fire Fighters: physiological response assessment in fire fighters in 'operationally-relevant' settings. Jonathan Kaufman, Naval Air Systems Command Pax River
   
   
2. Ergonomics Protocol for Next Generation Structural Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment Evaluation: presents the need to focus on the ergonomics of ensemble design and use in the protocols that exist for ensemble evaluation. Provides an evaluation tool for ensembles. Steven L. Johnson, University of Arkansas
   
   
3. Developing PPE Systems: Salient Issues Faced by Small and Large Manufacturers: describes the issues experienced by both small and large manufacturers of first responder personal protective systems in the systems development process. Jeff A. Lancaster, John G. Casali, Atul Deshmukh, Virginia Tech
   
   
4. Dissipation of Oxygen from Outward Leak of Closed-Circuit Breathing Device: Presents the results of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of O2 dissipation into the environment surrounding a respirator face piece towards the perceived risk by firefighters of fire ignition when wearing closed-circuit respirators (that add O2 from a tank of pure oxygen after CO2 scrubbing) in environments containing open flame and high radiant heat. Kathryn M. Butler, Rodney A. Bryant, John G. Kovac, NIST/NPPTL

3:40-4:00pm
Refreshment Break. Exhibits will be open

4:00 - 5:30pm
Novel PPE Ensembles

1. A Lightweight Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus with Integrated Full Body Cooling: describes the development of an open-cycle SCBA which uses cryogenic air (instead of compressed air) at -300º F such that the air breathed becomes a heat sink for the metabolic heat produces by the user as well as environmental heat. Harold L. Gier, Supercritical Thermal Systems, Inc.
   
   
2. Advanced Chemical/Biological Protective Fire Fighter Turnout Suit: describes research efforts at NC State into a next-generation firefighter turnout suit that incorporates advanced materials technologies for protection against heat and flame as well as toxic chemical and biological agents. Roger L. Barker, Anthony S. Deaton, North Carolina State University
   
   
3. Next Generation Structural Fire Fighting PPE with Chemical/Biological Protection: describes the development/testing of a new structural fire fighting PPE ensemble with enhance chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protective qualities. Jeffrey O. Stull, Richard M. Duffy, International Personnel Protection, International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)

Tuesday, October 18
TuesAgenda.pdf (28K)

8:00 - 10:00 am
Electronics in PPE

1. Design of a Wearable Electronics Package for Firefighter Monitoring: the design of an electronic lifeline system integrated with a firefighter's PPE is described. The system monitors vital signs and the environment of active firefighters and can transmit data to incident command center. Alton G. Dunn, Todd Leonhardt, Michael Masterman, Extreme Endeavors
   
   
2. Embedded Personal Location for First Responders: describes a second-generation personal location system (PLS) that does not require GPS or RF location devices, and instead relies on Ôpersonal networks' (wireless computer networks) and Ôbody-distributed sensing' (direct coupling of sensors to relevant body locations). Analysis of the system in both indoor and outdoor tasks is presented and compared to ground truth information from GPS or loop-closure experiments. Scott Thayer, Carnegie Mellon University
   
   
3. First Responder Thermal Imaging Performance Evaluation Research at NIST: presents the need for standardized performance metrics for users to use in making purchasing decisions. Francine Amon, Anthony Hamins, Nelson Bryner, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
   
   
4. Use of Combination Hearing Protectors and Communication Earpieces for First Responders: use of the Sonomax HPD system to ensure effective transmission and understanding of critical information. Jeremie Voix, Sonomax Hearing Healthcare, Inc.

10:00-10:30am
Refreshment Break. Exhibits will be open

10:30am - 12:00
Test Methods for PPE

1. Thermal Protective Performance Test for Fire Fighter Protective Clothing: development of a physics-based model incorporating moisture transport into a computational tool called the Protective Clothing Performance Simulator (PCPS) that evaluates the thermal response of clothing. Kuldeep R. Prasad, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
   
   
2. Development of a Test Method for Measuring Stored Energy in Fire Fighter Turnouts: describes a laboratory test method for measuring stored thermal energy in firefighter turnout materials, and presents the results of a study designed to show the effect of thermal exposures and material variables on stored energy phenomena. Anthoney S. Deaton, Roger L. Barker, North Carolina State University
   
   
3. A Passive Aerosol Sampler for Evaluation of Personal Protective Ensembles: describes the development of a passive aerosol sampler for the evaluation of protective ensembles using small magnet-containing samplers that passively collect iron oxide. William P. King, Pengfei Gao, NIOSH/NPPTL

12:00 - 2:00pm Closing Luncheon
Featured Luncheon Speaker:
Philip Mattson, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Science and Technology Directorate
TOPIC: "Standards for Homeland Security Science and Technology"

Download a PDF of the Agenda - 28K

Conference Overview | Technical Program | Conference Venue
Registration | Sponsors/Exhibitors | What's New | HOME