Attending The Emergency Services Show at the NEC was both an educational and exciting experience, giving the Fire Product Search team an opportunity to meet with great equipment and services providers in the fire fighting industry.
It was exciting to see the new Extrication and First Aid & Trauma Challenges hosted by West Midlands Fire Service and UKRO, and great to see the focus on support for individuals who work in demanding and challenging emergency response roles. There was an increased focus on mental health challenges, and information from organisations who are implementing change and offering support in these areas.
With over 450 exhibitors, the show gave its UK and overseas visitor’s access to the very best equipment, expertise and support networks to prepare for future incidents and keep the public safe.
Our first stop of the day was to meet Bodytrak. It’s always exciting when a new product comes to market, and even more so when something good can come of something bad. The motivation for a product of this kind was the sad loss of three SAS recruits in 2013 of hypothermia on a training exercise. Bodytrak is the only multi-parameter in-ear body monitoring platform to track Core Body Temperature (CBT) and Heart Rate (HR) accurately and in real time. It also continually tracks Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Oxygen Uptake (VO2), speed and distance which, together with HR and CBT helps to safeguard the health and well-being of personnel subjected to harsh conditions. Used in many fields, Bodytrak is also used to help monitor real-time health and safety in fire fighting environments. Find out more here.
Staying with the theme of new innovations, it was great to catch up with Wasp and the progress being made since they launched at the Emergency Services Show in 2016. It was hard not to be captured by the energy of James Fletcher who showed us around the stand and shared with us the situations where the Wasp has been deployed so far. The Wasp is a warning alarm for stability protection and also has an incredible back story. The idea borne from one fire-fighters experiences and desire to keep his co-workers safe when attending unstable sites in rescue scenarios led to the creation of this innovative technology. This is a must read and you can find out more at Wasp Rescue.
Catching up with Geargrid, we heard all about their recent installation into GE Healthcare, a private medical facility in Buckinghamshire. They installed 40 450mm wall mounted PPE lockers with their fixed hang-bar and two stainless hangers, and were tasked to relocate 18 of their pre-existing wall mounted lockers. In addition another 22 lockers were installed as their emergency response team has doubled in size due to the current risk situation being at critical. GE in Buckinghamshire is a nuclear facility so they have to plan for every and any event. They have had to move the emergency responders and fire station into a new location on-site to accommodate their growth.
While visiting Geargrid, we also had the opportunity to meet the legendary CFO Bob Beaver (aka Bob Foht). Bob, as seen in the picture, travels everywhere with Iain and Jason!
Next we arrived at the Drager Safety stand who were showcasing their new washing equipment to the UK market for the first time at the show, and were pleased to tell us there had been a lot of interest in the equipment.
Visit Drager Safety for more information.
As the sun shone brightly through the exhibition hall, we walked outside to meet Ales Ribic of MFC International. Recently re-branded to the MFC International brand to represent selling their products internationally, Commercial Director Ales showed us the Stak Jak lifting mats and Rescue Sleds on display.
Roger Startin, Joint Managing Director of Bristol Uniforms Ltd was pleased to be showing their Collaborative Procurement Framework PPE range. The range will save Fire and Rescue Services considerable time and resources by simplifying and streamlining the procurement process.
We also visited Goliaths stand and had a chat to Richard Habany about the Poseidon boot range. Check out more of their ranges here.
Simon Lister of Delta Fire welcomed us and gave us an overview of their new Attack Pro Series nozzles. The Pro-Series range brings together subtle design modifications and enhanced flow engineering to provide customers with the very latest technological advances available in a product manufactured in the UK to the highest possible standards.
As the end of the day approached all too quickly, we were welcomed by Crofton Engineering, who are a specialist steel sub-contractors. They also design, build and erect Fire Drill Training Buildings for the UK and Republic of Ireland Fire & Rescue Services. Glen Godfrey gave us a high level overview of some of the projects in or nearing completion, and we will be bringing you news of these on the Fire Product Search news feed and newsletters in the very near future so look out for those. Projects including Derbyshire F&R, Cheshire F&R and Exeter Airport will all feature.
Next year’s Emergency Service Show takes place in Hall 5, NEC, Birmingham from Wednesday 19 – 20 September 2018.