Time flies… you blink just a handful of times and suddenly the festive season is upon us once again. And that’s why we’d like to share with you a review of the FireWare highlights of the year!
And if you’re looking to schedule a demonstration in 2020, then don’t hesitate to make an appointment with our simulation specialists!
New projects that made us proud
In 2019 we once again had the opportunity to be a part of many great projects. One example is our support role in the spectacular Emergency Response Exercise on the A2 road in the Leidsche Rijntunnel. This exercise led to us developing an extraordinarily cool mobile technical solution, which will soon allow us to stage a largescale tunnel fire, even when the ventilation systems are operational!
In the past year we also took much pleasure in our designs for the theme of Living with Fire. This included upgrading the Fryslân and Drenthe Safety Regions’ educational vehicles. These interactive roadshows collect data about the knowledge levels of visitors, allowing the safety regions to provide more targeted information. We first shared that data at the ISES congress in Antwerp with other professionals, and we are exceptionally proud that the data-gathering provides us with evermore information about what people are aware of when it comes to fire safety! Aside from upgrading existing designs, we also recently started on the finishing touches on Gelderland Midden Health and Safety Region’s (VGGM) Fire Safety, The Game educational vehicle. An available firefighting container owned by the VGGM was converted into a ‘break-in room’. Participants play games and solve puzzles revolving around safety themes to crack a code that gives them access to an endgame in the container.
FireWare DNA
The roots of FireWare lie in the film and theatre industry, and it can be fun to return to those roots, which is why it was a great experience to play a meaningful part in the fiery Fogo Correndo show. And it also gave us great pleasure to contribute to the Roparun event!
There are two other social events that we would like to highlight, not just in order to pat ourselves on the back but rather to show that, simply by planning a number of working days differently, we can make the world a little bit more fun! In July we hosted a school trip for Zilvermeeuw primary school, and the invasion of children proved to be a lot of fun for us. Meanwhile, in November we welcomed a ten-person delegation from the Vrouwen van Nu (Women of Today) organisation, and it was a great experience to inspire these ladies through a tour of our kitchen!
An overview of our new educational materials
We also spent much time in the last year working on creating new educational materials. For example, we started off 2019 by introducing the F.I.I.T., an interactive training environment in which course participants witness a virtual accident. They are then challenged to respond in an effective manner and get the virtual victim into the hands of the professional emergency services.
We always listen to the market, and that has resulted in the development of the Hazard Diamond and the Add-on Explosion Cage, among other innovations. We also permanently keep in mind the opportunities for further developing our own educational materials. With the aid of The Nebula Blinding Band and the Fusion Remote, the number of uses of our existing simulation equipment can only rise!
What was probably our greatest achievement in 2019 was the Incident Server together with Incident Clients. This fully-automated system means that sound effects, flame simulations and smoke machines are centrally controlled to create a realistic scenario. Everything you need to make an exercise realistic, dynamic and interactive is at your fingertips! The control systems are already in use at a number of our partners, including the Schiphol Fire Brigade training centre and Fryslân Safety Region!
Availability during the festive season
Our staff will be taking a well-deserved break during the festive season, which means we will not be available from 21 December to 5 January. Starting on 6 January, we will be ready to serve you once again!
On behalf of everybody at FireWare, we wish you a great festive season and a safe and inspiring 2020!
