Mission Goal

Fire brigades require technology that enables the localization and rescue of firefighters on missions, especially in critical situations like interventions in burning buildings. 

Two main criteria guide this need:
1. Ability to locate through a maximum number of floors, including basements.
2. Rapid convergence capability to provide assistance in the shortest time possible.

Test material

  • Tracker: with an emission power of 20 dBm (100 mW), attached to the person to be rescued.
  • Search tool: “HANDY” characterized by high portability and high sensitivity.


Location

The Firefighers Caserne is a building made of prestressed concrete, with three underground levels.

The radio wave propagation conditions were particularly challenging, with significant attenuation levels.


Tracker localization

The tracker was hidden in the third basement of the building, without the search team knowing its position.

 



Start point

The team started from the fifth floor, with the tracker located more than seven floors away.


The team was trained in using the Owley Handy device.


Results

  • The position signal was captured on the fifth floor at the start of the search.
  • It took less than 20 minutes to reach the third basement.
  • It took about 20 minutes to bypass the obstacle and directly reach the tracker.