Fire-resistant rescue hose

Victims in high-rise buildings can quickly escape the fire area with a tube at a speed of 4 m / s. This product can be used in fire rescue in buildings up to 30 stories high.

This is a product of the pilot production project 'Design and manufacture of twisting stand-up rescue tubes with revolving slip for the rescue and rescue of high-rise buildings in Vietnam' under the science and technology topic State key focus on material technology in the period of 2006-2010 (KC 02.DA 03 / 06-10) by the Institute of Tropical Technology and Environmental Protection in Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the Institute of Materials Chemistry - Institute of Science and Technology Military implementation.

High heat resistance . smooth, fast deployment

Colonel, Dr. Chu Chien Huu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Materials Chemistry, a member of the research team, said that since 2003, scientists have begun to research and manufacture rescue tube products. Through the actual survey, the research team found that high-rise buildings in Vietnam often have narrow spaces. Since then, scientists have focused on researching and manufacturing twisted rescue tubes because this product will not occupy much space.

However, using any material to both resist the fire, to reduce the impact on the victims is the most difficult question to answer. Many solutions failed to test fabrics with sandbags (sandbags to replace escape people). 'Fabric burnt and sandbags stuck in the escape pipe ', Dr. Chu Chien Huu recalled.

Twisted tube test at the Institute of Tropical Technology and Environmental Protection in Ho Chi Minh City.

More than three years of experimentation, the new team designed two-layer sliding tubes. In particular, the refractory outer layer is made of fire-resistant silicon rubber-coated fiberglass fabric, which can withstand heat up to 600 degrees Celsius, helping the victim not suffer from heat. The load-bearing inner layer is made of polyester fabric, helping many people slip in the tube.

To enhance the bearing capacity, limit the impact to the victims, the class in the escape tube is also designed with four bearing belts. The 1.1m-wide spiral slide is fixed on one side to the bearing wall, while the other is attached to the bearing belt to be freed from the top. Covered with a steel frame and a spiral spring to limit the sliding speed to the victim.

'Currently, high-rise buildings have not designed emergency parts for escape pipes, so we have built hooks or screws into the wall, the entire pipeline installation process takes a few minutes. If a high-rise building has an input door frame, when a fire occurs, the installation time is only in seconds , 'said Dr. Chu Chien Huu.

Rescue 20 people a minute

In 2006, when the first product was launched, scientists continued to coordinate with the Fire Protection Department several times to experiment with sand bags and volunteers were gradually raised from a height of a floor. up two floors, then five floors .

Through practical testing, the researchers found that the sliding velocity in the average tube reached 4 m / s, the tube has the ability to evacuate people at speeds of up to 20 people in a minute. In particular, the person who slipped off was not as scared as a standing tube, but had the same sense of security as when he slid his incline.

Currently, this product can be applied to rescue houses up to 30 stories high. The price of rescue drums produced by domestic scientists is about VND 70 million, equal to one tenth of the same German product.

After successful research, the spiral escape tube has been approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology to approve the pilot production project so that the scientists can perfect the technology and produce and put the product into the application. The research team is conducting registration to build the National Standard for this product.

It is expected that by the end of 2009, the National Standard for rescue tubing products will be issued by the General Department of Standards - Measurement - Quality.