Kay-Uwe Himstedt is an experienced fire fighter who will complete the team of trainers at ifa. With immediate effect he will accompany several courses, to learn the tactics and technics and will support our trainers during excerises.

He will take over own classes as soon as possible.

We will add some more informations about his CV later here.

We are delighted to welcome him aboard!

Once again the International Fire Academy ifa was able to welcome guests from the neighbouring country of Austria.

On this occasion, the guests in Balsthal from 1 to 3 December 2011 were a delegation from the Innsbruck Municipal Fire Brigade. The aim of the exercise was to subject the LUF60 mobile firefighting support machine they had brought with them to the acid test under realistic conditions in two densely packed training days and to gather some practical experience.

The LUF60 is a remote-controlled firefighting machine on caterpillar tracks capable of converting 500 litres of water per minute into a fine mist. Needless to say, guests with unusual vehicles always act as a magnet for inquisitive people, so it is no wonder when it arrived there were already a few spectators on hand to watch them unload the equipment. In the end, it is not every day that a tracked firefighting vehicle like this comes to visit. To start with, the group from Innsbruck were presented with various deployment situations involving smoke. In this exercise, the firefighters had to achieve the best possible outcome with various alternative set-ups. On the one hand, the participants investigated static (stationary) and on the other dynamic (moving) alternatives.

In the case of the static alternatives the LUF60 was assigned to fixed deployment points, at which the team checked what improvements in the volume flow (and subsequently extraction of the smoke) could be effected by making small modifications to the deployment point and/or the settings on the LUF60. The objective of the dynamic test was to examine the effects when driving the machine in or out of the tunnel and to recognise any associated challenges. In particular, it proved to be not always so easy to pull the connected water supply in and out of the tunnel. Trials using the forklift provided to remove obstacles in the way of the vehicle were also carried out. In the case of all the experiments, pictures were taken so as to be better able to assess the experiences at a later stage.

The tests were supplemented by the use of the built-in concave water spray nozzle. It fired an impressive cloud of mist into the tunnel. This equipment, along with the vehicle as whole, could be operated using the cordless remote control provided. In the case of fire simulation systems that were fully ablaze, the cooling effect was clearly felt on the deployment side of the LUF60. However, on the downstream side it was definitely possible to feel the heat that was being pushed through the tunnel by the powerful air current.

It became clear that the use of an LUF60 in the case of a tunnel fire had to follow a clear tactical order. Otherwise the endangering of firefighting personnel or missing persons could not be excluded, for example as a result of the mixing of the tunnel air over the entire cross-section and the disintegration of the smoke gas layers associated with this. However, we have only subjective impressions of this which could still be examined in greater detail in a later series of tests. This pre-Christmas visit ended with a little farewell party, during which Training Manager Markus Vogt thanked the head of the Innsbruck delegation Martin Walch. The friendly contact will certainly be continued and a return visit during the course of 2012 has already been agreed. A short illustrated report from the Innsbruck brigade can be found here: Link

This engineer, who qualified at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, was born in 1979 and is married with a daughter. He remains joint proprietor of the EcoEng GmbH engineering consultancy in Porrentruy (canton of Jura), and would now like to apply himself more to his passion for the fire service again, so has joined us on a part-time basis (50%).

Federico Ferrario will now steadily incorporate his many years of valuable experience in a professional and firefighting environment into his classroom instruction activities.

Born in Ticino, he is an officer in the Porrentruy volunteer fire brigade and a Swiss fire service instructor. We would like to welcome him to the ifa team and wish him lots of success in his challenging new position.

The course is aimed at senior management personnel who are earmarked as deployment or section leaders for deployment in underground transportation facilities. During the one-day course, 8 to 10 participants will have the opportunity to run through and discuss deployment scenarios using role plays and 1:1 projection tables, based on experience gained from real-life incidents, such as the Gotthard tunnel blaze of 2001.

Participants were requested to provide a written assessment of all basic UTF courses. With a feedback rate of 93%, the courses were, on average, assessed as "good" to "very good" with a mark of 5.5.

Course participants were particularly satisfied with the training infrastructure and above-average specialist skills. Potential for improvement was recognised in the area of course administration. All in all, a brilliant result upon which we can build and improve.

The CTIF is an international organisation which promotes worldwide co-operation between fire service personnel and experts in the fire and rescue sector. The organisation has 48 member countries and 46 associate members. Under the leadership of Wolfgang Lindner (Head of the Hamburg Fire Academy), The 11-person delegation closely inspects international experiences in the field of instruction/training, analysing requirements and discussing new opportunities for education and training on an ongoing basis. Needless to say, the members of the working group did not pass up the chance to scrutinise the International Fire Academy ifa’s training infrastructure.

The members of the working group were given an introduction to the subject of "underground transportation facilities" and experienced the motivation which resulted in the planning and construction of these extensive, unique tunnel training facilities at first hand. The necessity of such a training infrastructure was confirmed and the comprehensive training concept presented. During the subsequent guided tour of the tunnel training facilities in Balsthal, the delegate members received a detailed impression of the extensive training infrastructure and the very realistic experiences it facilitates.

Impressed by the lavish, modern complex and many new insights regarding training for deployment in underground transportation facilities, the delegates then said their goodbyes. We thank them for their visit.

After lunch, the three guests moved on to the tunnel training facilities in Lungern, where they attended the "Hellfire" deployment exercise. They did not pass up the opportunity to personally experience a front-line exercise, wearing breathing equipment and protective clothing.

After their experience, these three extremely accomplished fire brigade officers from Paris assessed their training as realistic and very impressive. Totally convinced by the necessity for this type of training, according to General Glin at the end of the course, it has now become the task of the senior management of the Brigade de sapeurs-pompiers de Paris to find the ways and means to train as many fire brigade personnel as possible in coping with incidents in underground transportation facilities at the International Fire Academy ifa.

In this highly varied job, they support fire service personnel while gaining valuable experience. The extremely flexible working hours ensure that you will still be able to take care of training activities in your own canton.

Should you be interested in this highly varied position, then please take a look at our job offer here

The management is convinced that, in Markus Vogt, they have found a highly suitable personality for the position of Training Manager. They wish him a great start and every success in his new job.

The company Gasser Felstechnik AG set up its works canteen in the rocks of the Brünig Massif in 2001. With this project, the foundation stone was laid for the catering services of the Cantina Caverna.  A colourful collection of people gather here: whether they are construction workers, bankers, fitters, politicians or fire crews, they are all welcome and feel at home here.