On the 1st and 2nd of April the eleventh edition of the journées thématiques took place in cooperation with Soldats du Feu Magazine in Ardooie.
These days offer a platform for several exchanges around two themes:
- The risk of solar panels
- Highworks: dangers & solutions
In both cases the safety and protection of firemen was the hot topic. In cooperation with Capital Safety, Vidal has studied and integrated a fall arrest or rescue harness in a protection suit without reducing the comfort and ergonomics of the suit. Thanks to a Magirus ladder of 40 metres, 25 persons got on the roof of our headoffice where they could take a look at the solar panel field. During an abseil organised by the team of Soldats du Feu Magazine the Vidal protection suit with the integrated harness could be tested.
On the ground, another asset of the equipment was presented: a fireman who's unwell can easily be evacuated out of the danger area.
These two tests proved that the harness, once it is well set, doesn't bother the fireman and is very useful in case of an emergency.
The journées thématiques Vidal also offer a platform for several exchanges. 3 conferences clarified
- the regulations and legislation concerning highworks,
- the hazards for firemen during interventions on solar panels,
- the new generation of flame resistant fabrics.
The journées thématiques also presented several workshops:
- the changing of a glued sole of a fireman's boot
- a new application that can identify a car caught in an accident so you are informed of all its aspects before the intervention and this by means of a specific QR code.
For more photos of the event, visit the Journées thématiques 2014 set on Flickr.
This edition is one to remember as there were more than 110 people from several European countries present and we could rely on the support of 11 enterprises (Boche, Capital Safety, Dupont, Magirus, MSA, MPSEC, Orafol, Renault, Rostaing, Soldats du feu Magazine and Vidal).
We look forward to seeing you again in 2015 at the next edition.
