Microchipped suits keeping firefighters safe

Posted December 07, 2009 15:00:00

Aviation firefighters at airports around the country will get the lightest, safest firefighting suits available as part of a $2.4 million upgrade of fire gear.

Senior Fire Commander at Airservices Australia, Rodney Reith, says each $1,000 suit has a microchip sewn into it which records how many times it has been exposed to heat and how many times it has been washed.

"The chip has the individual's name and their pay number so it's actually allocated to the individual," he said.

"We have a database so we can enter in how many times we've washed it, how many times it's been repaired, so we will be able to maintain that service life of it."

Airservices Australia chief executive Greg Russell says the technology comes from Britain.

"This equipment is the very latest, we looked long and hard around the world to find the right equipment," he said.

"In fact they're just telling me today how comfortable it is to wear which is very important."

Topics: fires, disasters-and-accidents, sydney-airport-2020, australia