Firefighters´ ISO Standard for Vehicle Rescue and Extrication is now starting to be implemented world wide

A summary of CTIF activities within the transport sector April 2019 TE

ISO standardisation: ISO 17840 ”Rescue Information”

The start of the project was a proposal from France in 2012 to create a standardized layout for Rescue Sheets for passenger vehicles and light commercial transport vehicles.

During the work with Part 1, a proposal was issued by Belgium and CTIF to extend the work also to:

Part 2:  Rescue Sheets for Busses, coaches and heavy commercial vehicles.

Part 3:  Rescue and training manuals. A more in-depth information för rescuers, f.ex. procedures to shut off the high voltage or gas supplies, procedures for fire fighting etcetera...

Part 4: Driveline identification signs, was later altered to Propulsion Energy.

The decision to expand the scope was made in November 2014 by as many as 22 member countries.

All parts are now published.  Part 1 is under revision in order to also cover Hydrogen Fuel Cells.

The use of the pictograms has started, the labelling of buses according to part 4 is ongoing in Belgium, one of the first countries within the EU.

EURO N-Cap

The cooperation with the organisation was intensified during 2018. They are for the moment working to create a system with databases and apps to store rescue sheets for all passenger vehicles that are being sold in Europe. The aim is to make the information available for first and second responders and free of charge.

In the next phase the vehicle itself might be able to transmit the information directly to responders to an accident

Cooperation with other organisations

In November 2018 a MOU was signed between CTIF the Ministry of Interior in Belgium to intensify the cooperation in order to implement the ISO standards.

UITP –International association of Public Transport- uitp.org

The organisation was started 1885, and has 99 member countries with 1600 member companies.

All CTIF member countries has many well known actors within the public transport sector as members within UITP.

CTIF signed a MOU with UITP in April 2019.

The cooperation will:

- Increase the knowledge about the ISO 17840.

- Demonstrate how national MOUs between ministries, transport companies and rescue services can speed up the implementation of the ISO standard at investments of new vehicles, markings on vehicles, the use of rescue sheets and  Emergency Response Guides.- Establish a close cooperation about Emergency Procedures, Share information and organize CTIF training for first and second responders and personell.

- Establish a Task Force for implementation of the principles in the agreement.

UITP´s member companies are lites by member country. This list can be viewed here: https://www.uitp.org/all-members 

CTIF Extrication and New Technology

The Commission started the project and continues to be the driving force for the work. The CTIF Executive Committee is also supporting and partaking in the direction of this project. The Commission holds physical meetings twice per year, and the next Commission meeting is taking place in Valencia, Spain the 8th – 9th of May,  2019.

The Secretary for the project has been Peter Claeson from Swedish SIS and Project Leaders have been Tom Van Esbroeck (Commission Chair) and Kurt Vollmacher from the national Centre of Expertise in Belgium.

Cover Photo: (Above) The leaders of UITP, CTIF President Tore Eriksson and the Chair of  CTIF Extrication & New Technology  Tom Van Esbroeck meeting in Casablanca in April 2019 to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the two organisations to implement the new ISO standard in Firefighting. Photo by UITP.