The Fire Bureau of Taichung City Government has recently purchased and deployed headphone radios. To allow colleagues to get familiar with these new radios and be capable of using them smoothly at fire sites, the Central Detachment of the 7th Brigade conducted headphone radio operation and floor plan drawing training on the afternoon of April 17th, 2016.

The newly deployed headphone radios use Bluetooth devices to connect portable radios with microphones. Earphone and radio devices are installed within the helmet and the user just has to press the microphone to communicate, thus increasing operational convenience at fire sites. The training was also combined with indoor searching. Firefighters had to enter a dark space in the basement fully equipped, proceed by walking along the wall, report the indoor configuration they have discovered to the commander and draw the floor plan of the dark room. This training is conducive in training firefighters to quickly recognize indoor spaces and increase rescue efficacy. The commander can also be updated on the indoor rescue progress through radio communication, take note of personnel entry times, and order firefighters to evacuate within the safety period.

Finally, junior captain Jhih-cong Siao once again explained the pros and cons of each colleague’s operation, reminded firefighters of the considerable details in a fire site with examples from his past experiences, and expected to enhance their judgment so they could conduct appropriate rescues in fire sites.