When firefighters have to enter a burning building, much of their job still involves blindly feeling their way through dense plumes of toxic fumes in search of those trapped inside. However, a novel new helmet design could one day give firefighters the ability to see through the smoke and hear beyond the roar of the flames.
You’ve heard the cautionary tales about dialing 911 on your cell phone. A call about missing children in Illinois gets routed to Canada. A stroke victim in New York is only located after a grueling eight-hour search. Locating 911 calls in 2014 is a byzantine process that involves generating a fake phone number—but a Next Generation 911 system that integrates text and video is in the (somewhat) near future, if we can only can get our collective shit together.
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On Wednesday, a sudden gas explosion leveled two buildings in Harlem, killing at least seven people. Hordes of reporters arrived within minutes to cover the story, as did a random guy with a quadcopter. And, with apologies for the autoplay, this is the footage he captured in the immediate aftermath of the collapse:
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New Yorkers were shocked on Wednesday morning
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A new patent application by Apple just published by the USPTO (via AppleInsider) adds a feature to an iPhone that may not be as cool as an optical heart rate sensor, but could be just as (or more) life-saving: the new tech would use data from onboard sensor to automatically detect when a user is subject to physical attack, including car crashes and violent personal altercations, as well as sudden… Read More
Given the hundreds of ways your phone could come into life-threatening contact with liquid, you should know what to do when it happens (because it will).
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Starchitects don’t build ’em like they used to—and now one’s getting sued for it. Chris Christie remains in troubled waters over a bridge. And if you thought the Polar Vortex was bad, how about the looming Emergency Drought? It’s all this week in What’s Ruining Our Cities.
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Commuters know just how dangerous their travels can be if they find themselves in a bus, subway or train that has stopped functioning properly or there’s an absolute emergency, forcing you to leave through a window. Many forms of public transportation have ways where passengers can simply push out a window, but if those aren’t functioning properly, you’re going to have to break a window or two. That’s where the Hammer in Hand concept comes in. (more…)
Hammer In Hand Allows Straphangers To Break Windows With Ease original content from Ubergizmo. 
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You never know when you might need to leave a bus or a train by window. Accidents could happen. A fire could break out on board. A gun man could be threatening every passenger.
It’s often during times like this (or right after) that people would wish they had come up with something that could’ve helped the people on board out.
Designer Shi Qiang did just that with the Hammer in Hand concept design. It’s essentially a handle that doubles as a sturdy hammer that can be used to break the windows. Since it’s embedded in the hammer, people wouldn’t have to waste precious time trying to look for something they can use to to break the glass.
There would obviously be more handles than there are windows, so most passengers can grab one, break the glass, and exit the vehicle to safety.
[via Yanko Design]
With the East Coast inundated with rain, sleet, and snow—and the West Coast not faring much better—now would be a good time to make sure your cold weather emergency kit is topped off with fresh supplies. Wait—you don’t have a cold weather go-bag? Here’s what you’ll need to make it through the winter without shivering in the dark every time a storm knocks out the power.
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