Inner Cordon 2010 HART Conference Exhibition
10 – 11 June – BT Convention Centre, Liverpool
Hughes will be showing the latest version of its rapid deployment shelter on stand … at Inner Cordon 2010. The conference and exhibition will focus on the work of Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART) and their colleagues working inside the ‘warm zone’ or inner cordon at major incidents.
The versatile Hughes Articulated Rapid Deployment (HARD) shelter has been specifically developed for this type of ‘front-line’ role and the latest version, being demonstrated in Liverpool, provides temporary mortuary facilities.
It incorporates an insulated liner together with a portable air conditioning system to ensure that the temperature remains below 4°C, the specified maximum. As with all HARD shelters, it can be erected and fully operational in a matter of minutes and is available with a range of optional ancillary equipment including portable generators, lighting, heating and water pumps to ensure reliable operation in a variety of environments.
The shelter has a one-piece, rigid folding aluminium frame and is easily carried to the scene of an incident where it can be erected by two people in just two minutes. The same basic frame with integral cover can be adapted for different roles by simply changing the internal liner. This flexibility enables emergency services to optimize their investment and avoid having several shelters each dedicated to a specific duty.
Several HARD shelters can be connected together to provide extra space. In addition to a temporary mortuary, typical applications include a command and control centre, first aid shelter, operating theatre, casualty holding area and emergency washing or toilet facilities. Based on its experience designing military shelters, Hughes also offers a decontamination liner for the HARD shelter so that members of the emergency services and the public can wash off harmful substances. In addition to the standard range of liners, Hughes works with organisations to custom design liners for specific applications.