Insights into innovation and safety in firefighting
The Cold Cut Cobra was introduced as far back as 1997, but today’s focus on safety, sustainability, and efficiency in firefighting, makes it more relevant than ever. Originally created to make holes in roofs, Cobra has since been refined to become an invaluable tool for saving buildings and providing a safer working environment for emergency services.
Anna Bäckmark is Customer Experience Manager at Cold Cut Systems. Anna, her colleague Fredrik Blom, and the rest of the team focus on the customer experience and on improving the Cobra training programs to meet the customer needs.
The team works closely with Cold Cut Systems’ customers, having identified the need to place greater emphasis on customer relationships and their overall experience. Anna focuses on enhancing communication with customers and Cold Cut Cobra Instructors. Fredrik, who is also a part-time firefighter, brings invaluable experience to his work with customers, leading training sessions, providing customer support and managing after-sales service.
How important is the interaction with your customers to you?
It is incredibly important. They have played a vital role in shaping the Cobra Method and how Cobra is used today, and they are an essential part in advancing the method further.
How does your team work?
We teach and train instructors, who then pass on the knowledge to their teams about how to use the Cobra Method. Therefore, it is crucial to us that we maintain close contact and build strong relationships.
We offer hands-on training complemented by e-learning courses to accommodate our customers’ conditions, considering the demanding nature of their jobs.
How critical are the training programs to your customers?
Good training is essential. The knowledge must be ingrained so that when it is needed, it should be second nature. The instructors we train become the channel for the end users to access us, providing us with information about how the method actually works in the field. Through these instructors, we can then introduce new techniques based on knowledge acquired through real-life cases.
Cold Cut Systems’ customers often struggle to find time to attend training sessions on new systems and tools, so we have developed e-learning courses too, so they can train at the station as schedules allow. They might have a half-hour window before an alarm goes off, and they can then resume the training when they return.
Can you tell us more about the background of the Cobra Method?
The founder, sea captain Lars G Larsson, began working in the 1980s with cold cutting, a technique that allows cutting in explosive and hazardous environments. By the 1990s, he had seen its potential for use by emergency services, many of whom were creating holes in roofs to release fire gases during intense fires. Typically, chainsaws were used but it was a dangerous job. Instead, Lars G Larsson experimented with cold cutting technology, mounting the tool on a basket to cut holes to vent smoke.
During early tests with Luleå emergency services, and later with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) in 1997, they cut a very small hole, about three to four millimetres wide, and discovered a dramatic drop in temperature. Initially, they thought they had damaged the measuring equipment, but soon realized that a high-pressure water mist, sprayed at 300 bars had a significant cooling effect on the fire and the fire gases – revealing an unexpected upside. The small hole also prevents oxygen from entering, which would otherwise fuel the fire. This led to the realization that this is the way to use the system.
In 1998, a larger, mounted version of the Cobra was developed, resembling a ladder truck, with a large arm. The next year, Cold Cut Systems and Karlstad University developed a handheld version similar to what we use today, for easier and more precise use.
Further additions such as an IR camera showing where the hottest points are before making a decision on where to make the Cobra attack and a PPV fan for ventilating fire gases have seen the Cobra method become a comprehensive solution that significantly improves safety and efficiency in firefighting operations.
Have new insights into safety and the environment raised Cobra’s profile?
In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the dangers posed by smoke gases and the carcinogenic substances firefighters are exposed to, in addition to the direct dangers of the job.
The World Health Organization (WHO) previously classified firefighters as having a “possibly increased risk” for cancer. Just a couple of years ago, this classification was raised a level to Group 1 (via IARC) stating that firefighters do have an occupational increased risk of certain kinds of cancer.
Additionally, the Cobra’s fine mist requires significantly less water than traditional firefighting methods. Using a regular fire hose can result in excessive water damage to a building, leaving large amounts of water behind, which in turn can cause further damage and environmental contamination.
Cobra uses a combination of water and an abrasive that is a byproduct from the mining industry. The abrasive helps cut through materials quickly, and once the hole is made, only water is used, making it an environmentally friendly and low-impact extinguishing method.
How does Cold Cut Systems view the emergence of electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and other electric technologies?
There is definitely an increasing concern over how to extinguish fires in lithium-ion batteries. After numerous tests on lithium-ion batteries to understand how they react in different situations – carried out in collaboration with the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), the automotive industry, and other partners and experts – we have developed a method for tackling these fires with Cobra. Our method does not require special tools but does require knowledge of the correct approach to handling these situations safely. We recently released an e-learning course about this method.
The Cobra Method is now applicable to a wide range of fire scenarios, from compartment fires to attic fires, and in scenarios where buildings are in close proximity, Cobra can be used to reduce heat exposure and limit the risk of fire spreading.
Some fire services deploy multiple Cobra systems simultaneously. After receiving a report from a fire service that successfully extinguished a large fire by using cutting extinguishers from multiple directions, we further developed the method to enhance its effectiveness in larger fires, factories, and industrial settings. This type of insight and knowledge from our users is invaluable to us.
Our primary customers today are emergency services, but the automotive industry has also become an increasingly important market, particularly for battery fires. Recently, we have seen new opportunities arise, including using Cobra on ships.
So, it comes full circle, considering that your founder was a sea captain?
Ha-ha, yes, it does!
What is most important for you moving forward?
For us, development in collaboration with our customers is crucial. They do not just buy our products; they actively contribute to the development of our methods. This is incredibly important to us and to the future of firefighting.
Through our Customer Experience team, we ensure that the voice of the customer is heard within our organisation. Their needs, challenges, and insights are translated into action – influencing everything from product development and training programmes to support and service. A close relationship with our users allows us to gather valuable feedback that helps improve our solutions and create an even better customer experience.
