Bravery awards over Shrewsbury fire rescue

Two firefighters who saved the live of a Shropshire woman in a house fire are being rewarded for their bravery.

John Bee and Richard Brazier carried Laura Smith out of her bedroom after her family home in Severn Street, Shrewsbury, caught alight.

Mr Brazier said it was the most dramatic rescue of his 18-year firefighting career.

Ms Smith was treated for smoke inhalation but was otherwise unhurt in July’s incident.

Choking black smoke

Fire crews called to Ms Smith’s home during the early hours of 9 July said the living room and kitchen were well alight when they arrived with flames also engulfing staircase spindles and a banister.

There was choking black smoke throughout the house, they said.

The two firefighters put out the flames in the living room while heading for the burning staircase which they put out as they went upstairs.

Ms Smith was carried out of her bedroom by one firefighter as the other protected them with the hose as some flames had reignited.

The firefighters then went back into the house for her brother, Sam, but he escaped the fire by jumping from a window.

Roller Bearings with 3.25 Million dmn

A company has developed an air oil lubrication ultra-high speed NU-type cylindrical roller bearing, featuring a dmn value of 3.25 million, for machine tool main spindles, used in machining centers.

The main spindles of high-speed machining centers and combined machine tools typically use duplex angular ball bearings in the front and either duplex angular ball bearings or cylindrical roller bearings in the rear. In the rear position, the high-speed performance of angular contact ball bearings is better than cylindrical roller bearings.

However, the main spindle structure is complex because the ball bushing or preload spring has to absorb thermal expansion of the shaft. On the other hand, when a cylindrical roller bearing is used, a structure absorbing thermal shaft expansion is unnecessary as the bearing itself can move axially but the high speed performance is inferior to the angular ball bearing.

Aiming to increase the speed rating of the cylindrical roller bearing while simplifying the main spindle structure, the company focused on the heat generation of the bearing, and developed an NU-type cylindrical roller bearing that allows speeds up to 3.25 million dmn.