Emergency

Shen Ao shovels are like larger than life Swiss Army knives. The latest, the 3.9-foot (1.2-m) Z3, relies on a modular handle and multipurpose blade to light up camp, cut wood, start fires and charge your phone. And it can even dig a hole.

The struggle to rebuild Nepal's infrastructure since the devastating earthquake that struck in April has inspired some architects to try and help. New York City's SHoP Architects recently made a commitment to build 50 schools for the ailing country.

The term "fire truck" usually brings about images of long, boxy, bus-like trucks painted in bright red. A very different vision of a fire truck, the new Red Rhino Light Fire Attack Vehicle negotiates tight urban spaces while responding to emergencies.

Prolific Japanese design house Nendo has turned its design expertise to emergency supplies. Inspired by the 2011 earthquake that devastated Japan, the firm has unveiled a chic kit that contains the bare necessities to help a city-dweller in a similar emergency situation.

There is a small but lively market of pens that can also save your hide in dicey situations. The Endure Survival Pen is one of the latest, putting a tiny flare launcher, fire starter and other emergency tools inside your shirt pocket.

Many of us take for granted that, should we have an accident, the emergency services will be able to help. In some places that's not possible though. CriticaLink, being trialed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, seeks to provide volunteer emergency assistance when it might not be otherwise possible.

The goal of using the Martin Jetpack for emergency response services is closer to reality with the Martin Aircraft Company announcing a partnership with US company Avwatch to develop air-based, first responder solutions for the US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been forced to fire the thrusters of ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) in order to maneuver the station and its crew out of the way of potentially harmful debris.

Sandia National Laboratories is working its Mobile Imager of Neutrons for Emergency Responders (MINER) – a nuclear device detector capable of narrowing a search to within a city block without door-to-door sweeps.

A city car with a semi-amphibious ability sounds like a bit of a misnomer, but for the residents of Bangkok in recent years, it could have been a lifesaver. Gizmag has been following Concept One's progress since it was announced earlier this year and we were recently invited to take closer look.

Alec Momont from Holland's Delft University of Technology is looking to usedrones to reduce emergency response times to cardiac arrest incidents. His Ambulance Drone prototype carries a defibrillator to the scene and promises to dramatically increase the rate of survival.

It's the big paradox of emergency-use flashlights ... by the time you eventually need to use them, their batteries have died. Eton's new Blackout Buddy H2O, however, will reportedly still work after sitting for up to 10 years. And to turn it on, you just add water.