Company News

VFIS is pleased to announce that the Honorable Scott Perry of Pennsylvania in the House of Representatives has added the VFIS 50th anniversary celebration as a historic event to the Congressional Record. “In 1969, Mr. Glatfelter, a well-established insurance agent, recognized a need for specialized insurance coverage for firefighters – a coverage based on their motivations, their aspirations, their needs and the risks they were willing to assume to protect others,” says the pr...

Kochek Company, LLC, a premier manufacturer of quality fire equipment and water movement solutions headquartered in Putnam, CT, reports that its 10-foot and 20-foot PVC suction hose was rigorously tested and found to perform without leaks, depressurization, or decoupling, and demonstrated excellent coil memory even after 12 hours of pressure. Kochek's PVC suction hose is specifically designed for the firefighting market and meets the company's proprietary fire grade specifications. All Kochek P...

Exit and emergency lighting standards provide certainty that the goods and services are safe and trustworthy. These standards protect the merchandizers, customers, and end users. It is important that they are learned, understood and complied. Exit and emergency lighting saves a lot of lives by ensuring a safe egress. In an emergency, occupants have mere minutes to escape and oftentimes have to escape in darkness, due to dense smoke or power outages. The emergency lights illuminate the routes to...

A franchise is a legal and commercial bond between an owner of a trademark, service mark or brand known as the franchisor and an individual or organization called the franchisee wishing to use the identity of a business. The franchise dictates the method of conducting business between the two parties. Typically, a franchisee sells the goods or services supplied by a franchisor. The franchise business model has a proven track record of success; its success rate is notably higher than an independ...

When HURST Jaws of Life® began planning its support of a local American Cancer Society event, it quickly found a way to ride the wave of excitement surrounding the company’s recent launch of its eDRAULIC® Watertight Extrication Tool (EWXT) line of rescue tools that can be used underwater. The solution? Adding a little H2O to its sponsorship of the Relay for Life of Cleveland County. The team from HURST, which is headquartered in the picturesque town of Shelby,...

Verifying that fire protection products and equipment installed in an establishment meets the acceptable criteria set by the building code or the Australian Standards can be done by means of fire testing. A certificate or report is then issued to vouch that the fire protection system has gone through testing. Fire testing should take regards of all applicable provisions of the product certification. It is important that tests are conducted to guarantee the ease of use and efficiency of the pro...

Fire is an ever-present threat in Australia. Although fires can be avoided by carrying out a comprehensive fire prevention plan, users can never be sure that it will never happen. This is why the next necessary step after establishing fire prevention measures is to invest in the installation of fire protection equipment. There are numerous equipment that will be installed depending on the type and design of a building. But, the most common and first thing to have are fire extinguishers. ...

Employers, building owners and managers are obliged to meet the requirements of Australian Standards for Fire Safety and Protection of their establishment. Included in the Australian Standards are regulations and recommendations on fire equipment. It is important to keep the fire protection system of the building ready to respond. Thus, regular fire servicing is required to guarantee that they work at optimum performance and effectively fight fire. Australian Standards 1851 or AS 1851 Austral...

Every year, about 10,000 people are treated for injuries in hospital emergency departments due to the mishandling of live, misfired, and waste consumer fireworks. In addition, fires resulting from fireworks cause over $100 million in direct property damage. Many U.S. cities are seeing a surge in consumer fireworks usage by the public in 2020. Consumer fireworks Consumer fireworks are defined as any small firework device designed to produce visible effects by combustion and...

Low-expansion foam generators operate with a pre–mix feed. The foam nozzle converts the supply pressure into speed with the air suction function, which vigorously agitates to produce the foam sprayed from a distance. Low-expansion foam generators The foam nozzles are available in two versions, a self-suction version of the emulsifier, which involves transporting the emulsifier can with the nozzle, and the non-self-suction version where the premixing is carried out using a proportioner ge...

As a pioneer producer of commercial and industrial fire extinguishers and fire suppression products, each work day is filled with activity at Trussville’s Amerex Corporation. Thousands of Amerex products are produced and shipped to customers throughout the US and the around the world. But regardless of production levels, team member safety is always the top priority at Amerex. As a result, Amerex recently surpassed a milestone measured by many manufacturing companies. No Amerex team membe...

Oshkosh Corporation, global designer and manufacturer of specialty vehicles and vehicle bodies, released its sixth annual Sustainability Report, highlighting the company’s strong commitment to operating its businesses in a sustainable manner. Our focus on sustainability continues to be a core strategy for the company, encompassing people, community, innovation, sustainable operations, an ethical culture and strong governance. Oshkosh Sustainability Report “I am proud of our team me...

When the warmer weather arrives, the first thing most of us get excited about is a BBQ. The longer days, lighter evenings, and summer holidays mean it’s the perfect time to get the BBQ sizzling. If one wants to prevent the event of a fire, it is important to take extra care when cooking with a BBQ One can have a BBQ almost anywhere these days now, maybe at home with the family or maybe a disposable BBQ on the beach with friends. No matter where it is enjoyed the most, behind the sausages...

As a 24/7 service provider of fire protection and life safety systems, International Fire Protection genuinely cares about the life safety of the people in the local communities. They take corporate social responsibility seriously by actively partnering with municipal fire departments to host fire safety demonstrations. Working With Local Fire Departments International Fire Protection has a location in Ridgeland, Mississippi that provides fire protection services to customers in the surroundi...

Coventry’s new community fire station will be officially opened this weekend – and it’s throwing open its doors to the public! Following an opening ceremony for invited guests, the Radford Road site will be staging a road safety awareness day from 12 noon until 4 pm on Sunday (2 June), to coincide with the city’s two-day MotoFest. Visitors will be able to tour the new fire station and watch firefighters giving demonstrations of how they rescue people from car crashes and...

A former cadet, who went on to volunteer with the fire service has now started working at the station where it all began. Tamsin Carmichael was just 12 years old when she joined the West Denton Fire Cadet unit. When she turned 18 last year, she became a volunteer with Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service as a cadet instructor at her former cadet branch. And now the 18-year-old from Blakelaw has come full circle by starting her working career at West Denton. Playing a role in creating safest c...

Fire engines and other emergency vehicles can also meet the requirements of the Euro VI emissions standard. According to the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb), existing exemptions that still allow EU standard V for such vehicles will no longer be necessary in the future.  Extensive experience from the fire departments in Berlin, Hamburg and Hanover has shown that there are no significant performance restrictions in driving and operational operations, said...

Yorkshire Ambulance Service has ordered 650 Pacific rescue helmets for use by ambulance workers, paramedics, nurses and doctors who respond to emergency medical incidents - the largest order ever received by suppliers Vimpex from one single Ambulance Trust. Since 2008, it has been realized by ambulance services that use of professional safety helmets rather than hard-hat style products mitigate the risk of injury to workers operating in potentially dangerous environments. professional rescue he...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, announced that Finley Fire Equipment, the exclusive Pierce dealer for Ohio, Kentucky, and part of West Virginia, has secured a location for development of the company’s largest service center in Ohio.   The Western Ohio Service Center is located off of I-75 at 11600 County Road 99 in Findlay, Ohio, with a planned opening in August 2019. In addition to preventive maintenance and major repair work for apparatus, including...

Over three days in May, Citizen Machinery based in Brierley Hill, Birmingham hosted their first ever open event at their new Midlands premises. Many CNC operators and subcontractors were invited from all around the UK resulting in a record number of more than 300 attendees. With Citizen launching four new products at the event, Firetrace were pleased to have their own presence with Firetrace Indirect CO2 Fire Suppression Systems installed onto various sliding and fixed head CNC machines. Being...

The new EN Grade 3-compliant Tyco DSC PowerSeries Pro intrusion security alarm system provides a feature-rich intrusion detection solution for commercial properties of any size, from small shops to large office buildings, factories, healthcare facilities and educational campuses. electronic security solution The PowerSeries Pro completes the JCI intrusion product portfolio with integrators now able to single-source a complete electronic security solution for commercial installations from Johns...

Every year in Germany, an average of 20 people die and around 150 are injured in fires in social facilities. Jörg Wilms-Vahrenhorst from the Federal Association of Technical Fire Protection pointed this out on Tuesday, at the annual conference of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) in Ulm.  He referred to statistics from the German Patient Protection Foundation. The risk of loss of life in a fire for nursing home residents is around five times highe...

Without progressive digitalization and networking, an efficient fire department and a modern rescue service will no longer be conceivable in the future.  Several speakers pointed this out on the second day of the annual conference of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) in Ulm. Only the use of digital possibilities helps rescuers in all areas to keep up with the requirements, according to the conclusion. challenges The challenges continue to increase. As one...

As an innovative high-tech manufacturer, HAIX® meets the highest demands worldwide for functionality, quality, and design. The customers entrust them with safety in their jobs every day, 24 hours a day if necessary. That's why their claim is no less than to offer the best shoes in the world. The boots are produced at the most modern shoe production facilities in the world, exclusively at the headquarters in Mainburg and in Croatia, and that’s the truth! "Boots and shoes made in Europe...

Fike president and CEO Brad Batz announced Abby Rolen and Wyatt Malott as recipients of the 2019 Jeff Wilson Scholarship in the amount of $2,500 each. A recent graduate of Lee’s Summit North High School, Abby was a member of National Honors Society, German National Honors Society, German club, scholar team, marching band, symphonic band, symphony orchestra and was an IB Diploma Candidate. She is the daughter of David Rolen, a senior electrical engineer at Fike. Abby will use her scholarsh...

As an owner of commercial property - an employer, landlord, or occupant of a non-residential building - the user must understand the responsibilities and duties of the people and building under supervision. This includes ensuring that the building meets the Fire Safety Standards. The building owner/manager is obliged to make sure that the establishment has sufficient Fire Safety Products and Equipment installed. Installation of this equipment is only a portion of guaranteeing that the...

Fire penetrations are considered passive fire protection. They are openings in a wall or floor assembly required to have a fire-resistance rating; they may be fabricated by the use of a cast-in-place sleeve. The purpose of these is to accommodate the passage of an electrical, mechanical, or structural penetrant. Penetrations may or may not have a firestop system. fire-stopping procedures Service contractors bore penetrations in walls, ceilings, floors, and other structural components of the b...

An essential part of the fire sprinkler system's water supply is the fire pump. It can be powered by electric, diesel or steam. The pump intake is connected to the public underground water supply piping or a static water source such as tanks, reservoirs, or lakes. The pump sets provide a higher pressure of water flow for the sprinkler system risers and hose standpipes. The fire pump activates when the pressure in the fire sprinkler system drops below the baseline. This is triggered when one or...

Protecting the family, home, and business is always the first priority, especially in areas prone to wildfires. The household or establishment must always be prepared and protected for untoward circumstances. One way of being prepared is to have a plan intended for an emergency, as well as organizing and maintaining the property and ensuring that there is adequate water storage on site. Fire suppression systems Fire water storage tanks supply a dedicated source of water set to support automat...

A fire sprinkler system consists of a water supply that provides adequate pressure and flow rate to a water distribution piping system where fire sprinkler heads are connected. Fire sprinklers were first notable in factories and large commercial buildings, but now, systems for homes and small buildings are now available at an economical price. Over 96% of fires were controlled in buildings completely installed with fire sprinkler systems. Installing fire sprinklers is a good investment in prot...