United States of America (USA) Fire Industry News

Behind every great firefighter is a department and behind every great department is Firehouse Expo, the trade show and expo for the fire industry, offering all the behind-the-scenes tools, training, equipment and exposure to the ideas and inspiration firefighters need to be bright and brave in the business. Amkus recommends not to miss the event that everyone is talking about. Firehouse Expo, the fire-service event in North America, is bigger than ever. 2020’s event includes 32 hands-on t...

At the sound of the gun, six lifeguards (four men and two women) jump into the water with red rescue buoys in their hands. As the life guards swim toward the six struggling victims 25 yards away, their rescue buoys trail along behind them. As contact is made with the drowning victims, the lifeguards talk to them and then tow them back to safety toward the shallow end of the swimming pool. While all this is going on, the bleachers, stands, and pool deck are filled with excited and cheering spect...

There is no evidence that the virus that causes COVID-19 can be spread to people through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas, or water play areas. Proper operation and maintenance (including disinfection with chlorine and bromine) of these facilities should inactivate the virus in the water. Ensuring health and safety While there is ongoing community spread of COVID-19 of the virus that causes COVID-19, it is important for individuals as well as owners and operators of these facilities to take...

The Standard of Care in Lifeguarding law requires lifeguards to act or behave toward other individuals in a certain, definable way, and, under given circumstances, the lifeguard has a duty to act or refrain from acting. Generally speaking, the lifeguard must be concerned about the safety and welfare of other individuals when his or her behavior or activities have the potential for causing others injury or harm. The manner in which a lifeguard is expected to act or behave is referred to as the &l...

Because of the major health concerns today, there is a major reluctance among emergency service personnel to perform direct mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing on an unknown victim. When confronted with a resuscitation emergency, response personnel do not always have the luxury of using a resuscitation unit, which would be carried on a fire engine or in a police car. Even if the equipment is available, they can’t always wait to obtain the equipment before resuscitation efforts are begun. The...

Local governments are beginning to allow swimming pools and other aquatic facilities to reopen as restrictions ease across the United States of America. Lifesaving Resources Inc. provides guidance and training to aquatic facilities looking to safely reopen their doors and resume operations. The guidelines issues by the company are based on current advice from the Scientific Advisory Council on COVID-19 and Aquatics. The primary factor is to determine laws in the local community. The federal gov...

With changes to pool operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are also recommended changes to how lifeguards respond to medical emergencies. Based on current recommendations, Lifesaving Resources Inc. has outlined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for swimming pools, waterparks and other aquatic venues to follow for lifeguard training. Importance of effective lifeguard training Lifesaving Resources believes that preparing the staff with the new COVID-19 restrictions in mind i...

Responding to Cardiac Arrest calls during the Coronavirus pandemic has required First Responders to modify protocols to reduce risk to responding personnel while providing lifesaving care to patients. Throughout this COVID-19 pandemic, Lifesaving Resources will continue to update best practice protocols for EMS, Fire, Law Enforcement, Lifeguards and other responding personnel. As scientists and medical teams continue to research the COVID-19 Coronavirus, new information is frequently released r...

Fireco has released its newest innovation, Germgard, a smart sanitizer combined with digital signage. Germgard has been designed to promote awareness of the importance of hand sanitization to all building users. With the outbreak of COVID-19, good hygiene practice has become more important than ever before. Fireco has already helped many customers improve their infection control with their hold-open devices, which can reduce the need to touch door handles. However, they wanted to help their cus...

Grassroots political organization Firefighters & EMS Fund launches a petition this week against the budget cuts fire departments are facing throughout the nation. Firefighters & EMS Fund's mission is to provide a grassroots voice for firefighters across the country in the state and local political process. Threatening local finances "We are launching a petition to stand up for those on the front lines in Fire Services in protest of political decisions which cost Fire Fighters their jo...

Taking delivery of a fully customized Toyne Pumper Tanker, the Benton Township Volunteer Fire Department (BTVFD) strengthened their response capabilities in the largest township in Monroe County, Indiana. The addition of a new apparatus emboldens the department as they look to the future of a possible merger with the county’s growing fire protection district: joining forces with surrounding departments to protect lives and property. Active Call Response Serving 3,300 residents in a terri...

East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) and Her Majesty’s Coastguard are trialing an initiative that aims to improve response times to search and rescue missions on the northeast Suffolk coast. One of HM Coastguard’s six response vehicles in Suffolk has been based at Saxmundham Ambulance Station since the summer and the new location is expected to significantly cut response times to incidents on the coast. This co-location will also improve joint working between HM Coastgua...

Manually actuated alarm-initiating devices commonly called fire alarm pull stations are easy to take for granted. They are found on the walls of almost every building. And, while their basic design hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years or so, they remain an important component of modern fire protection systems. Functions And Types Of Pull Stations A fire alarm pull station is one of two types of initiating devices used in a typical fire alarm system. There are automatic initiation dev...

Elkhart Brass introduces the new EXM2 series of monitors to the existing monitor lineup. With flow ranges from 300-5000 gpm (1200 — 20,000 lpm), the EXM2 series is built for performance and control. With the EXM2 solution, it all adds up. The new EXM2 solution features leading edge technology. The system includes an integrated Wi-Fi server within the monitor control module. This provides secure access to the EXM2 browser page for simple, intuitive configuration of the monitor and input co...

At the start of April this year, BAFE published information for SP101 Registered Companies regarding coronavirus and the multiple factors related to fire extinguisher technician requirements.  BAFE earlier this month resumed technician assessments and BS 5306 Exam invigilation (where safe to do so). SP101 Scheme Now that COVID-19 restrictions are beginning to ease, BAFE would like to announce that refresher, asbestos awareness, and health and safety training will now resume under normal...

Damage and vandalism to fire department connections (FDCs) happens all the time. Passersby shove trash in the FDC opening, building owners block them or thieves steal parts for the metal. All these things can cause significant damage or make the connection inoperable. This issue may be more prevalent during protests. While most protesters are not out to cause property damage, some are. It is important to be vigilant and inspect FDCs more often if there are protests in your jurisdiction. Fire s...

ImageTrend, Inc. announced the release of the second annual Health of Our Emergency Responders: A CrewCare Report. This new report is comprised of anonymous aggregate first responder data collected throughout 2019 from the CrewCare Mobile App. This app currently provides insight into stress and mental well-being support to over 5,000 first responders and healthcare workers. The goal of this report is to provide insight into life stressors and associated factors related to careers, physical heal...

During the 1970s, Fike produced several reverse-acting RKB rupture discs to protect the steam turbines of a power generation facility in Canada. After decades of reliable use, the client discovered that the knife-blade technologies of yesteryear had challenges of maintaining weld integrity between the blade and holder as well as the developing of cracks in the knife blades over time. Product development team “In this customer’s case, the cost to maintain the knife blades and the t...

The AES Corporation announces that it has made a strategic investment in 5B, a solar technology innovator based in Sydney, Australia. 5B's revolutionary MAVERICK design enables customers to add solar resources at a pace that is three times faster while providing up to two times more energy within the same footprint of traditional solar facilities. Together, AES and 5B will help clients accelerate their use of solar energy. The total global investment in the solar energy market between 2021-2025...

On 21st July, 2020, a call was received by BAFSA (British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association) member, Triangle Fire Systems advising the company of a fire break out in a flat, on the 4th floor at 1-133 Garnet Road, Thornton Heath, in London, United Kingdom. The call was a result of the sprinkler alarm signaling the call center. BS9251 sprinkler system This building is a sheltered housing and Triangle Fire Systems had, retrospectively, installed a BS9251 sprinkler system supplied by a tank an...

Kochek Company, LLC has announced its new alliance with AWG Fittings GmbH. The two companies have partnered to provide Kochek loose equipment dealers with the superior performance and reliability, for which AWG valves are known throughout the industry.  AWG valves for Kochek dealers As Kochek's primary supplier of several sizes of gate, ball, intake, hydrassist, manifold, siamese, and pressure relief valves, AWG plays an important role in Kochek's efforts to ensure the continued satisfact...

Chiba mielie pops is a mielie pops manufacturing company for the wholesale market, based in Polokwane, Limpopo. Their industrial popcorn machines use propane gas to heat them. It’s a labor-intensive process and requires large volumes of gas. With this risk to the employees, the local fire brigade requested that LPG detectors be included in the fire detection system. Fire alarm system Unique Fire installed a complete fire detection system with the usual compliant optical smoke detectors,...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) will be taking part in #KnowExactlyWhere week with emergency services, local authorities and organisations around the United Kingdom (UK), in order to raise awareness about the free what3words app - and how it can be used to save precious time, resources and lives in an emergency. what3words has divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares. It has given each square a unique combination of three words - a what3words address. ///ports.rests.stint,...

UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) released a report detailing a deflagration incident at a 2.16 MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (ESS) facility in Surprise, Arizona. The report provides a detailed technical account of the explosion and fire service response, along with recommendations on how to improve codes, standards, and emergency response training to better protect first responders, maintenance personnel and nearby communities. "The ability to study lithium-ion ba...

COVID-19 has shaped and altered the fire protection industry in recent months, and the Fire Industry Association (FIA) in the United Kingdom has published a survey report on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The survey, conducted by FIA, sought to gain a greater understanding of how organizations have been impacted by COVID-19 and of the impact on the wider fire industry now and in the future. Resilience is a recurring theme in the FIA report. At the time of the survey (when the United Ki...

Bristol Uniforms’ new stock styles for structural PPE are proving popular with fire and rescue services around the world, with orders received from Malaysia to Germany to Saudi Arabia, and many customers already putting their new kit through its paces. Bristol uniform stock styles Launched at the end of last year, the three stock styles (XFlex, Ergotech Action CEN and Ergotech Action NFPA) are particularly suited to international customers since they adhere to a variety of international...

Spartan Emergency Response, a subsidiary of REV Group and a globally renowned manufacturer of fire apparatus, announced the launch of its newest model, the Ladder Tower NXT 110’ Rear Mount Aerial. NXT 110’ Rear Mount Aerial Designed with more flexibility for enhanced performance and safety, the NXT 110’ Rear Mount Aerial ladder eliminates the traditional pump house through a unique configuration, which allows for a shorter wheelbase and overall length, to provide greater mane...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, has secured an order from Hall County Fire Services in Georgia. Sold through Pierce dealer, Ten-8 Fire Equipment, the order includes eight Pierce® Enforcer™ Pumpers and one Ascendant® 107’ Heavy-Duty Aerial Ladder. The new fire apparatus will support the department’s efforts to standardize its fleet to allow personnel consistency in their response and service delivery. Excellent customer service “Our fi...

Because of new social distancing standards brought about by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many workers are increasingly operating physically further apart from one another. At times, this may be due to a workforce that’s been reduced in numbers due to affected team members or it may be because employees are working different shifts to accommodate for new work standards. The underlying reason for these changes is the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus disease.  This pandemi...

Teletek Electronics announces addressable fire alarm systems IRIS and SIMPO have been fully approved and certified to EN 54-13:2017 third-party testing., the latest European standard that ensures the overall compatibility and connectivity of components into full fire detection and ensures optimal fire system performance. EN 54-13- /Compatibility and integrity assessment of system/ considers the ability of all the individual components to work together as fire detection. Certified to...