Fire Industry News for February 2020

Today’s home fires burn faster than ever, making escape planning all the more critical to home fire safety. Studies show that in the past, people had approximately 17 minutes to escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Now they may have as little as two minutes to get out safely. NFPA Fire Prevention Week With these concerns in mind, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has announced ‘Not Every Hero Wears a Cape, Plan and Practice Your Escape!&rsq...

Fire chiefs endorse position papers on hot work safety, the economic impact of firefighter injuries, suicide prevention, the National Firefighter Registry, data analyst/chief information officer, and the Centre for Homeland Defence and Security Fire chiefs from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States participated in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) last week at NFPA headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts. NFPA President and CEO Jim Pauley welcomed...

To help provide answers to different stakeholders interested in energy storage system (ESS) technologies, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) releases NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Stationary Energy Storage Systems, the first comprehensive collection of criteria for the fire protection of ESS installations. The standard provides requirements based on the technology used in ESS, the setting where the technology is being installed, the size and separation of ESS installations...

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced that after passing technical committee ballot, the NFPA Standards Council issued a Tentative Interim Amendment (TIA), or emergency amendment, to allow for a second type of lock, enabling schools to employ a potentially more cost-effective door locking solution while delivering a higher level of safety to students, staff and visitors. The TIA is aimed at better protecting students and staff against targeted acts of violence. Schools were,...

Emergency crews are confronted by a wide variety of hazardous situations on a daily basis. Heat, flames, water, razor-sharp protruding parts and falling masonry, etc. pose constant sources of danger in various scenarios. But also dangers arising from overheating and fatigue often test the limits of emergency personnel in such exceptional situations. FIRE FLEX FIRE FLEX firefighter protective suit is certified according to EN 469, EN 1149-5, EN 61482-2, EN 343 and EN 14360 In order to ensure t...

A Sigma XT extinguishing panel and accessories manufactured by Kentec, a life safety control systems manufacturer, are protecting a power storage station built in Hefei in China, and brought over to Yorkshire, in Northern England. Guangzhou Wanzhen Information Technology Co. Ltd completed the installation and commissioning of the project for Sungrow Power in Hefei earlier this year, after which it was transported to Yorkshire, where the storage container was fixed to the site. The storage stati...

Sigma A-XT gas extinguishing panels from Kentec, a life safety control systems manufacturer, are at the heart of a new fire safety solution protecting users of the magnificent Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB). The HZMB is a 55km-long bridge-tunnel system consisting of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands. It spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai, three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. The HZMB includes a 4...

Mark W. Earley, former National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) chief electrical engineer and NFPA 70, National Electrical Code (NEC) staff liaison, has been presented the Richard G. Biermann National Electrical Code Outstanding Volunteer Award. Earley has worked for NFPA since 1986 and served as staff liaison and secretary to the NEC Correlating Committee from 1989 until his retirement in August 2019. He has co-authored NFPA’s reference book, Electrical Installations in Hazardous Loca...

NFPA and The Center for Campus Fire Safety are partnering up to help ensure those living spaces are as safe as possible through their Campus Fire Safety for Students campaign. The campaign raises awareness about the threat of fire among college students in both on- and off-campus housing, and puts relevant information in the hands of parents, staff, and students, who are encouraged to take proactive measures to protect themselves and their peers against fire. Many of the resources offered are d...

The Viking Corporation, a global provider of fire protection and life safety systems, has announced several enhancements to its next-generation XT1 sprinkler platform. In addition to two new wrench types, Viking announced the availability of new, smaller sprinkler guards and water shields and an FM Approval for use of XT1 upright sprinklers on vacuum fire protection systems. Featuring a smaller profile and more compact design, the XT1 line of sprinkler guards and shields may be used with XT1 Mo...

3M announced that it has completed the sale of its gas and flame detection business to Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, a provider of sophisticated instrumentation, digital imaging products and software, aerospace and defense electronics, and engineered systems, for $230 million in cash. Gas And Flame Detection The business is a pioneer in fixed and portable gas and flame detection with products sold under the Oldham, GMI, Detcon, Simtronics and Scott Safety brand names. 3M will retain the...

G&S Brandschutztechnik AG announces rebranding strategy with new brand name, Rosenbauer Brandschutz Deutschland GmbH. The specialized company for preventive fire protection has been part of the Rosenbauer Group since 2016 and only in the previous year merged SICS Brandschutz GmbH, G&S Brandschutz GmbH, and G&S Sprinkleranlagen GmbH to form a single company. Preventive fire safety expert The former company name is to be continued as a modified label of excellence, G&S Integrated...

The Viking Corporation, a pioneer in fire protection and life safety systems, has introduced a stainless steel sprinkler with a fusible link operating element – the first of its kind in the fire protection industry. The new Model VK368 is a standard response pendent sprinkler and is cULus Listed and FM Approved for corrosive environments. Stainless Steel Sprinkler Body The Model VK368 features a stainless steel sprinkler body, deflector, and seat. With a solder link operating element, th...

British fire safety firms need to take ‘plan B action’ and start preparing for what Brexit could mean when it comes to selling products in Europe, according to one expert. Speaking at FIREX International 2019 event recently, Apollo’s Head of System Integration and Technical Support, Paul Pope, said, “Companies should be prepared to do “business as usual” and ensure supply chains are maintained. You cannot be prepared for Brexit if you secretly believe it won&...

The Viking Corporation, a provider of fire protection and life safety systems, announced the release of a new Revit family library for its complete line of fire sprinklers. The new Revit families, which are now available on Viking’s website, provide Revit users with an enhanced BIM design process for Viking sprinklers. Sprinkler Types and Models In developing its new sprinkler families, Viking has taken an innovative approach that allows designers to access families at either a category...

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has developed a training bundle to help facility managers, building owners, engineers, designers, and code officials address essential safety and security features in the buildings that they are charged with keeping safe and functional. The Balancing Safety and Security with Fire Doors, Dampers and Door Locking Online Training Series provides an introduction to NFPA 80, Standard for Fire Doors and Other Opening Protectives (2016), and delves into...

Kentec, a renowned manufacturer of life-critical control systems, chose Firex to launch its new installer scheme, providing its registered customers with a wide-ranging program of bespoke training and best-in-class technical support, as well as dedicated software and enhanced product functionality. The Kentec Installer Programme (KIP) provides access to Kentec’s protected partner site, Virtual Resource, as well as Taktis LE2 commissioning software and enhanced Bridge Functionality –...

Avinor, the Norwegian airport operator has equipped additional regional airports with Rosenbauer fire fighting vehicles. A dense aviation network connects the Norwegian Namsos Airport, also referred to as Høknesøra Airport, with more than 40 regional airports throughout the country of Norway. Namsos, located about 500 km northwest of Oslo on the central Norwegian coast, is one of the smallest airports in the country. Here, only so-called STOL (short take-off and landing) machines...

Almost half a million passengers and more than 50,000 tons of freight were transported through Linz Airport in Linx, Austria in 2018. This makes it the fifth largest airport in Austria in terms of passenger traffic and the second largest in terms of freight transport. PANTHERs aRFF vehicles As an airport of this category, it needs two high-performance aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) vehicles - which is why two Rosenbauer PANTHERs are doing their duty in Linz. An additional Rosenbauer A...

Ljubljana (known as Laibach in Germany), is not only the capital of Slovenia, but also a cultural center of Southeastern Europe. Modern large buildings as well as a picturesque old town with narrow alleys, small bridges, and angular buildings of past centuries bear witness to this. This is a special challenge for the emergency personnel of the city's professional fire department, the Ljubljana Fire Department. When purchasing a new turntable ladder, they therefore opted for the L32A-XS from Rose...

Apollo have attended FIREX for over 30 years – this year for the first time Apollo attended in cooperation with its sister Halma companies, Advanced, Argus, FFE, Klaxon and Nimbus. FIREX International is Europe’s only dedicated fire safety event – making it a hub for sharing industry expertise and discussing cutting-edge technology. This year Apollo went big! Their stand spanned over 60m², and combined with its sister Halma companies, they were the largest stand in FIREX...

Life-safety systems manufacturer C-TEC celebrates  after a highly successful Housing 2019. Hosted at Manchester Central, the exhibition proved the perfect platform to showcase Hush Pro, C-TEC’s revolutionary new BS 5839-6 Grade C domestic fire alarm system. Designed to provide powerful, reliable and fully-monitored fire detection, alarm, silencing and test facilities in high-rise/mixed-use residential buildings, Hush Pro is simple to use and integrates easily with landlord systems to...

The Viking Corporation, a pioneer in fire and life safety systems, announced that the Minimax Fire Products brand is now part of Viking's Special Hazards line and will be distributed under the Viking name. The expanded line of special hazards products now includes clean agent suppression systems, advanced detection options, and other integrated systems for many fire protection challenges. Clean Agent Suppression “The addition of these leading clean agent suppression and detection systems...

When the Dusseldorf Fire Department's diver squadron is alerted, they are instantly on the move. After a minute of set-up time, the crew is sitting in the vehicle and on its way to the scene. Everything it needs for the mission is there already on board the water rescue truck, a Rosenbauer AT on a MAN TGM 13,290 with 290hp, all-wheel drive and 13 ton gross vehicle weight. The lifeboat, if necessary, is already attached as well. Water rescue truck Dusseldorf Fire Department's water rescue truck...

Kentec, a manufacturer of life-critical control systems, is to launch the Sigma ZXT single-area extinguishing control panel at this year’s Firex, with new functionality, improved displays and multiple configuration options for a targeted response to a fire incident. Building on hundreds of thousands Sigma XT sales in nearly 70 countries, the Sigma ZXT provides controls and indications for a single-area extinguishing release system, enabling targeted extinguishing that limits damage and re...

Spectators, players, and property at India’s Mohali International Cricket Stadium are being protected by a highly-sophisticated Taktis panel from Kentec, a manufacturer of life-critical control systems. The Taktis 8 loop addressable fire panel, installed by Firehut Commercial Equipment Pvt Ltd, was chosen by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to replace a faulty system, and to provide a reliable and user-friendly control panel. 700 detectors and devices The Mohali International Cri...

A great atmosphere, highly motivated teams, and promising creative ideas for digital challenges – all this happened during the three intensive working days of the Multi-Corporate Hackathon, which took place at the end of April 2019 at the impressive premises of the brand-new KTM Motohall in Mattighofen, Braunau am Inn, Austria. As already reported in the blog post, “Let’s Hack – Multi-Corporate Hackathon 2019” at the beginning of May, the Automobile Cluster of the...

Staff and air ambulance helicopters at Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance headquarters in Chatham are being protected from the risk of fire by a fire safety solution that centres around the new Taktis addressable fire panel from Kentec. The HQ main office building is monitored by the Taktis panel and hard-wired Hochiki detectors, with wireless versions specified to cover the helicopter hangar. Ease of installation Alvin Lewis, Operations Manager at CSG Fire and Security, the company that i...

The Viking Corporation, a global provider of fire protection and life safety systems, has added a new 3.0 (43) K-factor residential flat plate concealed pendent sprinkler to its leading Freedom residential product line. The new model VK496 is cULus Listed with a flow rate of only 8 GPM (30 L/min), and a pressure requirement of only 7.1 PSI (0.49 bar) in a 12 x 12 ft. (3.7 x 3.7 m) room size. With its smaller K-factor and lower flow rates, the new glass bulb sprinkler is appropriate for NFPA 13D...

The Donauleiten on the northern bank of the Danube in the upper Mühlviertel is not only densely wooded, inhospitable and steep, but is also home to many communications dead spots. In other words, it is perfectly suited to putting the EMEREC operations management system through its paces. The practice scenario that confronted the firefighters of the Hofkirchen im Mühlkreis Fire Department (Lembach section) from the Upper Austrian Mühlviertel region during their spring training was...