Industry News

The effective digital transformation of the UK’s emergency services is essential if it is to continue to provide the best possible Blue Light services, the General Manager of Public Safety & Defence at telent warned today. Barry Zielinski urged the sector to harness every technological tool available to them as a new white paper revealed that between 2015 and 2019, emergency fire and rescue services face – on average – a 22% reduction in their budgets due to government fun...

Paul Pope, Head of System Integration and Technical Support at Apollo Fire Detectors, explains why sophisticated detection technology – coupled with better management of fire detection systems – is key to combatting false alarms. With reports suggesting that incidences of false alarms are reducing year on year, it’s clear that tighter regulation, enhanced detection systems and a more professional approach to systems management have helped to address this age-old challenge. How...

Taking short lead times and convenient delivery to new heights, manufacturer and supplier of specialist passive fire protection products, Quelfire, has launched QuelQuick, a new same day delivery service to businesses and project sites across North West England. Fire Containment Systems Expert  With over 40 years of experience and expertise in fire containment, Quelfire provides a wide range of high quality and certified products and services to specifiers, architects, engineers and contr...

There were more than 300 fires a year at UK waste and recycling plants between 2001 and 2013. These types of fires present a significant environmental hazard, endanger human life and inflict a major cost on companies in property damage and lost business. In 2018, a fire at a plant in Sutherland burned for 25 days before being extinguished; it not only damaged the production line of the recycling center but affected the air quality of the surrounding area and compromised water sources. The mater...

There were more than 300 fires a year at UK waste and recycling plants between 2001 and 2013. These types of fires present a significant environmental hazard, endanger human life and inflict a major cost on companies in property damage and lost business. Recently, a fire at a plant in Sutherland burned for 25 days before being extinguished; it not only damaged the production line of the recycling center but affected the air quality of the surrounding area and compromised water sources. The mate...

Communicating clearly and effectively is always a challenge for firefighters given the prevalence of loud and often piercing background noise at a fire ground. Overcoming this hazard and making two-way communication between firefighters more reliable is the goal of a new collaborative effort between global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated and JVCKENWOOD, globally renowned developer of critical communication solutions. voice communications With a common vision of making Blu...

On the occasion of the general meeting of Uman members, Roberto Borraccino (Tema Sistemi SpA) was elected as the new president of Uman, the national association of fire and safety companies, federated with Anima Confindustria. The office will last for two years. Roberto Borraccino succeeds Natale Mozzanica (Mozzanica & Mozzanica Srl), who will remain a member of the board of directors as past president. Roberto Borraccino began his career at Eni in 1979, where he also held the role of fire...

Effective sprinkler systems are often the decisive criterion for immediately stopping the frequent fires from developing their destructive power. To ensure that these important technologies will always function safely in an emergency, experts all over the world rely on the practical VdS Guidelines CEA 4001en for planning and installation. Europe's largest institute for fire protection has now comprehensively updated this standard reference work. Importance Of Sprinkler Systems In Fire Safety Ev...

Philip (James) Barton, Commercial Product Manager at Kentec, globally renowned life safety control systems manufacturer, discusses the challenges in protecting tall buildings from fire, what solutions the industry already has in place and what the future looks like. In the UK, when one thinks of fire safety and high-rise or ‘tall buildings’, Grenfell undoubtedly comes to mind. The disaster tragically highlighted two key challenges in protecting people in tall buildings: how to safel...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division's area of enforcement and responsibility includes the states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska. With barely more than 100 ATF special agents and 40 industry operations investigators (IOI) covering more than 285,675 square miles, the Division faces many daily challenges, including overseeing the regulation of an area with the highest number of gun dealers. ATF conducts criminal enforcement over a wide...

The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) has signed a contract with CEIIA-Centro de Engenharia e Desenvolvimento for long range endurance maritime surveillance. CEIIA will provide services based on the Hermes 900 RPAS subcontracted from Elbit. This RPAS has advanced capabilities in terms of operational flight duration (more than 12 hours) and payload configuration. It carries optical and infrared cameras, a multi-mode maritime radar, AIS and distress signal receiver, thereby giving it long ra...

Technological advancements are facilitating increased efficiency of resources in critical infrastructure and commercial, residential and municipal buildings more and more these days. This is in response to some staggering statistics. 1.3 million people move into cities every week and, by 2045, 65 percent of the world’s population will live in urban areas, according to the United Nations. The development of our world’s urban areas is an opportunity for them to become smart cities. Wit...

A compact and affordable solution with integrated Bluetooth, TFT’s SHO-FLOW 1 Flow Meter series provides accurate, real time information for use in testing, training and firefighting operations about water flow rates on a single hose line. When installed, the device generates power using water flow to run itself, so no batteries are needed to operate! Power is harvested from an internal moving turbine and will transmit flow rates to any smart device via Bluetooth. The SHO-FLOW is simple,...

The Wildfire Mitigation Awards committee has named the seven recipients of this year's Wildfire Mitigation Awards. These individuals and organizations have earned the highest commendation for innovation and leadership in wildfire mitigation for their outstanding dedication to solving many of the most complex challenges posed by wildfire. Established in 2014 and co-sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters (NASF), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the National F...

Tripwire Operations Group, a renowned tactical security and training academy founded and run by first responders, will host the international BRAVO-3 Training Conference & Vendor Show in Daytona Beach, Fl., March 4-6, 2019. This all-inclusive, multi-discipline event will offer unsurpassed training opportunities for those in all emergency services vocations. Police/SWAT, fire, HAZMAT, EMS, Bomb Squad (HDS/EOD) technicians, K9 teams, and specialized members of the military, can benefit from t...

When a large-scale emergency strikes, inter-agency collaboration is key to a coordinated response across cities and provinces. With Motorola Solutions’ cloud-based Critical Connect, Canadian public safety agencies can quickly connect their ASTRO 25 land mobile radio (LMR) systems to communicate with each other. Using Critical Connect, public safety agencies from different areas have the ability to connect securely to each other in minutes, regardless if it is two or 20 agencies at once. T...

Since 1977, POK S.A.S has been manufacturing fire couplings in accordance with the various standards existing on the planet, or sometimes outside the standards, such as in the case for Storz DN200 and 250 couplings. Owing to this, customers can buy ‘Barcelona’ couplings, British Instantaneous couplings in DN45 and DN70 standards, American fire couplings, and 3-piece non-symmetrical screw couplings with very good pressure resistance. Wide range of couplings POK S.A.S sells their fi...

On July 27, 2018, at just about midnight, a two vehicle accident occurred on Newtown Road, which left three people seriously injured, one trapped in one vehicle, two trapped in the other. According to the Hospital Trauma Coordinator, all three victims were suffering from life threatening traumatic injuries. In her opinion, without rapid extrication of all three of these victims, the outcome would not have been as favorable as it was, with all three victims eventually recovering from their injur...

One-third (33 percent) of U.S. home fires that begin with Christmas trees occur in January. With this potential fire hazard in mind, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) strongly encourages everyone to remove Christmas trees from their homes promptly after the holiday season. “Christmas trees are combustible items that become increasingly flammable as they continue to dry out,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy. “The...

Western Australia’s aerial firefighting fleet can fly further and for a much longer period than ever before, thanks to a new well-equipped Dauphin helicopter with advanced hazard-mapping technology.  Known by its callsign ‘Firebird 661’, the aircraft will boost WA’s aerial surveillance and reconnaissance capability, with targeted availability of up to 306 days per year compared to the previous 110-day fixed service. The new helicopter provides a higher speed and lon...

Firefighters are issuing a safety warning about electrical chargers after a kitchen was severely damaged by a fire in Tunbridge Wells. Crews were alerted to the fire in Salisbury Road, Langton Green on Sunday afternoon (16th December) after the occupant’s mother entered the house while checking on the dog and discovered it to be smoke filled with a small fire ablaze. She quickly got the dog and herself out of the property and raised the alarm. When crews arrived, the ground floor of the...

Allied Market Research published a report, titled, North America Fire Protection Systems Market by Product (Fire Detection Systems, Fire Management Systems, Fire Response System, Fire Analysis & Software, and Others), Service (Consulting & Design and Installation & Maintenance), and Industry Vertical (BFSI, Automotive & Transport, Manufacturing, Energy & Power, Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Mining, and Other Verticals) - North America Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecas...

Firefighters are urging drivers to be careful not to park over, or too close to, fire hydrants which give crews access to a crucial supply of water during incidents. Hydrants can be found on public roads, pavements or grass verges and are clearly marked with a yellow ‘H’ next to the hydrant cover, or on a nearby piece of street furniture e.g. lampposts. The plea comes as a result of crews not being able to get to the water supply on a number of occasions, whether it be during a fire...

Logistics and warehousing solutions witnessing substantial demand from the e-commerce industry that involves the integration of material handling, stocking, packaging, transportation, inventory management, supply chain management, procurement and shipping security aspects, is triggering the sales of fire protection systems, at a global level. "The E-commerce is far from saturation, considering that even mature markets like Japan are making efforts to create a sizeable share among total retail s...

Everyone has seen the amount of damage a simple house fire can cause to a poorly-built tower block. Not only can the fire spread around the inside of a tower block, but if the conditions are right and poor materials are used, it can even spread across the exterior of the tower block and completely destroy the entire building.  Cooke & Bern summarise the safety measures one should be taking in a tower block to ensure that everyone living inside has peace of mind knowing that they’...

Fire safety is one of the most important components to consider either while constructing a new building or renovating an existing one. After all, the last thing one would want is for the entire place to go up in flames with absolutely no defense, which is why fire safety needs to be considered if one wants to protect not just the structure, but also the people inside of it.  Cooke and Bern explain the importance of fire safety and what it consists of. What is fire safety? Fire safety of...

Festive meals, flickering lights and holiday decorations are all hallmarks of the holiday season. However, Christmas trees, candles, electrical decorations, and cooking all contribute to an increased number of home fires during December, making it one of the leading months for U.S. home fires. To help everyone enjoy a fire-safe holiday season, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is encouraging everyone to be aware of potential fire risks, and to take steps to minimize them. “F...

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released its first unmanned robotics guidance for first responders and others. NFPA 2400, Standard for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) Used for Public Safety Operations was developed by representatives from public safety departments with unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including the fire service, law enforcement, and emergency medical services. NFPA 2400 is an all-encompassing standard that applies to all public safety departments that...

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is accepting nominations for the 2019 James M. Shannon Advocacy Medal, which recognizes outstanding advocacy efforts aimed at reducing losses associated with fire, electrical, or other hazards. The advocacy medal honors an individual or group that shares the values of former NFPA President James Shannon. During his 12-year tenure as president, Shannon had an exceptional record of advocacy efforts tied to life safety issues. Under his leadership, N...

Frequentis has developed an application which allows location data and video from drones to feed directly into workstations in the control center, through its LifeX and ASGARD solutions. The integrated solution will be presented at the global trade fair for professional mobile communications and control centers, PMRExpo, in Cologne from November 27, 2018. UAVs/Drones Application In Emergency Situations Video and sensor data provided by drones could vastly support rescue forces in their mission...