Industry News

MPs have started a debate on the need for fire sprinklers in UK schools Questions of compulsory fire sprinkler protection for UK schools debated by MPs There was a debate on the question of fires in schools in Westminster Hall on 19 May, with much of the discussion taken up by members praising the value of sprinklers, and the need for sprinklers to be included in all new and refurbished schools. Ian McCartney, MP for Makerfield, initiated the debate, asserting that: "Ove...

Shell's serious breaches of fire safety regulations included blocked fire exits Shell International Ltd. was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £45,000 in costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (the "RRO"). The fine is the largest imposed under the RRO. The London Fire Brigade prosecuted Shell following two small fires in the space of three weeks at the Shell Centre on York Road, SE1 7NA. The first fire w...

Manjit Singh, one of the UK's first Asian firefighters, is retiring from the LFB One of the first Asian firefighters in the country is hanging up his helmet after 27 years of service to Londoners. Watch Manager Manjit Singh joined the London Fire Brigade in 1982 and has enjoyed every minute of it. He said: "I really have loved my job and when I joined it was seen as a landmark for an Asian to be a firefighter. I would like to see a lot more Asian firefighters coming throu...

The DHS has announced the release of grant guidance for fire station funding Key grant guidance released This morning, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the release of grant guidance for $210 million in fire station construction funding that was appropriated in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law earlier this year. The fire station construction grant funding will be administered by the Federal Emerg...

The demonstration included a comparison of a room with sprinklers and one without Demonstration in Plymouth, MA follows recent deaths of four area residents in house fires After house fires killed four area residents in just the past three months, the Plymouth, Mass. Fire Department and national fire safety experts vividly showed the life-saving difference home fire sprinkler systems can make.   Plymouth fire officials joined the Massachusetts State Fire Marsh...

A new study has established safe physical working standards for Australia's volunteer firefighters Investigation into safe working standards for Australian firefighters published As Australian recovers from its worst ever fire season, a new study establishes for the first time the safe physical work standards that should be applied for the nation's 220,000 volunteer firefighters. The study by Deakin University PhD student Matt Phillips at the Bushfire Cooperative Rese...

CAL FIRE is urging safety over Memorial Day weekend Recent wildfires and water related deaths act as reminder of the dangers As Memorial Day approaches, millions of Californians will plan outdoor activities to enjoy the great spring weather that is forecast. Even with the expected good weather, CAL FIRE officials are stressing the importance for everyone to be extra safe due to hidden dangers that many don't think about when recreating outdoors. In just the past few weeks...

The IAFF has released a statement on the need for improved airport fire fighting standards IAFF comments on need for improved airport fire resources International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold A. Schaitberger today released this statement on passage of H.R. 915 by the U.S. House of Representatives. With passage of the FAA Reauthorization, the Federal Aviation Administration will be required to update current aircraft rescue and fire fighting standard...

Craig Fugate, the new FEMA Administrator, being sworn in by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano Following a ceremony today in which U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano swore in Craig Fugate as Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, the two participated in a video teleconference briefing with governors and emergency management officials representing more than a dozen hurricane-prone states to discuss hurricane preparedness effor...

London Fire Brigade has joint-hosted a conference on juvenile firesetting London Fire Brigade and the Cognitive Centre Foundation (CCF) have co-hosted a conference on juvenile firesetting, attended by experts from all over the world. The two-day event entitled ‘Working with Juvenile Firesetters - Risks, Rights and Resources' gave professionals the opportunity to discuss how best to work with children and adolescents with identified firesetting behaviour. Dr David Kol...

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano has cited firefighter input as a reason to reduce funding for AFG program Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano cited input from firefighters as a major reason that the President's budget request proposes reducing funding for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program from $565 million to $170 million. The President is also asking Congress to increase funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Re...

Fire fighters at work: the IAFF has launched a campaign to raise awareness of high blood pressure IAFF launches nationwide firefighter health campaign The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) today announces a first-of-its kind health initiative that is providing its 300,000 professional fire fighters with tools to raise awareness of high blood pressure within their ranks and in the local communities that they serve. These fire fighters - who are responsible fo...

IAFC 1st Vice President Jeff Johnson has called for better national preparedness for hazmat response This week, IAFC 1st Vice President Jeff Johnson, chief of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, called for improved national preparedness for the response to hazmat incidents. He appeared May 14 before the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. During his testimony, Chief Johnson recognized that there are nea...

The IAFC Foundation have created a scholarship fund in memory of Heather Westphal New scholarship fund created in memorial The IAFC Foundation voted to establish the Heather Westphal Memorial Scholarship Fund to benefit women first responders at its April 2009 board meeting. This fund is created in memory of Heather Westphal, IAFC's membership marketing manger who died in a tragic accident in October 2008. The fund is supported by the IAFC. Mark Light, IAFC's executive dir...

Fire researchers conducting field experiments into the effects of wind-driven fires The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with the Fire Protection Research Foundation, the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, the Fire Department of New York City, and the Chicago Fire Department have completed work on evaluating several firefighting tactics under wind driven conditions. The two tech...

Fire service organizations have reacted strongly to anti-sprinkler state legislative efforts Stand together to better protect firefighters and public Citing the fact that more than 90 percent of fireground firefighter deaths occur in one- and two-family homes, leading fire service organizations have warned against state-by-state legislative efforts, orchestrated by homebuilders, which are designed to prohibit communities from requiring residential fire sprinklers in new h...

Firefighters tackle an apartment fire: the USFA has released a report on multiple-fatality fires New report addresses issue of devastating residential fires The Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has issued a special report examining the causes and characteristics of residential multiple-fatality fires. The report, Multiple-Fatality Fires in Residential Buildings, was developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of FEMA's...

Governor Schwarzenegger has declared May 3-9 Wildfire Awareness Week CAL FIRE encourages fire prevention and defensible space Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared May 3-9 Wildfire Awareness Week, to remind Californians to be vigilant as the state approaches peak fire season and to highlight the importance of the homeowner's role in preparing their property ahead of time to survive a wildfire. CAL FIRE will be conducting fire safety inspections throughout the st...

The NFPA warns the public: be aware of the fire risks of electricity in the home NFPA urges awareness to reduce risk The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is kicking off National Electrical Safety Month (May) by reminding the public to be aware of the risks associated with the use of electricity, and providing safety tips to assist individuals in taking steps to reduce the risk of experiencing a home electrical fire. In recent years, an average of 53,000 hom...

A firefighter heads into the smoke: the USFA has reviewed a study of possible links between firefighting and cancer Continued vigilance against exposure to harmful substances advised The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has completed its review of a recently released study conducted by the TriData Division of the System Planning Corporation, analyzing firefighter presumptive cancer legislation and attempting to prove or disprove a correlation between firefighting...

California fire officials are urging residents to create defensible space around their homes State fire officials stress now is the time to create defensible space Last summer's wildfires charred over a million acres across California in one of the worst fire seasons in recorded history. These wildfires destroyed hundreds of homes and burned dangerously close to thousands of others. As temperatures begin to increase and conditions continue to dry out, CAL FIRE (the Califor...

The NFPA have awarded 8 Harvard program fellowships to fire officials Senior industry leaders awarded prestigious fellowships Eight senior fire officials were awarded fellowships co-sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to participate in the Harvard University Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program. Each year, the NFPA partners with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the International Asso...

The AFG awards provide around $510 million to fire departments and other EMS organisations nationally The Department of Homeland Security has posted the FY2009 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program Guidance on the AFG website. The application period is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Applications for these grants must be received by Wednesday, May 20, 2009, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Nation...

KFRS rescue a mother and daughter from a fire sparked by kitchen lights A mother and daughter in danger of being overcome by smoke were rescued from a first floor window by Canterbury firefighters. Red Watch were called to the city's Monks Close at 2.10am today (Friday) and saw the pair hanging from a bedroom window. Firefighters rescued them and then also carried out two Welsh border collies from the smoke-filled house. Two further puppies in the property's kitchen -...

The Charles S. Morgan Technical Library at the NFPA has been awarded a new grant The Charles S. Morgan Technical Library, located at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has been awarded a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which will allow the library to preserve and scan their copy of Fires and Public Entertainments. The Morgan Library attempts to cover all aspects of fire in the collection; history of fires and firefighters...

NFPA Chief Electrical Engineer, Mark Earley; Regional Adminstrator of OSHA, Marte Kent; NFPA President James Shannon; and OSHA's Ken Mastrullo The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has dedicated the latest edition of the NFPA 70E® Handbook to Kenneth G. Mastrullo of the New England office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Formerly an NFPA senior electrical specialist, Mastrullo served as the NFPA staff liaison for the Committee on El...

The IAFC have announced the merger of GPSS with ESCi to form Emergency Services Consulting International The IAFC today announced the merger of its for-profit subsidiary, Global Public Safety Solutions (GPSS), with Emergency Services Consulting inc. (ESCi). The merger expands high-quality consulting and education services for the public-safety industry and local governments. The new company will bear the name Emergency Services Consulting International and operate as a for-...

Webinars will offer interactive forum on effective strategies and best practices As leaders of the fire and EMS service, your leadership will be defined by how you rise to the challenges of this new economic environment. You have to make tough decisions, often without the benefit of a study on the cause and effect of your actions. The good news is that you don't have to navigate these turbulent times alone. The IAFC is offering you a series of four webcasts on the economic crisis so you can ta...

The NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative website aims to incite grass roots action against anti-sprinkler legislation Legislative threats to local sprinkler requirements still loom elsewhere A statewide legislative threat that would have eliminated the ability of local communities to adopt or enforce requirements for home fire sprinklers has been defeated in Illinois. The Illinois bill died in recent days, but sprinkler opponents continue to push similar anti-sprinkler legisl...

Vice President Joe Biden will join Speaker Pelosi and Homeland Secretary Janet Napolitano at the IAFF 2009 Legislative Conference The economy, homeland security, first responder safety take center stage Vice President Joe Biden will address more than 1,000 leaders of the fire fighters union Monday at the International Association of Fire Fighters 2009 Legislative Conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill, March 15-18. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U....