Fire and Rescue news

As the rising number of COVID admissions pushes patient capacity limits, ensuring compliant fire safety has never been more important. As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure. In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7bn in 2019/20. Despit...

The Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA®), an industry body comprised of stakeholders from all facets of the security, safety and building automation space, announces it has joined Euralarm, the association of European manufacturers, installers and service providers from the electronic fire safety and security industry. By joining the Security Section within Euralarm, OSSA will contribute valuable expertise in the domain of Internet of Things (IoT), while leveraging on Euralarm’...

The new TFT Master Force series of nozzles series are dual pressure automatic high-volume monitor nozzles that automatically adjust to give you the greatest flow rate, reach, and impact force with your available water supply.  Incorporating TFT’s innovative technology, the Master Force operates at either a standard 7 bar (100 psi) or 4 bar (55 psi) low pressure as selected by the nozzle operator. The stream pattern  The stream pattern can be varied from straight stream to a de...

The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) is exercising an option in their contract with Saab regarding aerial firefighting capability in Sweden. Saab will provide two additional aircraft with an associated crew. The order from March 2020 concerns the capability to fight fires with two bucketing aircraft yearly, from 1 April to 30 September, through 2023. MSB is exercising the option in the contract for two more aircraft, beginning with the 2021 fire season. This is a resource that will be a...

Churches Fire & Security helps businesses secure cost savings by consolidating fire and security services. The more services one has, the greater savings will be. Reduced Visits As part of Churches Fire & Security’s dedication to complete servicing, the technicians are often multi-disciplined. This means that they are qualified to maintain and service multiple pieces of equipment, often during one site visit. As the service is for the whole of the UK, the technicians are based p...

Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA), an industry body comprised of stakeholders from all facets of the security, safety and building automation space, has announced joining Euralarm, the association of European manufacturers, installers and service providers from the electronic fire safety and security industry. By joining the Security Section within Euralarm, OSSA will contribute valuable expertise in the domain of Internet of Things (IoT), while leveraging on Euralarm’s profound...

The National Response Team (NRT) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, along with ATF special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division, were activated to join the investigation of the fire that occurred Monday at Action Footwear, 655 H Street, Chula Vista, California, injuring four firefighters from Chula Vista Fire Department. Initially, an ATF Certified Fire Investigator responded to the scene to assist Chula Vista Fire Investigators with the origin and cause investig...

The new center for Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony’s College was designed by the award-winning Iraqi-British Architect Dame Zaha Hadid. As one of her last projects before she passed away in March 2016, this project has been recognized by many for its architectural merit and nominated for numerous awards. It recently won the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) South Award 2016. Oxford University asked Chris Lewis Fire and Security to provide the best possible intruder alarm, C...

The AW Technology story started over 25 years ago when AW Technology supplied its first test tunnels to the market. Since then, the business has grown significantly to become a pioneer supplier of Fire Detection technology to the global market. However, this transformation isn’t something that was achieved overnight and it’s taken years of hard work, dedication, passion and technical expertise to develop AW Technology into the global operation. Fire detection technology David Haig...

GFE is delighted to introduce a new module, the ZONE-MIMIC. Assembled in a Dual Gang (DG) Box, the ZONE-MIMIC is designed to be used with GFE's Chameleon addressable control panels. Features  The GFE team has developed a module for ‘Mimic Boards LEDs’, to signal fire conditions or system status for each individual zone. It also features a ‘lamp test’ input, a buzzer driver output, and a ‘local’ buzzer silence input. These are just some of the many feat...

In modern parking garages, the number of electric charging stations and parked e-cars, e-scooters and e-bikes is constantly increasing. However, fires involving electric vehicles are more complicated than those involving conventionally powered vehicles. The use of high pressure water mist (HPWM) systems enables highly efficient and safe fire protection in the case of fires involving electric vehicles. High pressure water mist systems Task in the event of an e-car fire is usually to move the o...

Damien Ward has been in the passive fire protection industry for over 13 years now, and he has found that it’s one of those industries that someone is either in, or they have no real idea about – at least, not beyond the basics. A bit like the Freemasons, or the Illuminati, or the Order of the Phoenix (that does exist outside of Harry Potter, right?). Following the devastation of Grenfell, users probably know that there’s a cladding crisis in the country, and they definitely k...

Business owners are being urged to ensure that their vacant properties are as safe and secure as possible to protect them from harm during the latest lockdown. The warning comes from security barrier experts at Hardstaff Barriers, who specialize in protecting premises against squatters, thieves, arsonists, and fly-tippers. On January 4, the Government urged people, once again, not to travel to their places of work and to work from home if it is possible to do so. Since then, this has resulted i...

Rapidrop is the UK manufacturer and supplier of fire sprinkler system products serving the needs of the fire detection and suppression industry worldwide. Rapidrop manufacture a range of K115 and K80, conventional, pendent, upright and horizontal sidewall sprinkler heads which are available in various response times, orifice size and temperatures. All of the manufactured sprinkler heads can be color customized to suit their surroundings. Highest business standards Every single sprinkler head...

An inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) confirmed that Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service (RBFRS) has adapted and responded to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic effectively, thereby highlighting the additional support that the fire service has been offering its communities, throughout this public health crisis. RBFRS response to COVID-19 In August 2020, the UK Home Secretary commissioned HMICFRS to examine how fire and rescue...

Volunteers are special people, willing to share their time and passion to help others, simply because they care and want to make a difference. Those inspirational individuals form an important part of Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS), working alongside operational crews and office-based teams to help keep communities across Kent and Medway safe. Trying new challenges KFRS is fortunate to have 34 volunteers supporting a range of roles, and now the service is looking to welcome more people...

The Agility team is excited to announce the addition of Solid Responder LLC as their first exclusive authorized dealer for the US State of Florida. Solid Responder Solid Responder is the brainchild of Joe Hernandez from Disaster Medical Solutions, who has served as the DHS/FEMA National Coordinator and Lead Instructor for the US&R Medical Team Training Program and Lead SME for current curriculum development at FEMA. Solid Responder provides equipment designed, developed, tested, and prove...

Rosenbauer America, a renowned global manufacturer of custom fire apparatus, has announced the appointment of Mark Fusco. He will be assuming the role of Vice President of Sales & Marketing at the company. Marketing and sales expert Mark Fusco brings with him more than two decades of marketing and sales experience to Rosenbauer America. His expertise includes channel development, go-to-market strategy, sales, inventory, and operations planning (SIOP), precision technologies, and data insig...

At the beginning of 2020, the Asian region was gripped by the coronavirus earlier than Europe. When the virus was still known as a purely “Asian” issue in the media in Austria, Rosenbauer still thought that it would be under control in a few months and that they could continue the Asian business as normal. But they knew better with hindsight. Travel restrictions have now been in place for more than 10 months, and all stakeholders in the fire service industry have had to put up with...

MSA Safety Incorporated announced it has acquired U.K.-based Bristol Uniforms in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $60 million. The acquisition strengthens MSA's position as a front-runner in fire service PPE products while providing an avenue to expand its business in the U.K. and key European markets. Headquartered in Bristol, U.K., Bristol Uniforms is a foremost innovator and provider of protective apparel to the fire and rescue services sector, with annual revenue of approxima...

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have been recognized nationally for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, SFRS was praised for its positive contributions to the local community and commitment to the welfare of its staff. In August 2020, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was commissioned by the UK Home Secretary to examine how fire and rescue services are responding to the pandemic. Effective command and control frameworks...

UKAS was pleased to contribute to CQI’s recent report ‘The Future of Work’, which explores the realities of “digital transformation” in the workplace. When considering the age of digitalization (often referred to as the 4th Industrial Revolution) ‘The Future of Work’ report considers the key drivers for change that were identified by CQI’s Research Advisory Panel.  These include: Big data and analytics Augmented reality Artificial i...

A national inspection has praised the response of South Yorkshire’s fire service to the COVID-19 pandemic. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue adapted to the pandemic effectively, carried on delivering its core services and provided additional support to the community during the first phase of the pandemic. Inspectors also found that staff well-being was made a clear priority for the service and praised senior pioneers for actively promoting well-being services, in a report published b...

The community is at the heart of Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS), and on-call firefighters help to strengthen those links by serving the villages and towns where they live and work.  Luke Pritchard is an on-call firefighter based in Faversham, where he lives with his wife and their two young children. Having grown up in the town, the 35-year-old wanted to be a firefighter at his local fire station from a young age and successfully applied for the role four years ago.  Comments of...

Recently the Columbia-Richland Fire Department became one of only 250 fire-service agencies in the U.S. that will take part in a new nationwide pilot program to map areas of risk in the communities. Tracking fires and emergencies In the coming weeks, the new software will be coming online at the department that will help keep track of and chart areas in Richland County that have experienced fires and other types of emergencies. Using this information, the department can then take actions that...

HMICFRS has outlined its key findings in a report which covers how the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Staff stepped up to support the communities and partners during the pandemic. As a service Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Staff welcomes the opportunity to consider any lessons learned from the inspection. They will review the areas for consideration identified by HMICFRS as they continue to support the staff and partners, whilst trying to ensure the communities safety during these challenging time...

With distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine accelerating around the globe, hopes are high that society can reclaim a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy in the coming months. Organizations may look to call many of their remote workers back to physical buildings as the vaccine rollout continues. However, there are unique new challenges to in-person work in a post-pandemic world, as organizations who have maintained in-person workforces can attest. Managing an in-person workforce in 2021 Marc Bognar,...

Following significant requests from customers, Apollo Fire Detectors have expanded their portfolio of free webinars and virtual CPD’s. In order to continue providing its training service throughout the national lockdown, Apollo released a selection of over 15 virtual courses in May 2020. The courses have been a huge success with thousands of attendees from over 30 countries taken advantage of the weekly sessions. Due to this success, and COVID-19 restrictions being in place once again in...

The pandemic has made it difficult to predict demand from one month to the next, when it comes to field service engineering. This makes the flexibility of employing contractors even more attractive. In Autumn 2020, STANLEY Security Solutions approached the Zitko contracts team with a considerable challenge: resource a group of 8 – 10 contractors to support the company’s operations in various UK regions. The requirement was for an immediate start and the specification was strict: mul...

Over the past 24 hours, 08:00 am 20/01/2021 to 08:00 am 21/01/2021, Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) have received 233 calls through its Joint Fire Control. Of the 233 calls, Joint Fire Control received 140 flood-related calls. 71 calls of external flooding, 57 calls of internal flooding, and 12 calls where the flooding posed a risk to life. Amongst the busiest station areas during this period were Abercrave, with 11 incidents, Llandeilo 8, Ammanford 8, Carmarthen 7, and Wel...