Fire and Rescue news

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S (VIKING) is driving more investment into its marine fire service business. The inauguration of VIKING’s Foam Lab Odense, which specializes in the testing of a vessel’s reserves of firefighting foam, intensifies the company’s focus on marine fire service, a segment earmarked for significant growth in the coming years. “Our ambition is to cover all aspects of marine firefighting equipment, and our new state-of-the-art laboratory puts us on...

Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and other December holidays are fun times to spend with loved ones. Unfortunately, they also come with hazards that increase the risk of a house fire. With a few simple Christmas decoration safety tips, one can ensure a fire-free holiday season. While Christmas tree fires aren’t very common, they are likely to cause serious damage if they occur. About 200 Christmas tree fires ignite each holiday season, resulting in six deaths, 16 injuries, and $14.8 million...

Robert Jenrick MP, The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, announced a “New £30 million fund for leaseholders in England to pay for the installation of fire alarm systems in high-rise buildings with cladding.”  Adding that this will remove or reduce “the need for costly interim safety measures such as waking watch.” Install common fire alarms The written statement continues by saying that “This step is supported...

Hardstaff Barriers has provided a handy guide to the challenges and solutions faced by UK (United Kingdom) ports, during the busy Brexit transition period. The guide offers the top 10 considerations for Port Traffic Management. Top 10 considerations for Port Traffic Management include: Traffic Flow – Creating effective movement of traffic around ports Key to effective operations is ensuring freight is moved in and around ports with minimal disruption, our range of barriers provide a...

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office wants everyone to practice fire safety when decorating this holiday season. Candles, holiday decorations, and Christmas trees are not only beautiful, fun, and part of the holiday season, but they also increase one's fire risk. "As you and your family prepare for this joyous time of year, we ask that you also think about fire safety," said Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen. "By following a few fire safety precautions, like ensuring decoratio...

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office wants everyone to practice fire safety when decorating this holiday season. Candles, holiday decorations, and Christmas trees are not only beautiful, fun, and part of the holiday season, but they also increase fire risk. "As you and your family prepare for this joyous time of year, we ask that you also think about fire safety," said Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen. "By following a few fire safety precautions, like ensuring decorations are...

In the lead up to Christmas, Coopers Fire have been running a collection for Waterlooville Food Bank. Waterlooville Food Bank work alongside recognized organizations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Children Services, Schools, Housing Association, and more to supply items to those in need in the local area. For many this year has been especially challenging and the region’s food banks are reporting a shocking rise in the number of people relying on the donation of food. Demand More T...

The need for safe firefighter training must be balanced with sufficient challenge to prepare firefighters for the unpredictable nature of the fire ground of the future. Training must not be so controlled as to give firefighters a false sense of security, nor can it disregard established safety procedures for the sake of increased realism. To maintain an effective cadre of firefighters and officers, the fire service must find new and dynamic ways to train personnel to act in a safe, decisive man...

Trinity is part of the Trinity Property Group who manage more than 110,000 homes across the different brands within the group. Trinity is one of the largest residential property management companies in England and Wales. Working with renowned housebuilders across the country, Trinity provides residential management services nationally. Part of their property portfolio is a large East London estate. The site consists of 651 homes set within a genuine community, supported by a new lib...

Since its launch in 2013 by world-pioneering coatings manufacturer, Hempel, the Hempaguard X7 hull coating has been applied over 2,000 times. Hempel has continuously documented Hempaguard X7’s ability to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for shipowners, and now the exact impact has been calculated. Hempaguard X7 hull coating Michael Hansen, Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer at Hempel, comments: “Reaching this important milestone of 2,000 full shi...

Hardstaff Barriers has maintained its prestigious FORS Gold status for another year, in recognition of the company’s commitment to fleet safety, efficiency, and environmental protection. The manufacturer and supplier of protective barriers and perimeter security systems first received Gold accreditation in the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) in 2019. The company learned that it had maintained its Gold status – the highest level that can be reached due to its consistently hi...

Avon Protection has received an order to supply two NATO Nations and one Partner, Belgium, Finland, and Norway with their foremost CBRN respiratory protection including FM50 mask systems, filters, spares, and accessories.  FM50 Air Purifying Respirator The FM50 provides operational flexibility required by NATO Allies and Partners forces; designed to protect troops in the most demanding of environments. Developed in conjunction with the United States Department of Défense to counte...

The Mick George Group has grown to become one of the leading suppliers to the construction industry in the heart of East Anglia and East Midlands. Operating with a single tipper truck in 1978, the company’s commercial fleet size has now grown to more than 400 HGV vehicles. They specialize in Bulk Excavation & Earthmoving Services, Demolition and Asbestos Removal, a wide range of Skip Hire and Waste Management Services, and Aggregate & Concrete Supply, as well as their...

There are over 1200 NHS hospitals across the UK, spread across 223 NHS trusts, ranging in age and complexity. Very few of them are single stand-alone buildings, instead the sites usually represent complicated infrastructure networks, that have grown and developed over a few decades. This in turn increases the complexity of the fire detection system across the whole site. fire detection challenges The challenges in managing fire detection systems in such structures can be associated with: C...

BBC News has reported the Valley Nursing Home, located in Clogher, County Tyrone is to be deregistered by Northern Ireland care home regulator RQIA (Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority). Critical inspections Critical inspections identified multiple hygiene and safety risks, an RQIA report stated, "Of particular concern, adequate precautions and systems were not in place to manage fire risk.” These ;significant breaches' have resulted in the care home’s deregistration, mea...

Apollo has been conducting thorough market research into healthcare buildings to gain a better understanding of the specific difficulties facing a fire detection system. In this article, Apollo explores its findings. There are over 1200 NHS hospitals across the UK, spread across 223 NHS trusts, ranging in age and complexity. Very few of them are single stand-alone buildings, instead, the sites usually represent complicated infrastructure networks that have grown and developed over a few decades...

Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, the USDA Forest Service today announced it surpassed goals and set records in 2020.   "2020 was a challenging year, with record wildland fire activity and the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the Forest Service, we have risen above these challenges and set our minds, hands and hearts to carrying out our mission to meet the needs of the communities we serve," said Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen. The Forest Service relied on its strong science...

As activity around UK ports increases considerably due to Brexit, it is vitally important to keep the emphasis on safety to protect people and critical infrastructure. Recent events have shown that port safety needs to be a priority and managing the effective flow of people and traffic will be a key challenge to port authorities. Hardstaff Barriers have a range of products designed with port operations in mind that meet stringent industry standards, including their concrete options such as Mult...

Verint Systems (Verint), a globally renowned customer engagement company, has announced that it has received multiple awards from Consumidor Moderno and Grupo Padrão for excellence in customer engagement in the Brazilian market. Leveraging cloud-based solutions Leveraging cloud-based solutions from Verint’s Customer Engagement portfolio, organizations in Brazil and around the world are accelerating automation and leveraging AI-based solutions, such as speech and text analytics, to...

ImageTrend, Inc. announced the latest National Trauma Data Bank® (NTDB®) Data Dictionary will be available in Patient Registry™ on January 1, 2021. The timeliness of this update ensures that hospitals can accurately and efficiently collect information on their 2021 patients immediately, while simultaneously collecting data on their 2020 patients. This update further refines the NTDB Data Dictionary by retiring select basic fields and delivering the addition of new ones aiding in m...

There is a rule of thumb that a fire will double in size every minute, which means putting out a fire quickly can drastically reduce the amount of danger and damage it can cause. One of the biggest changes in firefighter speed and effectiveness in the past 50 years has come with the introduction of Compressed Air Foam Systems. ODIN CAF Systems ODIN is known for its industry-renowned CAF Systems; its systems can improve firefighter effectiveness by up to 400%. CAFS have been pioneered and prov...

This is a national effort, led by the Government, to make high-rise residential buildings safer, and give a better understanding of high-rise residential buildings across the country. It has come off the back of the tragic Grenfell Tower disaster and is in its second phase. ACM cladding The first phase of the program focused on Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding. This saw SYFRS, and other fire services right across the country, work with building owners to identify buildings with ACM...

Rave Mobile Safety (Rave), a trusted partner for safety software protecting millions of individuals, announced the acquisition of SwiftReach Networks (SwiftReach), a foremost provider of emergency notification and incident management solutions. The combination of Rave and SwiftReach will provide wide-ranging capabilities and unmatched infrastructure to ensure optimal communications under the most demanding circumstances. Todd Piett, CEO of Rave, said, “The addition of SwiftReach and its F...

A fire in a utility room at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center was quickly extinguished, Baltimore County fire officials said. Fire officials said firefighters were called around 3:09 p.m. for a fire on the third floor of the hospital in Rossville. Hospital alarm system Fire officials said the hospital alarm system sounded and as firefighters were en route, the sprinkler system activated. Officials said firefighters found heavy smoke on the third floor and it took about 45 minutes to put...

Global coatings manufacturer Hempel has enhanced its established and proven Olympic+ and Oceanic+ antifouling range and is, launching five new antifouling solutions: Oceanic Protect+, Oceanic Flex+, Olympic Protect+, Olympic Flex+ and Olympic Protect. Building on their proven effectiveness, reliability and impressive value-for-money, these five new products deliver additional benefits and choice within the existing product range. Hempel’s Olympic+ and Oceanic+ antifouling coatings have be...

To protect the parking garage of a new apartment building in the center of Leipzig, the responsible persons decided on a fire fighting system by AQUASYS. It offers several advantages both in terms of challenging technical conditions and in terms of economic efficiency. High-quality design of AQUASYS technology enables long life and flexibility. Battery charging stations Compared to sprinkler systems, the AQUASYS system uses significantly less water, is far more efficient and the components su...

The staff at Hardstaff Barriers has been busy over recent weeks, growing moustaches of different shapes and sizes – raising £1400 in funds for charity. Throughout the month of November 2020, four members of the Hardstaff Barriers’ team took part in the ‘Hardtash’ challenge, in order to raise money for Movember, the men’s health charity. Movember – Men’s health charity Hardstaff Barriers is a globally renowned manufacturer and supplier of roadsid...

Another project completed for The Office Group (TOG). Commfire has just completed the supply and commissioning of a new fire alarm system which also includes the PAVA system (Public Address and Voice Alarm). Fire alarm system This project usual challenges of a tight program of works, plus the added challenge of COVID-19 restrictions such as social distancing which is difficult on building sites. The fire alarm system has been designed to meet with the requirements of BS5839-1:2017 with phased...

Ensuring fire doors are up to standard is a valuable task that should not be underestimated. To comply with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, fire door installation and maintenance is a key requirement for every business to which the order applies. Regular inspection To ensure fire doors will perform as intended in the event of a fire, regular inspections should be undertaken. Six-monthly inspections are recommended by BS 9999, consisting of extensive checks of each component. I...

The fire alarm control equipment from UK manufacturer, Advanced, has been installed at the core of a wireless fire detection system protecting Leuchie House in East Lothian on the Scottish Borders. As part of an upgrade to the existing radio fire system at the classical Georgian mansion house in North Berwick which operates as a respite center for people with multiple sclerosis, an Advanced 4-loop MxPro 5 fire panel has been installed alongside the latest EMS wireless FireCell equipment. Fire...