Fire Protection news

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...

Victaulic announced the appointment of Rick Bucher as Chief Executive Officer, succeeding John F. Malloy, effective January 31, 2021. Dr. Bucher was named President of Victaulic in April of 2020, following a June 2019 appointment as Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Victaulic in 2009 as Vice President of Engineering, Dr. Bucher worked for 15 years for W.L. Gore, a manufacturer of technologically advanced composite materials. Dr. Bucher received a B.S. and M.S. in engineering from Rice Uni...

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...

A fire alarm system is one of, if not the most critical life safety systems in the building. For that reason alone, one should not compromise when selecting a fire alarm solution. A system needs to be reliable, which in turn gives confidence that one’s property is safe should the worst happen. Owners invest heavily in featuring the best-designed products in their buildings, so why should that stop with life safety systems? As with everything in life, more than just looks matter. One would...

On Tuesday, December 15, 2020, Orlando District 4 City Commissioner Patty Sheehan will join forces with City of Orlando firefighters to build nearly 100 bicycles that will be donated to children, ages five to 15, who live in the Reeves Terrace neighborhood and who have been notified in advance. Commissioner Sheehan and firefighters will turn wrenches and tighten brackets during the bicycle build event to make sure bicycles of all sizes and colors are ready for giving away on Monday, December 21...

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...

Even with slightly relaxed COVID-19 restrictions, Christmas in 2020 will be very different from the ones everyone is used to celebrating. Not everyone will be able to gather together under the same roof to spend the festive period together. Some will be in isolation or stuck abroad, away from family and friends. Together or apart, fires can still happen at Christmas time; in fact, it’s statistically the worst time of year for fires - which sadly can be some of the most destructive. In 202...

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...

A one-alarm fire at a northwest Houston hotel forced guests to evacuate early Saturday morning, according to the Cy-Fair Fire Department. At approximately 4:40 a.m., fire crews were dispatched to a Holiday Inn Express hotel located in the 9100 block of West Road on reports of a fire. On arrival, crews observed fire and smoke visible from a third-story unit. Sustaining smoke damage Firefighters attacked the blaze and extinguished it quickly, said Captain Daniel Arizpe, a public information off...

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...

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...

During the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 8 someone attempted to set fire to Nidaros Cathedral - the world’s northernmost medieval cathedral, built beginning in 1070, and Norway’s national sanctuary located in the city of Trondheim. Luckily, the fire was quickly detected by Autronica Fire and Security’s AutroGuard® protectors. The recently developed protector has technology that enables fast and reliable smoke detection. The Nidaros Cathedral is one of the first buildings where A...

On Friday 11th December 2020 Coopers Fire took part in National Christmas Jumper Day in aid of Save the Children and raised a brilliant £102.00! Save the Children exists to help every child reach their full potential. In the UK and around the world, they make sure children stay safe, healthy and keep learning, so they can become who they want to be. Tackling major problems They lead the way in tackling problems like pneumonia, hunger, and protecting children in war while making sure eac...

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...

UNION is urging security installers to ensure they are ready for the new UKCA mark, which is replacing CE marking for products sold in Great Britain. This includes products such as fire-resistant and emergency locks, panic exit devices and door closers. The UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) marking is the new product marking system that will be used for goods being placed on the market in Great Britain. It covers most goods that previously required the CE marking. CE marked products From 1 Januar...

CertAlarm, an organization offering a pan-European quality mark in the fire protection and security systems industry, announces the launch of its new Online Quoting Platform. With a variety of national marks in Europe, manufacturers are forced to prove compliance by having their product re-tested and re-certified by local test and certification bodies – a highly expensive and time-consuming process that needs to be repeated in each country. With CertAlarm, fire and security products need...

Container fires on board very large container ships have been sufficiently frequent for the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI) to call for a review of the firefighting equipment on board existing vessels. While the ultra-large container ship may bring welcome economies of scale, fire-fighting capabilities on board have not kept pace with the increasing vessel sizes. This creates a serious risk for crew, as well as for cargo owners, ship owners and insurers. Due to vessel size, only...

South Yorkshire’s Fire Service is highlighting the story of a firefighting hero killed during the Sheffield Blitz-exactly 80 years after the events that took his life. Frederick Parkes Spencer was the only permanent, full-time Police Fireman–as they were then known–to have been killed when thousands of tons of explosives were dropped on Sheffield on the night of 12 and 13 December 1940. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has already honored Frederick by naming one of the confer...

HazSim's Founder - Phil Ambrose originally developed the HazSim Pro to increase the situational awareness of his peers and improve safety training through realistic experiences.  The HazSim Pro is currently used to train thousands of personnel in Fire, Military, Oil and Gas, and Power facilities across North America. The system is used for basic hazwoper, HazMat Tech/Spec, Confined Space, and any training for those who encounter dangerous atmospheres. Hands-On Simulation Training "The Ha...

When a fire broke out, in the early hours, at a food distribution warehouse in Hastings, United Kingdom, an automatic sprinkler system activated and extinguished it, minimizing damage and ensuring that the business would be able to return to operations later that day, with the little disruption caused due to the fire. East Sussex Fire & Rescue  On Sunday, October 4th, 2021, at 6 am, fire engines and firefighters from East Sussex Fire & Rescue were called to the A.F. Blakemore and...

The USDA Forest Service seeks public input on two proposed directives that would address safety and reliability for powerline operations on national forests and grasslands. The proposed directives would implement provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill and amendments made in 2018 to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The proposed directives also align with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue’s direction to make national forests and grasslands healthier and more productive. The pr...

With the end of the year approaching, it’s time to start planning for next year and preparing for a building’s fire and life safety inspections. As a professional in the fire and life safety industry, LSS Life Safety Services are constantly urging that a building’s fire and life safety protection systems be properly maintained. This means both passive fire (fire/smoke dampers, fire doors, fire barriers), as well as active fire (sprinklers, fire extinguishers) protection system...

PAS 79-1:2020 and PAS 79-2:2020 replace PAS 79:2012. Please note PAS 79:2012 has been withdrawn.  This has been superseded by two new documents: PAS 79-1:2020 Fire risk assessment. Premises other than housing. Code of practice (published December 2020). PAS 79-2:2020 Fire risk assessment. Housing. Code of practice (published December 2020). BAFE published information regarding the public consultation in April 2020. Generic fire risk assessment guidance The BSI website notes that t...

EFT announces the recent opening of its End Point Assessment Center. As a NET Approved Center, it will be specializing in assessment for the Fire and Security Pathway Apprenticeship. It is committed to quality and believes the test center to be the center of choice. The facilities have been purpose-built to a high standard to ensure the best experience is achieved for all apprentices as they complete their assessments. This includes breakout areas for apprentices and the use of kitchen facilit...

Firefighters are ready to assist the UK’s rollout of COVID-19 vaccines after an agreement was reached between the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and the fire and rescue service National Employers. The agreement allows firefighters to assist other public sector organizations with the track, trace, and isolate measures, and to check that potential higher risk premises are COVID-secure. Firefighters will inspect workplaces where relevant authorities have raised concerns about COVID-security, not...

First responders looking at upgrading their extrication tools are seeing a new letter among The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA®) standards for performance requirements. And they may be wondering, WTF: What’s the F-test? Tool’s performance ability The new test is a “High Strength Materials” test, otherwise known as the F bar cut test NFPA standards specify performance requirements for powered rescue tools and components that are used by emergency services per...