HazMat Protection Accessories news

In the last couple of years, a number of new ISO management system standards have been published. To date, UKAS has received a few enquiries for accreditation to underpin the related certification activities.  As they are new standards UKAS would need to undertake a development project to confirm the applicability of the standard and also to establish a robust and proportionate assessment approach. UKAS is reviewing its current development projects and wants to gauge the level of inte...

Last month, Recruiter Insider announced their top five consultants for Candidate Experience for Q4 and Zitko were thrilled to learn that Ellie Kendal, who works in the contracting department, was named as one of those five. Ellie joined Zitko just over two years ago and after only a year with the company, she was promoted to Senior Contract Fire & Security Recruitment Consultant. Although this is a great achievement, it is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Ellie’s list of s...

All homes in Scotland must have interlinked smoke alarms from 1 February. As the date nears, members of the Scottish Parliament have expressed their concerns about whether all homeowners will be able to comply. The Scottish Government gave Care and Repair Scotland £500k to help older and disabled homeowners install alarms. The daily record reported on 25 January that Care and Repair Scotland had struggled to meet demand and had closed its doors to new requests. Since September the se...

A team from West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service joined together with partners to help train new National Ambulance Resilience Unit (NARU) technicians last week. The multi-agency training exercise, held at the Fire Service College in Gloucestershire, was part of a training course for new Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) technicians, to increase response resilience in the event of an emergency. Urban Search and Rescue Team A group of 11 staff from West Yorkshire’s Urban Search and...

All UKAS certificates of accreditation for ISO 15189 Medical Laboratories are being updated following the November 2021 issue of a revised Joint IAF-ILAC-ISO Communiqué on the Management system requirements of ISO 15189, as the current certificates refer to the January 2015 issue of the communiqué. Requirements of ISO 15189 Statements for use on test, study, calibration, and check reports/certificates have also been revised The communiqué states: "A medical laborator...

UKAS and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) would like to invite certification bodies to express an interest in joining a pilot program to become accredited to certify against the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework. The trust framework is a set of rules for providers of digital identity and attribute services to meet in order to demonstrate they meet requirements for secure, trustworthy services. This program presents an excellent opportunity for certifi...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) is reminding the public not to bring flammable objects onto moorland, following the sentencing of a 28-year-old man. Viktor Riedly received a custodial term of one year in prison after a fire on Marsden Moor, that was so large, over 100 firefighters were needed to tackle it. Landowners, gamekeepers, the National Trust, the Local Authority and local community groups also worked at the scene. Major incident with crews Leeds Crown Court heard how he...

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is urging the region’s residents to register their many appliances to make their homes safer. Ahead of ‘Register My Appliance’ Week, from 17 to 21 January, and as part of the government’s Fire Kills Campaign, the service reveals that, unlike cars, household appliances are off the radar for many people if a free safety repair is ever needed. Author's quote Research shows that for millions, the answer is ‘no,’ but this c...

As the World braces for another rapidly advancing mutating version of COVID-19, face masks are being used to reduce the chance of spreading or capturing COVID-19 once again.  To limit the spread of the virus as much as possible, countries across the world are advising their citizens to consider making mask use mandatory both outdoors and indoors. As the world starts enforcing limited lockdowns it's important to understand the differences between various types of face masks. Three types of...

The tragic loss of life from the 19-story apartment building fire that occurred in New York City on Jan. 9 reminds of the fire and life safety challenges that tall buildings present to the emergency services and to the occupants who live or work in them. Challenges and features Because of the inherent nature of tall buildings and a series of historic fires, the practice of protecting the people who live and work in high-rise buildings has evolved over the years. Very specific sets of precautio...

Personal Protective Equipment, vernacularly known as PPE, is a term they have all come across several times amidst the global pandemic. From the shortage of PPE kits to countries ramping up the manufacturing process, are some of the only topics that made headlines most of 2020 and through the latter 2021. In between all this, the cardinal question of “What is PPE?” comes to mind. From being used by beekeepers as reported in ancient literature, to 16th-century plague doctors in Europ...

'Challenge Your Potential' and apply for a Regional (Retained) Firefighter role with the MFS. The South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) is dedicated to providing an efficient and effective emergency service to the South Australian community. Being a MFS Firefighter is one of the most highly respected careers in South Australia. The MFS is looking for community-minded individuals who are fit, healthy, and possess personal and professional values that align with themselves....

Chate Singh pleaded guilty to six offenses under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 18 months, at Nottingham Crown Court. According to the fire service, a judge said Singh's actions could have had 'catastrophic consequences'. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service noted that the breaches included failing to provide adequate fire safety training for staff, failing to implement procedures such as safety drills, and failing to...

Featherstone Fire Station has gained a new on-call fire fighter all the way from Australia following the latest pass out ceremony at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s HQ in Birkenshaw.  Toby Farmer, 25, has followed a family tradition as he joins Featherstone Station as an on-call firefighter after relocating from New South Wales Australia, where both his father and grandfather have spent their working lives in the fire service.  Firefighting equipment Toby and his 11 f...

UKAS is the National Accreditation Body for the United Kingdom. UKAS is appointed by the Government, to assess and accredit organizations that provide a variety of services including certification, testing, inspection, and calibration based on compliance with international standards and demonstration through objective evidence of competency and impartiality in the performance of defined activities. At the beginning of the pandemic reliable testing was quickly identified as a key component in th...

In December 2021, following an agreement at its November General Assembly, the European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) published its revised Articles of Association and associated Rules of Procedure (EA-1/17). This is the culmination of months of discussions regarding the EA membership criteria, with revision allowing UKAS to retain its membership status. This status was previously at risk following the UK’s exit from the EU and hence UKAS no longer met the EA membership criteria tha...

Firefighters at Slaithwaite Station have prepared more than 130 Christmas hampers to deliver to local families this week. The station is working with schools in and around the Colne Valley area, as well as the Kirklees and Huddersfield Salvation Army and Food Share Scheme and other partners.  Gifting and food parcel scheme We have a green bin at the front of the fire station which is there 24/7, and has been overflowing every day" Slaithwaite On-Call Fire Fighter, Richard Izzard, who se...

To help communities plan for the threats and hazards of climate change, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released its updated Long-Term Community Resilience Exercise Resource Guide: Designing Whole Community Exercises to Prepare for the Effects of a Changing Climate PDF in November 2021. Increase preparedness As the impacts of climate change are being felt across the country, this resource offers communities low-risk and cost-effective ways to increase preparedness with: Tools...

On September 19th, the Crumbre Vieja volcano on the island of La Palma in Spain’s Canary Islands erupted, with devastating consequences. The eruption forced the evacuation of 7,000 people (close to 10% of the island’s population), destroyed almost 2,000 buildings, spread over 1,800 acres, and released 250,000 tons of sulfur dioxide. Rapid response during a natural disaster G7 personal gas protection devices were deployed with the Dirección General de Seguridad y Emergencias...

The award recognizes the work undertaken throughout 2020/2021 by the FPA to revolutionize its digital services by launching two new websites and a CRM system to improve customer engagement, integrating a third-party security tool throughout all digital platforms to protect the members, delivering two successful virtual events, and implementing a new webinar platform to improve member engagement and also in the process of launching an app to improve accessibility to digital products. Both websit...

Firefighters across South Yorkshire are urging people to put smoke alarm testing at the top of their Christmas preparation list, as the big day draws closer. The plea comes following several examples in recent weeks, from right across the country, where working smoke alarms have saved lives, pets, and homes from serious harm. With everyone busy buying gifts, putting up decorations, and making plans, officers are hoping people will be able to find 60 seconds to test their alarms. They...

Thanks to member feedback, the new membership scheme offers FPA members additional benefits such as access to the Business Property and Protection Portal which produces a risk report for any business type in the UK, the Cladding Compliance Toolkit created by RISC Authority, which aims to help users understand the complex legislative fire safety requirements of external building cladding systems, and easier access to resources such as our popular Assembly Point Podcast. Launch of a CPD Record To...

An update to all BAFE registered organizations and the wider fire safety industry. Recent weeks have seen a new Omicron variant of COVID-19 emerge and begin to spread across the UK. With this, the Government has re-introduced measures to mitigate this risk such as mask-wearing in shops and on all public transport.   BAFE is confident by now that the fire safety industry fully understands its position as a life safety, and therefore necessary, provision of service required to continue (whe...

UKAS is delighted to announce that following the passing of a Resolution at the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA) General Assembly on 25th November 2021, UKAS’s continued membership of EA has been assured. UKAS’s membership of EA, the association of national accreditation bodies for the European region, had been under review following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020. The EA and UKAS were keen that UKAS remained a member and the Articles of Association ha...

Over 70 colleagues from the fire sector gathered at the Oriental Club in Stratford Place, London to celebrate the FPA's platinum jubilee. Guests included current and former government ministers, and staff from the NFCC, IFE, and the London Fire Brigade, among many others. More than merely a victory lap or a gathering of old friends, the event was also a poignant reminder of what can be achieved within the sector with a collective and unified voice, and a singular message.  FPA C...

Fire services across Yorkshire are re-iterating their advice to road users on what to do when coming across blue light vehicles, with more cars now on the roads due to lockdown restrictions easing. Stay calm, pull over safely and give as much room as possible is the key message from the four brigades–South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, and Humberside. Drivers are also being urged not to perform emergency stops in the middle of a road. This, the services say, can end up slowi...

Fire officers have welcomed the conviction of a man who started a fire outside flats in Rotherham.  Alex Teasdale of Meadow Close, Dalton, was sentenced to 46 months in prison and given a 10-year restraining order at Sheffield Crown Court on 5 November, after pleading guilty to committing arson recklessly as to whether life would be endangered at the property in Dalton, Rotherham in September 2019. The fire – which involved household waste – quickly spread to the exterior of t...

The Government has confirmed that verification bodies for the UK ETS scheme do not need to be registered as a UK legal entity or have an office in the UK, but they shall need to hold the appropriate accreditation (ISO 14065) from the UK’s National Accreditation Body, i.e. UKAS. The UKAS assessment will take into account any relevant accreditation where this has been granted by a National Accreditation Body that is a signatory to the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA) and, where such accredit...

Following the success of the virtual roundtable discussion last November at London Build Online, have arranged another one this November – this time in person – at the London Build Expo 2021, taking place at Olympia, London, UK, between 17 November and 18 November 2021. While the first discussion looked at the importance of early engagement in fire stopping mostly from the design point of view, are planning to build the forthcoming discussion around the coordination and management o...

The new UKAS publication GEN 6 - Reference to accreditation and multilateral recognition signatory status by UKAS accredited bodies, was issued on 1st November 2021. This applies to all types of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and sets out UKAS policy on references to accreditation and MLA signatory status, in line with European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) mandatory document EA-3/01 M. UKAS publication LAB 1 Reference to Accreditation for Laboratories has been withdrawn as requirem...