COVID-19 - News

Johnson Controls, a global company for smart, healthy, and sustainable buildings, announced that its chairman and CEO George Oliver has been invited by U.S. President Joe Biden to participate in the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate. Addressing Climate Crisis The summit will bring together leaders of the world’s major economies and other vital partners for an urgent and open dialogue on ways to strengthen collective efforts to address the...

The UK government has made a pledge to strengthen fire safety in all residential and commercial regulated buildings in England, in its response to last year’s fire safety consultation. As part of the new measures, limitless fines will be handed out to anyone caught obstructing or impersonating a fire inspector, as well as to those who breach fire safety regulations under the Fire Safety Order. Fire safety regulations Changes to fire safety regulations will be brought into effect via the...

Verint Systems (Verint), the globally renowned customer engagement company, has announced the lineup for its Engage21 virtual conference, taking place from May 19 to May 21, 2022, featuring inspirational speakers, including Barbara Corcoran, Charlene Li and Jay Shetty. This premier event will feature in-depth content, which is geared towards customer engagement and customer experience professionals, with more than 60 sessions, led by Verint experts, customers and partners, over three days. Shi...

2020 has been one of the seemingly unprecedented challenges for the American fire service in confronting a global pandemic crisis of the COVID-19 virus. During the year first responders have borne the brunt of being on the front lines or 'tip of the spear' in responding to persons affected by the pandemic and infected with the virus. personal protective measures During this struggle, numerous first responders themselves have become ill with contracting the virus and many have tragically suc...

A fire investigation has concluded at the Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells, which was undertaken following a fire at the premises on Tuesday evening, April 13, 2021. The investigation determined that the cause of the fire was accidental. The significant fire was brought under control and extinguished by firefighters and rescue personnel belonging to the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service. However, effective fire safety measures already placed at the hotel helped contain the fire to th...

In times of crisis, people look to secure their safety; as the world prepares for “the new normal” it is vital to move from a reactive mindset to a proactive one, with health and safety at the forefront of people’s minds. Access control systems As businesses begin to reopen and the public sector unlocks, access control will play a key role in infection control – keeping employees, customers, and the general public safe from the transmission. Post-COVID research di...

Shareholders approved all resolutions proposed at Airbus SE’s 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM), including the renewal of the Board mandate of Chairman René Obermann. The Board mandates of Amparo Moraleda, Victor Chu, and Jean-Pierre Clamadieu were also renewed. 2021 AGM resolutions Following the AGM’s approval of his Board mandate, René Obermann was formally reappointed Chairman at a Board meeting held after the shareholder meeting. At the same Board meeting, Amparo...

Essex wood treatment firm, Prime Biomass Ltd created a huge fire safety risk to the local community by storing more than double the agreed limit of wood waste. A jury at the Old Bailey returned unanimous guilty verdicts against two directors of an illegal waste wood operation in Essex. One director was ordered to pay £50,000 in fines, compensation and legal costs while the other faces a five-year ban as a company director. A third director was acquitted by a majority verdict. five-week t...

An emergency services team on the frontline of keeping people safe during the pandemic has revealed the full breadth of its work, as it reflects on a year’s activity since the UK’s first lockdown. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue and South Yorkshire Police’s joint community safety department has delivered education packages to more than 8,000 children, visited 2,500 high-risk vulnerable people and given guns and knives training to over 2,100 pupils. Top of the team’s e...

Airbus SE is announcing the following changes to the Executive Committee, led by Chief Executive Officer, Guillaume Faury, following approval from the Board of Directors. These changes come at a new juncture for both commercial aviation and defense activities, with the decarbonization of the aviation sector becoming a central ambition for the industry, and strategic European defense programs entering their development phase. The following changes will be effective from 1st July 2021: After...

Marking a year of challenges and change, IFSEC Global reviews a year of fire safety and publishes its list of the top influencers in fire safety. The Fire Safety Annual Report covers a wide range of fire safety topics and looks at how the fire safety industry has responded to Covid-19. In his foreword to the report, Ian Moore, Chief Executive of the Fire Industry Association said: “It has been an unpredictable and a somewhat turbulent year for us all. Broadly speaking, our year...

Misinformation is the target of a new campaign in South Yorkshire, which seeks to curb the spread of false content online. tongue-in-cheek campaign Health chiefs, emergency services, and councils across South Yorkshire are coming together to warn people to think twice about the things they share- and to get their information from official sources. The tongue-in-cheek campaign draws on local references and familiar conversations to point out how well-meaning conversations online can quickly de...

AW Hainsworth is pleased to announce the appointment of Amanda McLaren to the post of Managing Director at the company. Following the formation of the Family Council and the appointment of Andrew Wright as Non-Executive Chairman in 2018, Amanda McLaren is a welcome addition and will support the Executive Director Team, with the safe running of this family business. Supporting customers and suppliers in COVID-19 Period Amanda McLaren is a highly experienced Executive Board Director with a reco...

Results from a survey conducted by a manufacturer of fire safety technology, Geofire, found that 53% of fire safety professionals have seen an increase in fire doors being wedged open since the start of the pandemic. The survey, which was completed to gain an insight into how COVID-19 has impacted the fire safety industry over the last 12 months, highlighted key themes such as the impact of financial pressure following the pandemic. Fire safety maintenance 84% of the respondents identified th...

The Government has stated that outdoor areas at cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs, and social clubs will be allowed to reopen, including for takeaway alcohol, on April 12. Hardstaff Barriers, the manufacturer and supplier of roadside safety and hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) barriers, is recommending that hospitality businesses install approved concrete or steel barriers to create designated ‘alfresco dining’ areas. The barrier systems not only provide clear outdoor seating areas and...

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) released the joint annual report entitled Emergency Management Performance Grant: An Evaluation of the Nation’s Return on Investment Amid Coronavirus. About EMPG The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) allows state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to make key investments to build capacity and enhance the capability of states and localities to respond to...

Fire detection and alarm devices company, Argus Security, has appointed Giorgio Koursaris as its new General Manager, with responsibility for both Argus and its UK sister brand, Hyfire. He joins at a pivotal moment for the well-known brand, which is about to embark on a series of new product launches that promise to revolutionize the fire sector.  commercial and production operations Giorgio, who holds both Greek and Italian citizenship, will oversee both commercial and production operat...

Fire prevention remains essential even in the current economy. However, the design, installation, and maintenance of critical life safety systems have come under new price and process pressures. Costs must be optimized, while time-on-site and person-to-person contact minimized. Italy’s home-grown Argus wireless fire systems offer fire professionals the optimal solution in today’s environment. Advantages of the system Wireless fire detection and alarm systems offer key advantages o...

The AFAC National Resource Sharing Center (NRSC) was activated on Saturday 20 March 2021 to assist the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) with coordinated interstate assistance with flood and severe weather operations. This has been the largest flood and storm deployment coordinated by NRSC, with a total of 342 interstate personnel deployed into NSW. Incident management personnel AFAC NRSC had a Deployment Manager and a Management Support Officer embedded within the NSW SES Sta...

With new fire safety legislations demanding a renewed focus on safety in all residential settings, Karen Trigg of Allegion UK explains why care home and sheltered housing associations must prioritise the maintenance of fire doors. The regulations and standards associated with fire safety and sheltered, assisted and social housing are, by necessity, robust. Yet, the responsibilities towards those standards, and subsequently, fire safety equipment such as fire doors, can often leave people vuln...

Even the most hazmat-phobic firefighter understands that chemical agents are added to odorless natural gas to make it obvious when there’s a leak. Beyond that baseline of basic knowledge, firefighter understanding of how odor agents work and how to detect the danger behind the smell can be all over the map.  Refresher courses for safety Whether it is teaching hazmat to new cadets, conducting annual refresher courses, or leading a team of firefighters into hazmat scenarios, having th...

When ISO announced on December 1st, 2017 that ISO/IEC 17025:2017, 'General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories', had been updated, the conformity assessment community was aware that this would be one of the largest scale transitions of an accreditation standard ever undertaken. ISO/IEC 17025 ISO/IEC 17025 is the most popular international reference standard ISO/IEC 17025 is the most popular international reference standard for ensuring the competence of tes...

Roy Wilsher steps down as NFCC Chair after four years, handing over to his successor, Mark Hardingham. Created in 2017, the NFCC is the professional voice of the fire and rescue service and builds on the legacy of the Chief Fire Officers Association. Prior to taking on the role of Chair, Roy Wilsher was Chief Fire Officer of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. He was in charge when the Buncefield oil depot exploded in 2005, this was one of the largest fires in Europe since the second wo...

Recently, BAFE published information discussing the roadmap for easing COVID-19 restrictions and that this should prompt reviews on fire safety.  Within this, BAFE reassured that fire safety service providers continue to operate as safely as possible following appropriate COVID-19 guidance to help clients meet their obligations. free rapid lateral flow tests The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has distributed important information that the Government is providing free rapid lateral f...

Kentec Electronics, a pioneering manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has launched the Ekho wireless fire detection range exclusively to its Kentec Installation Partners (KIP), providing a highly-sophisticated, reliable, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing alternative to wired systems. The launch comes as installers are looking to provide their customers with solutions to prevent the need for costly Waking Watch services, which are being used to mitigate fire safety dangers within...

Nittan are delighted to announce that Videcon Ltd. has now been appointed as a Nittan Elite Distribution Partner. Sadly, Nittan’s Northern Regional Sales Manager, Steve McCarley was unable to present the Nittan Elite wall plaque directly due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. So, Alan Fowlie, Fire Sales Director of Videcon, kindly provided the photographs and reports that he and Jonathan Ginnelly proudly took delivery of their Nittan Elite plaque and are honored to become Nittan Elite...

The BCI releases the 2021 BCI Horizon Scan Report, sponsored by BSI. Throughout the years, this report continues to demonstrate its value to business continuity and resilience professionals by providing trends on incidents faced by organizations over the past year; the top threats and their impacts to organizations according to professionals; the use of the ISO 22301 standard and the cost of disruptions to organizations. This year, the report also analyses the impact that COVID-19 has had on bu...

Emergency Reporting, the pioneer in cloud-based reporting and records management software (RMS) for fire, EMS, and other emergency response agencies, has acquired Medusa Medical Technologies. Medusa Medical Technologies provides electronic patient care solutions to emergency response and EMS agencies around the world. The company operates from its headquarters in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with an additional office in the United Kingdom. Empowering first responders Medusa Medical Technolog...

The company had previously detailed steps to consider, helping reduce the risk of fire and theft on the premises during COVID-19. As businesses get ready for reoccupation, they have created a free recovery calendar detailing the points that the responsible person should consider during three key stages in the run-up to re-occupancy. This helps to ensure that all risk factors are managed correctly and at the right time for the peace and mind of those returning to the premises. Fire Risk Assess...

Roadmap to ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions should prompt reviews on building fire safety. Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined the Government roadmap “to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions”. Step two of this roadmap, to occur no earlier than 12th April, notes the return of mass non-essential businesses opening for customers. BAFE must stress once again that fire safety obligations continue as normal. What is important about this roadmap is that buildings opening soon contin...