COVID-19 - News

Kentec Electronics, a renowned manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has achieved EN 54-2 and 4 VdS approval for Taktis, its most powerful and sophisticated analog addressable fire panel. The approval will enable the business to expand its global operations into the central European market. As one of central Europe’s leading independent testing institutions, VdS certification is required for manufacturers to sell and install fire safety systems in Germany and other central Europe...

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AF&RS) warns against deliberate fires after several callouts since lockdown began.    Despite the current government guidance on staying at home to help alleviate the Coronavirus pandemic, AF&RS continues to be called to mindless cases of arson that put both crews and the community in danger.  Since the start of the government’s stay at home directive on Monday 23rd March, crews have attended 58 deliberate fires across...

SSAIB were overcome with pride upon discovering that registered firm PLP Fire Protection have been providing invaluable assistance in the building of the Government’s first emergency field hospital at the ExCel in London. The temporary NHS Nightingale hospital has been set up to treat up to 4,000 coronavirus patients, with Dorset-based PLP Fire Protection helping to transform the ExCel exhibition space – which was due to host IFSEC International and FIREX International next month, be...

Firefighters across South Yorkshire are asking people to pledge not to have a garden fire during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This latest plea comes as South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue saw a huge spike in garden fires during the last week in March, a 161 percent increase compared to a normal week. Impact of air pollution The service has also been contacted by several residents who have found it hard to physically leave their homes to exercise, due to the smoke coming from local garden fire...

Kent firefighters are supporting their blue light colleagues in the fight against COVID-19 by lending their services to the wider community. Crews and staff at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) are working alongside South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) to help meet the growing demand for medical response across the county, as a result of the worldwide pandemic.  Firefighters will undergo training before being deployed to drive ambulances, while other KFRS employees have been...

G4S announces the release of the G4S facility disinfection solution that helps provide a healthier and safer environment for staff and visitors. G4S facility disinfection solution G4S offers a complete range of sanitization and disinfection services for workplace, vehicles and commercial spaces. Regular sanitization of the facility between shifts; as directed in the government guidelines, can help reduce the risk of infections, thus helping to reduce employee sick days. Some key features of...

Whilst the Grenfell Inquiry has been paused due to COVID-19, ministers have announced another overhaul of building regulation to improve fire safety. The measures, which will apply to all new builds over 11 meters, come as part of a wider government initiative to improve fire safety following the tragic Grenfell Tower. This new fire safety program comes a month after Rishi Sunak announced £1bn to remove all types of dangerous cladding with the new Building Safety Fund. A new system of fi...

The Gorman-Rupp Company (Gorman-Rupp) has announced a change in the format of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (‘Annual Meeting’), from in-person to virtual-only meeting. Due to the emerging public health impact of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and to support the health and well-being of the company’s shareholders, employees, and their families, Gorman-Rupp will hold its annual meeting in a virtual meeting format only, via webcast. 2020 Annual Meeting of Sharehol...

Emergency Reporting® (ER), the pioneer in secure, cloud-based reporting and records management software (RMS) for fire and EMS agencies, recently released new features and resources in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis. “All of us at Emergency Reporting recognize the responsibility we have to support our large customer base of first responders, who are on the front line of this health emergency in many communities across the country and the globe,” said David Nokes, CE...

The City of Orlando continues to take necessary precautions to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus), while maintaining business to keep city projects, programs, and services moving ahead. In keeping with this goal, the Orlando City Council will hold its regular meeting by teleconference on Monday, April 13, at 2 p.m. The teleconference meeting format allows for social distancing among council members, staff, and the public in accordance with policies from federal, state, and co...

While the Grenfell Inquiry has been paused due to COVID-19, ministers have announced another overhaul of building regulation with the aim to improve fire safety. The measures, which will apply to all new builds over 11 meters, come as part of a wider government initiative to improve fire safety following the tragic Grenfell Tower. This new fire safety program comes a month after Rishi Sunak announced £1bn to remove all types of dangerous cladding with the new Building Safety Fund. announc...

The BAFSA Executive have now written to its members and outlined immediate action as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. BAFSA (British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association Ltd.) announced in a statement that they will continue to work within the current Government guidelines (both national and devolved) throughout this COVID19 pandemic outbreak. They have provided links below to HM Government advice, Scottish Government advice, Welsh Government advice and Northern Ireland Government advice we...

ImageTrend, Inc. announces a special study supplemental question has been added in Elite™ to be included in the National Fire Incident Reporting System’s (NFIRS) national-level special study. The U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Data Center (NFDC) is implementing a special study to assist fire departments in recording responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a consistent manner. The study question will determine if COVID-19 impacted fire department calls by having...

Cabinet Office moves to further protect suppliers after COVID-19 (Coronavirus). A new Procurement Policy Note (PPN) has been published by the Cabinet Office to further protect suppliers during and after the Coronavirus outbreak. BAFE welcomes this initiative to protect the vital provision of fire safety services during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. Many companies are suffering the financial consequences of being unable to carry out routine work. However, they recognize that when more no...

Rentokil, whose North American headquarters are located in Wyomissing, calls itself “The experts in pest control.” Traditionally, pests referred to bugs and rodents, possibly other unwanted animals. Now, the term includes infectious diseases such as COVID-19. As many Berks County businesses attempt to shift production to life-sustaining products that protect people from coronavirus, others are offering to help fight the disease on the ground. For Rentokil, that meant adding commerci...

Big Bear Fire Department personnel are wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) during 911 medical calls for service, as a part of their updated safety procedures, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Out of an abundance of safety, Big Bear Fire Department staff members are wearing PPE that includes, masks, eye protection, gowns, and gloves, during many patient contacts. They feel it was important to let the public know, that although their appearance might not be typically what they...

Advanced has announced via a company statement that while they continue to manufacture products and provide customer service and technical support in spite of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic spread. The company is taking great care to operate within the UK Government’s guidelines for business operation and protect the staff. As a result, Advanced is seeing growing challenges around resourcing which are having a significant effect on the company’s ability to maintain the usual service l...

Yorkshire Ambulance Service welcomes additional COVID-19 support from fire and rescue colleagues. Firefighter colleagues from the region’s four fire and rescue services will be joining the Yorkshire Ambulance Service to provide additional support during the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. The 48 volunteers (12 from each fire and rescue service – North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, and Humberside) will be carrying out tasks including driving ambulances and othe...

As the COVID-19 emergency continues to evolve, fire departments and fire protection contractors must ensure fire prevention and life safety systems and equipment are in working order at all times. These fire and life systems and products are essential functions in safeguarding the public, businesses, and institutions. CAL FIRE - OSFM regulations The CAL FIRE - Office of the State Fire Marshal (CAL FIRE - OSFM) regulations continue to be in effect and relevant deadlines apply. The California Fi...

In these unprecedented times, as the UK’s national fire safety organization, the Fire Protection Association is offering businesses its wealth of knowledge and advice. Of particular relevance to the coronavirus crisis is ‘Unauthorized occupation of non-residential premises’ – a guide to managing the risk, which is available as a free download. As many businesses have had to move out of their buildings temporarily – and at some speed, owners may not have had time to...

An appeal has been launched by Suffolk County Council for businesses in the county to donate any unused Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to ensure our critical front-line staff working in care homes, children's homes and people’s own homes can continue to give care and support to Suffolk's most vulnerable residents. The council specifically needs: Fluid repellent face masks Nitrile non powdered disposable gloves Disposable aprons Disposable eye protection/splash goggles Sanitize...

The national picture for the Coronavirus outbreak is evolving and changing rapidly. As a supplier of PPE and Managed Services to the Fire and Rescue Service, Bristol Uniforms qualifies as an essential service that needs to remain operating if possible. In light of this the company wants to reassure their customers of the following steps they have taken at Bristol, both to ensure that their colleagues are able to work safely and to make sure they help keep their organization running as smoothly a...

South Yorkshire’s firefighters are calling on people across the county to use ‘common sense’ when lighting garden fires during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. increase in garden fire call-outs The plea from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue comes as they, and other fire services nationally, have seen an increase in garden fire call-outs over the last two weeks. These incidents, they say, could potentially slow their response to a more serious incident and hamper their ability...

BAFE announces key information published by Construction Leadership Council on 23/03/2020 and updated on 02/04/2020. Please note the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published Site Operating Procedures that is relevant to BAFE Registered Companies still going on-site to perform works.

The Government have published their response to the Building a Safer Future Consultation. The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) state: “In June 2019, the government published the ‘Building a Safer Future’ consultation detailing proposals to achieve long-term reform of the building safety system. This document sets out the government’s proposals for a reformed building safety system covering the performance of all buildings as well as th...

The situation around the COVID-19 pandemic spread is increasingly influencing the daily work and life of everyone globally. The situation also affects ZIEGLER (also known as Albert Ziegler GmbH) as a vehicle manufacturer to such an extent, that the company is forced to take further safety measures. Several suppliers from different countries have already been struggling with delivery problems and bottlenecks in production, which of course has direct impact on the production process. ZIEGLER clo...

Klaxon is adjusting manufacturing operations in the UK to a four-day week, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. They will be condensing production operations into Monday to Thursday, with effect from 1 April 2020. orders in chronological order As a result, Klaxon will not be despatching goods on Fridays, or receiving deliveries from suppliers on Fridays, from Friday 3rd April until further notice. In addition, Klaxon will not be despatching goods, or receiving deliveries on Wednesday 1st Apri...

ImageTrend, Inc. announces CrewCare™, its free mobile app originally designed for first responders is also available for additional healthcare workers such as physicians and nurses. CrewCare has been enhanced with COVID-19 related questions to capture the stressors that healthcare workers and first responders have been dealing with since the outbreak. The questions allow anonymous information to be captured related to professional and personal stress. This provides insight and heightened...

PACCAR Inc is providing a business update in response to recent changes in customer demand and a weaker outlook for the global economy, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic. The company will extend the suspension of truck and engine production at its factories worldwide until April 20, 2020. The company will review future actions on a regular basis. PACCAR will continue to provide aftermarket support to its customers who deliver medical supplies, food, and essential infrastructure servi...

As Protectowire faces the ever-changing circumstances related to COVID-19, they find themselves having to make unprecedented decisions about business as usual. And the truth is that, in this moment, there is no business as usual. Curtailing business travel Their diverse network of suppliers gives them great flexibility to reroute in case there is a disruption. They are actively monitoring and managing their network to ensure delivery of raw materials. To date, none of their US-based suppliers...