Fire Safety Standards - News

Intelagard is giving away up to $75,000 in fire suppression and decontamination equipment to first responders. Twelve Macaw® backpacks with three-piece nozzle sets will be awarded to fire departments, hazmat teams, hospitals, police departments, and municipalities. Dennis Smagac, president of Intelagard, stated, “As the global economy has been severely impacted by the coronavirus, we at Intelagard want to give back to those organizations that have been and continue to be crucial to th...

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has announced hosting a webinar titled ‘Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Preservation and N95 Respirator Decontamination and Reuse’, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U. S. Fire Administration and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. PPE Preservation webinar The webinar will focus on the current research and best practices for preserving and decontaminating personal protective equipment and use of the Battelle Decon...

The NVFC recently hosted a Facebook Live discussion on creative fundraising ideas fire and EMS departments can consider to help bridge funding shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures. If one has missed the live event, the recording can be watched on NVFC’s social media page.

The NVFC is running an ongoing survey to better understand the needs of volunteer and combination fire, EMS, and rescue departments dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing measures. Data collected helps inform the discussions with policymakers in Congress and federal agencies. NVFC asks volunteers to take the survey, and retake it each week so NVFC can track changes over time.    

NVFC chair Steve Hirsch sat down with Side Alpha podcast host Marc Bashoor in February to discuss volunteerism in the fire service, how to stem declining numbers, strategies for recruitment and retention efforts, and the future of the fire service. The podcast is now available for download. 

Anheuser-Busch and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have been named a 2020 Silver Halo Award winner in the Disaster Prevention/Relief category for the Emergency Drinking Water for Wildland Firefighters program. Keeping firefighters hydrated during long incidents or disasters such as wildfires is a critical need for fire departments, yet many volunteer departments struggle with limited budget and resources. To help departments meet this need, Anheuser-Busch teamed up with the NVFC in 2...

The National Fire Protection Association has announced the theme of Fire Prevention Week 2020 is “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen.” Cooking is the major cause of home fires and home fire injuries in the U.S. NFPA urges to use the week of October 4-10 to educate one’s community on cooking hazards, the dangers of unattended cooking, and precautions one can take to prevent cooking-related fires.

Safety Stand Down is June 14-20, and departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activities to focus on training relating to year 2020’s theme - protecting emergency responders at roadway incidents. Resources are available at the Safety Stand Down website, and webinar details would be posted soon. One can take the Safety Stand Down Quiz by June 17 for a chance to win one of 200 limited-edition challenge coins.

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), has released a new directory of behavioral health professionals that are equipped and ready to help firefighters, EMS providers, dispatchers, and rescue workers. Emergency responders are at risk of many behavioral health concerns, including anxiety, depression, burnout, post-traumatic and acute stress, addiction, relationship challen...

First Priority Group, LLC, a globally renowned manufacturer, up fitter and service provider of emergency and specialty vehicles, is pleased to announce the introduction of two new product lines for law enforcement and fire vehicle conversions, the BlueTac and RedTac specialized vehicles. The new BlueTac product line will feature pre-configured mission specific vehicles for law enforcement specialty teams. Each BlueTac model is crafted around the core needs of the agencies expanding beyond routi...

Because of the ongoing drought, the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) has once again warned of the increasing risk of forest fires.  There are severe precipitation deficits, especially in the west, in the middle, and parts of northern and eastern Germany, said the vfdb Forest Fire Expert, Fire Director - Dr. Ulrich Cimolino.  Meteorological findings “The previous forecasts do not give any reason to give the all-clear,” said Dr. Ulrich Cimolin...

In relation to the fires in the last 6 months including the recent blaze in south east London that was attended by London Fire Brigade. Envirograf would like to remind people about the dangers of naked flames and embers left on balconies from using a BBQ. Especially, during the outbreak of COVID-19, as many people have been have been staying at home which has led to an increase of people spending more time on their balconies. Providing fire protection As the users can see a simple fire caused...

Erickson Incorporated, a foremost operator, maintainer, and manufacturer of utility aircraft has announced that the United States Department of Defense awarded Erickson Inc and other Non-defense agencies, the NAAMTA Global Medical Transport Accreditation. NAAMTA Auditors completed a systematic audit of company policies and procedures, safety and quality management processes, medical personnel and policies, aviation and maintenance personnel and policies, associated equipment, training, and faci...

Global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated announced plans to expand its Cranberry Township manufacturing footprint to support anticipated future growth and enable productivity improvements within the company’s gas detection product portfolio. The expansion, which includes a new 20,000-square-foot, single-story manufacturing facility adjacent to the company’s existing building in Cranberry Woods Office Park (north of Pittsburgh, Pa.), will be used exclusively for a...

The campaign, Don’t Just Specify, Verify!, launched by the BAFE Fire Safety Register earlier in the year 2020 was established to create greater awareness of Third Party Certification in the fire safety sector. It is important that all premises management (i.e. the Responsible Person/Duty Holder) understand quality regulation is present in the fire safety industry through UKAS Accredited Third Party Certification and specify these appropriate providers. This should always be followed up wi...

Safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety Incorporated announces plans to expand its Cranberry Township manufacturing footprint to support anticipated future growth and enable productivity improvements within the company’s gas detection product portfolio. The expansion, which includes a new 20,000-square-foot, single-story manufacturing facility adjacent to the company’s existing building in Cranberry Woods Office Park (north of Pittsburgh, Pa.), will be used exclusively for assembly...

Nittan Europe announces its Evolution dual optical fire detectors installed into the NHS Nightingale Hospital Bristol. Built in less than three weeks at the University of West of England Frenchay campus, NHS Nightingale Hospital Bristol has the capacity to provide up to 300 intensive care beds for coronavirus patients, if local services need them. The new facility is one of seven Nightingale hospitals to be set up around the country as part of a massive NHS effort to respond to the COVID-19 heal...

The current issue of the in-house publication of the Worshipful Company of Firefighters, Salamander, focuses on the effects of COVID-19 on the services delivered by some of its members. It includes articles from Fire and Rescue Services around the country, including London, Bedfordshire, Kent, East Sussex, Gatwick Airport and Lancashire, describing how each has adapted to the pandemic and worked with partner services. There are also articles from other Company Members who have been affected by t...

This Guidance Note has been prepared by a Special Interest Group(SIG), comprising representatives of FIA member companies, other invited experts in the practice of fire risk assessment in housing premises, and an observer from the National Fire Chiefs Council. Members of the SIG represent companies that carry out, in total, over 40,000 fire risk assessments for multi-occupied residential premises (blocks of flats and maisonettes) per annum. It has been published with the approval of the FIA Boa...

For commercial fire installations, one can choose DMP’s new CellComF-LTE. Designed with the same platform as DMP’s popular DualCom Universal Communicator, the CellComF-LTE includes two sets of tip and ring terminals for easy installations. This new design meets the NFPA 72 standard for single communications technology. For instance, if the CellComF stops communicating, it’s designed to automatically disrupt voltage on the second tip and ring, that triggers the host panel to an...

Kentec Electronics, a globally renowned manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has added BACnet (Building Automation and Control Network) protocol support to its Vizulinx alarm management solution, to facilitate smart, coordinated and efficient responses to fire incidents. Smart Building functionality Supporting Smart Building functionality, the protocol provides integration between Kentec fire systems and other BACnet protocol systems. Kentec fire alarm systems send real time status m...

Xtralis has announced the release of its Li-ion Tamer Lithium Ion Battery Rack Monitoring system for efficient gas leak detection in the market. Li-ion Tamer Rack Monitor system The Li-ion Tamer Rack Monitor system can provide an alert to ‘off- gas’ events that occur early in the failure mode of li-ion batteries, well in advance of smoke detection and traditional LFL gas detection. Early warning of off-gas events enable proper mitigation steps to be taken to avoid progression to a...

Since its launch in 2018, the Apollo Test Set has helped to save time on thousands of sites by aiding Engineers in fault finding and loop management. The Research and Development Team has designed some exciting new features for the Loop Tester and the firmware update will be available on the website with a few simple clicks from 18th August. What are the new features? The two new main features of this update are: Drift Management Soft Addressing Drift Management Drift management assi...

A fire caused by a charging electrical appliance has sparked a safety reminder from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service. On Monday afternoon crews from Dogsthorpe, Whittlesey and Yaxley attended a fire in Fletton, Peterborough. They arrived to find a fire in a first-floor bedroom of a two-story house, which they were able to extinguish wearing breathing apparatus and using a hose reel. The property was evacuated before the crews arrived, but a casualty did require treatment for smoke inhalat...

Hotel fires are among the most poignant disasters. Maybe it’s the intimate link between hotels and travel, the connection with places around the world or maybe it’s the sheer scale of loss and the innocence of those affected. When hotel fire safety is poorly controlled and people lose their lives, the sense of tragedy is palpable and it is felt around the world. But tragedy is a teacher. Out of the worst fire events in history, some of the greatest truths have been learned. Hotels b...

The latest FLAIM Trainer June 2020 R1 release brings a range of exciting new scenarios and enhancements to the learning platform. Their growing Development team has meant the expertise has grown, meaning they can deliver more realistic training environments that facilitate training in a wide range of incidents for all levels of firefighter competence to the customers. Realistic training environments Trainee firefighters can now experience 35 diverse training environments in aviation, reside...

When a company invests time, money, and energy into creating a company’s working-alone policy and procedures, it'll want to leverage them to successfully achieve its safety-related aims.  Following are several tips and strategies for optimal creation and implementation of this policy. Create the Right Policy  Templates can be quite helpful when creating policies and procedures, but the company will need to ensure that the result is laser-targeted to its specific situations.&nb...

WYFRS recommends reviewing the fire assessment as soon as possible after returning from lockdown and systems and provisions are maintained to check they are working correctly. Stephen Adams, Chief Executive–BAFE, commented: “We are pleased to see Fire and Rescue Service information mirrors what BAFE has been advising as we begin the process of returning to a ‘new normal’. Many business premises will have changed the way they operate due to new coronavirus safety measures...

Following the guidance released in April 2020 from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and further updated documentation released on May 13, Seek Scan™ is now one of the most affordable thermal scanning solutions that meets FDA guidelines for initial body temperature assessment during the COVID-19 public health emergency. As U.S. businesses reopen, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has formally released its recommendations to create safe and healthy workplaces to prot...

WYFRS recommends to review the fire assessment as soon as possible after everyone returns from lockdown and systems and provisions are maintained to check they are working correctly. Stephen Adams, Chief Executive – BAFE, commented: “We are pleased to see Fire and Rescue Service information mirrors what BAFE has been advising as we begin the process of returning to a ‘new normal’. Many business premises will have changed the way they operate due to new coronavirus safety...