Firefighter Health and Safety - News

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned provider for smart and sustainable building solutions, is reimagining fire safety with the launch of its Smart Connected Fire Sprinkler Monitoring solution. As part of Johnson Controls’ OpenBlue suite of digital solutions, this industry-first solution delivers real-time insights into fire sprinkler system health to enable swift preventative action. The solution empowers building managers to transform their maintenance strategies from reactive to pro...

Effective November 1, 2020, Robert (Bob) Caputo became the new President of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA). Bob is a sprinkler industry veteran with more than 40 years of experience, ranging from owning a fire sprinkler installation company in San Diego, California to teaching technical seminars for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Fire sprinkler industry veteran Bob most recently served as Vice President for training and technical support for Fire & Life Sa...

The latest two winners have been announced in MSA Safety Incorporated’s and DuPont’s 2020 Globe Gear Giveaway. Douglas City (CA) Volunteer Fire Department and Cooper Landing (AK) Emergency Services will each receive four sets of state-of-the-art turnout gear and four helmets to increase the safety of their members. Providing turnout gear MSA, DuPont, and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) team up each year to help volunteer fire departments obtain much-needed gear. With the...

Data released by the Fire Protection Association (FPA) has revealed the significant financial impact on businesses and key services caused by fires. The analysis of 4,782 major UK fires between January 2009 and December 2019 where the financial loss was £100,000 or more revealed a mean average loss of £657,074 per incident. The analysis focuses on fires in buildings used by private and public sector organizations and residential and mixed multiple occupancy shared ownership building...

Imagine going into a shop and asking for an item. They tell them they’re out of stock, so what do they do? They ask them for it again and again and again. Employers are doing something rather similar in Fire & Security when it comes to hiring engineers. There’s a finite supply that is dwindling steadily, as older colleagues retire and their potential replacements fail to grasp the attractions of an engineering career.  If they look at the job boards, they’ll see &lsqu...

Ponsse (Ponsse Oyj) has announced the release of firefighting equipment to be installed in the load spaces of forwarders for extinguishing wildfires efficiently. “Forest machine is the most natural and effective way to access a forest fire area. Operations in difficult terrain come as second nature to them, and they have more than enough capacity in their hydraulic system for demanding conditions,” said Juha Haverinen, Ponsse's Product Manager of forwarders. Firefighting equipment&...

Carbon monoxide (CO), also known as the ‘silent killer’, is especially dangerous because it is not visible and cannot be smelt or tasted. The only way to protect against this potentially deadly threat is with a CO alarm. In honor of CO Awareness Month in November, First Alert and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have partnered to create an online CO awareness and CO alarm training course for volunteer fire departments nationwide, supplemented by an alarm donation program f...

A residential structure fire was reported on Maple Lane between Eucalyptus Lane and Manzanita Lane in Sugarloaf at approximately 6:43 pm, on Monday, November 9, 2020. Upon arrival, fire crews observed a residential structure with heavy smoke and flames showing. Crews immediately went into defensive attack mode to the fully involved structure to provide protection to the adjacent structures. No occupants were in the home at the time of the incident. Big Bear Fire Crew carry out fire suppression...

Vestas rewards Hempel with the Sustainability Award 2020 for supporting them on their journey to become CO2 neutral by 2030. innovative solutions After a long‑term collaboration, Vestas and Hempel have recently extended their relationship to a strategic partnership focusing on developing innovative solutions for the surface protection of wind turbines.  As a part of the partnership, Hempel has identified multiple initiatives that can reduce both CO2 and waste at the Vestas site in Pueblo...

Chris Watts of Eaton Lighting offers guidance for BAFE on behalf of the BAFE SP203 Monitoring Group. BAFE SP203-4 is for the design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of emergency lighting systems. Any period of shutdown generates potential problems and opportunities for testing and servicing of emergency lighting systems. The current lockdowns have an added dimension as it applies to sites that are not normally unoccupied and people responsible for the operation of the system should...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has become the first UK fire service to receive professional recognition for its extensive incident debrief process. As part of its commitment to continuously learn and improve, the service has made significant and pioneering changes to its formal debrief process, making it more thorough and inclusive of all departments involved in an incident from the first 999 calls both operational and non-operational personnel. CPD recognition In light of the improvemen...

The fire safety market in the UK is a peculiar one. While the trade at large is among the most advanced in the world in terms of the firefighting solutions on offer, the biggest challenge for the customers is that this trade is a scattered one. There is no brand in the genre that offers a holistic fire safety product line, ranging from extinguishers to suppression systems and everything in between, and a customer is left to deal with multiple suppliers for their fire safety requirements. revol...

In response to a specific customer requirement, Kentec Electronics, a globally renowned manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has developed through their Special Applications Department an Evacuation and Alert Control Indicating System (EACIE) to provide fire and rescue teams with an intelligent communication structure to support staged evacuation. Evac-Point system Kentec’s made-to-order ‘Evac-Point’ system uses user-defined zone reference labeling to enable Fire Se...

An update from Director of Schemes, Chris Auger, outlining issues raised by the new lockdown measures to be introduced on November 05, 2020. Due to the recent second wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown announced by the Prime Minister on Saturday 31st October 2020, BAFE has had to review the situation regarding refresher certificates and technician assessments. different levels of restriction Although the announcement only applied to England, there are also different...

With Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement made on Saturday (31/10/2020), lockdown measures will be introduced across all of England this Thursday (05/11/2020). Initial guidance, in relation to going to work, published following the Prime Minister’s announcement states: “To help contain the virus, everyone who can work effectively from home must do so. Where people cannot do so (for instance people who work in critical national infrastructure, construction or manufa...

Avon Protection is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Team Wendy, a foremost supplier of helmets, helmet accessories, and helmet liner and retention systems for military and first responder markets. Enlarged helmet portfolio The acquisition brings together two foremost providers to create a global front-runner in helmets. The enhanced and broader product portfolio will include: Enlarged helmet portfolio – A full range of tactical bump helmets, ballistic comba...

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released NFPA 1700, Guide for Structural Fire Fighting, the first NFPA document connecting fire dynamics research to response strategy, tactics, and best practices for firefighters controlling fires within a structure. The 2021 guide was prepared by the Technical Committee on Fundamentals of Fire Control Within a Structure Utilizing Fire Dynamics. The document was then voted on by NFPA membership, issued by the NFPA Standards Council, and has been...

In the afternoon of Nov 3, 2020, Branchville Volunteer Fire Company’s E811B pumper vehicle was alerted for a structure fire in company 31’s area. Upon arrival, companies found a shed on a vacant property fully covered in smoke. E811B’s fire rescue crew operated as rapid intervention and assisted with water supply operations. The crew operated for approximately an hour, before returning to service.

Peterbilt is excited to announce the Model 579EV is now available for customer orders. Customers can spec a 579EV using Peterbilt’s SmartSpec® sales tool at any Peterbilt dealer location across North America, with production expected to start by Q2 2021. Designed for optimal weight distribution and performance, the fully integrated, all-electric powertrain in the Model 579EV uses thermally-controlled Lithium Iron Phosphate battery packs to provide a range up to 150 miles. Battery Pac...

Spartan Emergency Response, a subsidiary of REV Group, Inc., and foremost manufacturer of fire apparatus announced that REV Technical Center (RTC) will sell and service the full portfolio of Spartan ER fire apparatus including aerials, pumpers, rescues, tankers, and wildland units throughout Florida. REV Group Brands Headquartered in Ocala, FL, RTC also represents fellow REV Group brands for fire apparatus and ambulances. The experienced sales team works closely with customers to determine the...

TVF (UK) Limited explains the importance to know the difference between the varied types and classes of fire extinguishers. There are two main reasons why fire extinguishers are so important: They Save Lives - The first is to help save lives in an emergency, since having the appropriate fire extinguisher on-hand could mean stopping a fire before it has a chance to spread, and the Legal Obligations - The second reason is that it’s a legal obligation for commercial premises to have properly...

Incident Response Technologies, Inc. (IRT), makers of the Rhodium Incident Management Suite, has announced the introduction of Rhodium Platinum suite of solutions on Microsoft Azure Government. Microsoft Azure Government Microsoft Azure Government provides cloud services with the highest levels of security, protection, and compliance for United States government agencies and their partners. These organizations can now access Rhodium’s robust cloud-based incident management tools in an en...

E-ONE®, a subsidiary of REV Group, Inc. and a foremost manufacturer of fire apparatus, has received an order for 70 Active Air Purification Systems to be installed into existing fire and rescue apparatus by Marion County Fire Rescue in Ocala, Florida. The Active Air Purification System kills 99 percent of pathogens, including COVID-19, in the air and on surfaces delivering better air quality and a safer cab environment. Designed with advanced photohydroionization™ (PHI) and UV techno...

Completely modular! This is the quintessence of a customized firefighting vehicle. In the new MT model range unveiled by Rosenbauer International AG, they have become a reality. With its Modular Technology, Rosenbauer manufactures vehicles for municipalities, industry, and airports, precisely in line with the fire departments' tactical needs and their specific requirements. Customizable firefighting vehicles The vehicles are highly customizable. They can be mounted on 2, 3 and 4-axle serial ch...

More and more fire departments rely on foam in extinguishing operations. And rightly so, because if foam compound is added to the firefighting water, it ensures more effective firefighting and brings a number of other advantages. In many cases, it is possible to fight fires with a less extinguishing agent and thus save precious resource water. Range Of Applications Faster extinguishing successes can be achieved, the flammable material can be better suffocated by the withdrawal of oxygen, flue...

VIKING Lifesaving Equipment reaches a global partnership agreement with a renowned foam manufacturer, putting marine fire safety at the center of its one-stop-shop strategy for maritime and offshore safety. VIKING, the foremost marine safety specialist, acquired Drew Marine’s Fire Safety Rescue division in 2019 and absorbed the operation into its marine fire service (MFS) business, consolidated under a management and competency center based in Rotterdam. The new agreement covers distribu...

ImageTrend, Inc. announces the company’s trusted ePCR solution, Elite has been selected as an EMS World Innovation Awards 2020 winner. Elite was designed to capture crucial records and connect the world of healthcare, and through ImageTrend’s commitment to innovation, the dynamic solution continues to add value through enhanced capabilities and streamlined efficiencies. Elite solution's Advanced features One of the most popular features lets providers quickly retrieve historical...

For the first time, a “corona traffic light” shows the daily development of infections in all German districts and independent cities. The interactive map shows the situation based on the 35 and 50 7-day incidence values.  These values ​​are used to control uniform nationwide measures against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The interactive map can be accessed on the Internet via the homepage of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb). Corona t...

Comelit Group’s dedicated fire division has achieved the stringent EN54-13 standards for its analog addressable fire detection system. The globally renowned fire safety solutions specialist, known for its high specification solutions, presents a range of specialist fire solutions, including conventional systems that are particularly suited to fire detection in smaller facilities and buildings with simple layouts. Atena addressable panels Comelit’s Atena addressable panels can iden...

2020 has been a challenging year, so it’s been a real boost to find out that Zitko have been shortlisted in two categories of the Security and Fire Excellence Awards. Back in March, when the lockdown struck, recruitment activity came to an abrupt halt. Zitko decided to stay open to support the clients and industry, sharing knowledge and adding value in whatever ways they could. Zitko COVID-19 initiatives This led to a whole raft of Zitko COVID-19 initiatives:  An outplacement pr...