Extinguishers News & Trends

The fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster has passed, yet debate surrounding building safety best practice continues. Last year, the UK Government announced steps to further reform the building safety system with what it described as ‘the biggest changes in a generation’ to ensure the safety of residents in their homes. Within these new measures, mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage were announced in all new high-rise blocks of flats over 11 meter...

When it comes to investments, fire suppression is the one we hope to never utilize. All too often it acts like a safety blanket, unseen yet always there, a hidden investment policy we hope never to have to cash in. With systems, we manage daily, such as heating, air conditioning, and lighting, a fault is often noticeable and easy to identify. But how do you quickly ascertain an issue with fire safety infrastructure? RRO Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 The introduction of the RRO Reg...

Technological advances in recent decades have considerably improved fire alert systems. Fire sprinkler systems are now installed at a rate of 40 million units per year and now, 96% of buildings covered by sprinkler systems are potentially able to control fires without additional aid. The next step is predictive fire alarm maintenance, better fire detection, and more effective fire fighting. These capabilities rely on assessing massive amounts of data in realtime to enable predictive maintenance...

Fires have devastating consequences, not just posing a threat to property, but also to human life. Fires can also have detrimental impacts on the environment, with one of the largest associated environmental issues being water runoff occurring from tackling the fire. What is Fire Water Runoff? - Water is widely used to extinguish fire, thanks to its accessibility and effectiveness. Typically, water isn’t hazardous and doesn’t pose any threats, however, it can easily become contamin...

As organizations start to plan for next year’s operating budget, it’s a good time to take a closer look at fire prevention, what’s its costing and the value it delivers. It’s the perfect time to look at the policies and procedures associated with fire prevention and look for areas of improvement and optimization. To help facilitate this discussion, I turned to the report put out by the Fire Protection Research Foundation in 2017, which explored the total cost of fire in...

After years of Brexit negotiations and an ongoing climate of prevailing uncertainty, businesses across the UK are still adjusting to the realities of life outside the European Union. Following the end of the UK’s transition period with the European Union, at the end of last year, the United Kingdom is no longer subject to European laws. However, for many companies, the last-minute nature of the Brexit negotiations mean that they remain unclear on what has actually changed in practical te...

There is a sense in some markets that the paper and pulp industry will decline owing to the digital technologies with which people interact every day. While this might be considered logical, the reality is completely different. In fact, the paper and pulp industry has experienced a steady growth and will continue to do so in 2021. Production of paper increased by more than 450% in the last decades and the demand of paperboard in the world is expected to grow significantly, driven by e-commerce...

There have been challenges with completing fire safety maintenance and installation projects during the current Covid-19 crisis, most notably as a result of the difficulties for installers in safely accessing sites. Many construction projects halted for lockdown and this resulted in approximately 50% of the British installers we work with having to furlough staff. The challenges, however, are not just restricted to the UK. With Kentec panels sold in more than 90 countries across the world, we ha...

  Fire safety in road or rail tunnels is critical in avoiding potentially disastrous incidents Roger Wilton, Assistant Technical Manager of the Fire Industry Association (FIA), explains the challenges of preventing underground fires. Fires in tunnels tend to make headline news, largely because of the potential loss of life that such an incident presents. At the turn of the new millennium three catastrophic fires in as many years ensured that tunnel protection beca...