Fire Protection News & Trends

A new study reveals that intelligent fire detection systems have the potential to unlock more than 30 percent cost-savings on routine maintenance checks through real-time, data-driven remote monitoring. Kevin Mears, Product Manager for Kentec Electronics, describes how remote monitoring and predictive maintenance can meet the competitive challenges of the digital age. Leading economists have identified the convergence and synergies delivered by The Internet of Things – the interconnection...

Workplace mobility is on the rise, which means organizations have an increasing number of employees who travel or work from home. In fact, there were 96.2 million mobile workers in 2015 and IDC predicts that mobile workers will account for nearly three quarters (72.3 percent) of the total U.S. workforce by 2020. While the growth of mobile workers is a boon to productivity both inside and outside the workplace, it also creates unique communication challenges – especially in em...

If anyone tells you that the use of Mass Notification Systems (MNS) is a new trend, it is likely that they do not fully understand it. You have been impacted by mass notification your whole life. Surprised? Every time there is a fire drill at an elementary school, or a bell chimes noon or a blinking light announces a snow-related parking ban, an MNS is being deployed. Ultimately, mass notification is just mass communications. What has changed is the distribution methodology, the granularity and...

It can be taken as proven that the trends in urbanization, the mobility of the population and the demographics, have had and will continue to have tremendous impact on our daily lives. These impacts were and are supported by disruptive technology changes (such as the evolution of the internet and mobile communication) and result in higher dependencies of almost all economic and social processes. Compared with former generations, we are spending most of our time in buildings or closed mobile con...

Interconnected smoke alarms provide an earlier warning and the best chance of escape In this article, Neil Perdell, National Technical Manager at Aico Ltd., suggests some crucial and simple steps to consider before deciding on a smoke alarm. Making a case for wireless smoke alarm systems, he also lists the key characteristics that one must consider when selecting such a system for installation. Wireless smoke alarm systems - key characteristics In today’s highly compe...

Video Image Detection technology is proving to more effective in early fire detection than conventional systems Video Image Detection (VID) is a new technology for detecting fires that enables fast and reliable response, effective fire protection in difficult applications such as large open areas and excellent value for money. VID can also provide CCTV images for security purposes which makes the technology more valuable as Mark Kendall of Fike Safety Technology explains. Unl...

The risks associated with fire in the petrochemical industry, whether it be on production platforms at sea or on shore at oil terminals and storage facilities, have been brought into sharp focus by a number of high profile incidents, resulting in tremendous damage to infrastructure and sadly, in some extreme cases, the large-scale loss of life. This has caused the industry to look at new approaches such as Video Smoke Detection (VSD) to protect key elements of their infrastructure and to ensur...

Not just for the lawn: sprinklers should be brought inside the home to maximize domestic fire protection A new NFPA advocacy campaign is pushing for home fire sprinklers. In this article Lorraine Carli, Vice-President of Communications at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), gives her personal take on the issue. Nearly 10 years ago, my husband and I built our home in a typical New England development. It was a demanding process filled with lots of decisions. We pi...

  2008 saw a 15% increase in UK commercial fire damage After a 15 percent increase in commercial fire damage in the UK throughout 2008, the need for effective preventative fire protection is growing. Ian Moore, Managing Director of D-Tec (Detector Technologies Limited) explains how Video Smoke Detection (VSD) can help. Now more than ever organisations should carefully consider the impact that large scale fires, left unchecked, can have on their operations and take...

In this article, Ian Moore, Managing Director of D-Tec (Detector Technologies Limited) explains the issues involved in protecting against fire hazards in aircraft hangars There is little doubt that aircraft hangars, due to their sheer size and volume, represent an especially testing environment when it comes to fire safety. More specifically, the potential to actually detect smoke before a large-scale fire has taken hold may be problematic using conventional methods, due the way smoke and fire...

  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...