Euralarm News

Members of the Euralarm Fire Section are disappointed that the European Commission’s CPR proposal fails to address the market needs and does not address the main challenge facing standardization. Nevertheless, Euralarm will continue to contribute to provide feedback to the current public consultation expecting a more practical proposal. Robust standards Since 1970, Euralarm has worked hard to represent the interests of the electronic fire safety industry in the areas of standardization...

Euralarm's Task Group False Alarms has released a second edition of the study on false fire alarms in Europe. In this new edition, the results and findings of the first edition have been enhanced by the analysis of the situation in Denmark, and a recommendation is done for the terms that are used to describe false alarm-related situations. Also, the measures to reduce the amount of false alarms have been updated while newer content has been added. Background on automatic fire detection Over...

CertAlarm, an organization offering a pan-European quality mark in the fire protection and security systems industry, has confirmed the completion of its 4th cycle of round-robin test series. Round-robin tests are comparative tests, performed by the participating laboratories, at regular intervals and using the same test sample. As such, they are an important monitoring tool for CertAlarm’s partners and recognized test laboratories. Round-robin tests Round-robin tests enable quality sup...

Jon Könz, President of Euralarm, has been selected as a member of the CEN-CENELEC Industry Advisory Forum. The Industry Advisory Forum consists of 18 members who were selected, based on their particular experience and knowledge in the identified CEN-CENELEC Strategy 2030 areas and European Industrial Ecosystems. Industry Advisory Forum (IAF) Via the Industry Advisory Forum (IAF) high-level European industry representatives and CEN and CENELEC can have an open exchange on current standard...

The Extinguishing Section of Euralarm has published a guidance document on ‘Integrated fire protection solutions for lithium-ion batteries’. This new Euralarm guideline provides information on the issues related to the use of lithium-ion batteries, how fires start in batteries and on how they may be detected, controlled, suppressed and extinguished. It also provides guidance on post fire management. Excluded from the scope are explosion and ventilation issues. Lithium-Ion batteries...

Since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic introduced the world to the concept of ‘the new normal’, nothing is normal anymore. A simple incident can be disastrous for something as vital as the supply chain, as we have seen with the blockage of the Suez Canal. The essence of that chain is to give companies the certainty that raw materials and components are available, in order to produce the finished goods. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in lockdowns, and a high demand because of digit...

Following a decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed its newest member Kidde Fire Protection. The company will join the extinguishing section of Euralarm. The section monitors the technical and political trends and takes action to guide, influence their development and improve them. The section collaborates with a diverse number of stakeholders in Europe on finding solutions for today’s challenges as well as tomorrow’s challenges for fire safety in a digitized world. Potential...

The Extinguishing Section of Euralarm has published a guidance document on maintenance of extinguishing systems/equipment, controlled by electronic detection systems. Unlike a production tool, a fire protection system is on operational standby and is only activated in the event of a fire. Some faults may appear without being detectable, by a non-specialist operator. This is why it is necessary to carry out regular maintenance visits by specialists, to confirm the level of performance of the ins...

During the 51st General Assembly of Euralarm, the European association representing the fire safety and security industry, the members have chosen Jon Könz as new President of Euralarm. He succeeds Martin Harvey, who was President for the past three and half years. Before being elected President, Jon Könz was Chair of the Services Section of Euralarm. He is Head of Industry Affairs, at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Euralarm’s 2021 General Assembly The 2021 General Assembly was...

Euralarm recently released a Position Paper on the EC proposal for a Regulation on Artificial Intelligence. The Position Paper follows some informal discussions with DG CONNECT and contains proposals on several articles in the Regulation on Artificial Intelligence. Following the release of the Position, Paper Euralarm spoke to Gabriele Mazzini, lawyer of DG Connect, and in the lead for the proposal. First-ever legal framework on AI When asked to briefly explain the Regulation on Artificial In...

Euralarm, representing the fire safety and security industry, has launched a new logo and website. The new website reflects Euralarm’s core values where the new logo signifies the industry that Euralarm represents – multi-faceted, diverse, challenging, connected, transparent and proactive. The new website is designed to present Euralarm’s expertise and leadership for the industry, market, policymakers, and standards bodies. It features a clean and responsive modern design, enh...

  Following the decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed FirePro as a new member. The company will join the Extinguishing Section of Euralarm which activities cover automatic extinguishing systems using gas, water, foam, powder and aerosols, oxygen reduction systems, portable equipment, and other manual means of fire-fighting as well as fire-fighting agents used in either fixed automatic systems or in portable equipment. FirePro will now benefit from Euralarm’s services...

Euralarm’s Services Section reports an important step forward for service providers and end-users of remote services: the very positive vote on the EN 50710, Requirements for the provision of secure remote services for fire safety systems and security systems. The successful vote is the icing on the cake of the section’s efforts to guarantee more certainty for a future in which remote services play an increasingly important role. Jon Könz, Chair of Euralarm’s Services Sec...

In the case of hazard warnings, it is possible that there are no signs of this hazard at the suspected location of the event. Such cases are also indicated as "false alarms". They occur in diverse environments and in connection with different procedures and technologies. In fire protection, false alarms occur in all alarm paths and are often discussed in the context of installed fire detection and fire alarm systems. False Alarms For some years now, the ratio of false alarms related to the nu...

Euralarm has released its Annual Report 2020-2021. The report follows the structure of Euralarm, every section and committee of the association summarising their activities over the previous year and, where appropriate, providing forecasts and plans for the future. This year the Annual Report is available as E-book enabling the reader to view the Annual Report online. A copy of the Annual Report can be downloaded from the companies website.  

    A harmonized standard is  a European standard elaborated on the basis of a request from the European Commission to a recognized European Standards Organisation (CEN, CENELEC or ETSI) to develop a European standard that provides solutions for compliance with a legal provision. Manufacturers and other economic operators or conformity assessment bodies can use harmonised standards to demonstrate that products, services or processes comply with relevant EU legislation. The...

    A harmonized standard is  a European standard elaborated on the basis of a request from the European Commission to a recognized European Standards Organisation (CEN, CENELEC or ETSI) to develop a European standard that provides solutions for compliance with a legal provision. Manufacturers and other economic operators or conformity assessment bodies can use harmonised standards to demonstrate that products, services or processes comply with relevant EU legislation. The...

Following a decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed its newest member Viking, a dependable partner in fire protection with almost 100 years of experience. The company will join the Extinguishing Section of Euralarm. The Extinguishing Section represents the active fire extinguishing sector and covers existing, new, and emerging technologies, covering automatic extinguishing systems using gas, water, foam, powder and aerosols, oxygen reduction systems, portable equipment, and other manual me...

    The AUBE is the largest and oldest conference of its kind in the science and research surrounding fire detection and alarm. This year the event will be organized from September 21-23, 2021. As in 2014 and 2017, the 17th International Conference on Automatic Fire Detection (AUBE ’21) is combined with SupDet; an annual conference on Suppression, Detection and Signaling Research and Applications. It will be either a hybrid event at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisb...

Following a decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed its new member Innohome. The company will join the fire section of Euralarm. Innohome will now benefit from Euralarm’s services in terms of representation towards European institutions and standardization organizations. This includes the monitoring of legislative and standardization issues relevant to the industry. Innohome will have access to the extended network of national associations and major companies in the electronic fire s...

EUSAS recently organized a successful online European Conference on the topic ‘Artificial intelligence in fire detection and security – without the hype’. It showed once again the importance of technological development for an industry that endeavored to protect lives with particular relevance to the fire and security industry. The conference opened with a discussion on what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is. The general concepts as well as the history and starting blocks of AI...

Euralarm, the globally renowned fire and security solutions organization, has announced support for a resolution of the European Parliament that asks for quick solutions from the European Commission to improve the standardization of construction products, while also pushing for a transition to a sustainable and more circular economy. Resolution on standardization MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) have recently called in the resolution, adopted with 686 votes in favor (4 votes against a...

The Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA®), an industry body comprised of stakeholders from all facets of the security, safety and building automation space, announces it has joined Euralarm, the association of European manufacturers, installers and service providers from the electronic fire safety and security industry. By joining the Security Section within Euralarm, OSSA will contribute valuable expertise in the domain of Internet of Things (IoT), while leveraging on Euralarm’...

Open Security & Safety Alliance (OSSA), an industry body comprised of stakeholders from all facets of the security, safety and building automation space, has announced joining Euralarm, the association of European manufacturers, installers and service providers from the electronic fire safety and security industry. By joining the Security Section within Euralarm, OSSA will contribute valuable expertise in the domain of Internet of Things (IoT), while leveraging on Euralarm’s profound...

Following its General Assembly, Euralarm will organize an industry webinar that will run from 16:00 - 16:50 (CET) on October 29, 2020. The webinar is intended to look at the key regulations and standards that affect gaseous extinguishing systems in Europe and to distinguish between approved gaseous fire extinguishing systems and approved components, which is the subject of the recent Euralarm document titled, Guidance on Gaseous Systems: approved systems versus approved components. Free registr...

The Extinguishing Section of Euralarm has published a guidance document explaining the differences between approved gaseous extinguishing systems and components. The aim of the guideline is to make any person involved in the choice of a gaseous extinguishing system aware of the major differences between quality marks and to help them make a decision based on clear and balanced information. gaseous fire extinguishing systems Gaseous fire extinguishing systems are a very effective way to protect...

Euralarm has welcomed its first associate member: Kiwa, a trusted and proven partner in the field of fire safety and security. The autonomous global company is specialized in testing, inspection, certification, training and consultancy services. With these services Kiwa contributes among others to the quality, safety and sustainability of organization’s products, services and processes. The associate membership is a result of Kiwa’s Fire Lab, located in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands, t...

Standards for products and services are at the heart of success of the fire safety industry. Euralarm’s members need a fast and flexible standards-setting system because it is not only the best way to serve the interests of customers, the industry and society but also is a basic requirement for a safe and secure society. The company’s standardization system helps them to continue to deliver the highest levels of safety and security to citizens. However, for the competitiveness of th...

Following a decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed its newest member, Vanderbilt. The company will join the Security Section of Euralarm. The Security Section represents the intrusion, access and video sector and is key stakeholder in organizations such as CertAlarm, CEN-CENELEC, IEC and the European Commission. Euralarm’s Security Section Together with a diverse number of stakeholders in Europe, the Security Section collaborates on finding solutions to meet present and future chal...

The Extinguishing Section of Euralarm has published a guidance document on the important aspects relating to the periodic inspection of cylinders used in fixed gaseous fire extinguishing systems and especially in respect to hydrostatic testing. The guidance note is intended to identify some critical areas that are often not fully understood and does not prescribe the full processes involved in the testing or the physical handling of the cylinders. Transportable cylinders under the TPED (Transpo...