Geofire News

As the rising number of COVID admissions pushes patient capacity limits, ensuring compliant fire safety has never been more important. As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure. In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7bn in 2019/2020. Em...

Over 12 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the world with the necessary, but disruptive nature of lockdowns and restrictions impacting day-to-day business across the UK. Despite the turbulent year, the risk a fire poses to life and property remains unchanged and it is essential that businesses continue to ensure precautionary and preventative measures are taken. Survey among fire safety professionals In order to gain an insight into how COVID-19 has impacted the fire safety industry,...

Madison Water Utility in Madison, WI utilizes GearGrid’s Personnel Wall Mount Lockers to store and protect their PPE and gear. The open grid design promotes maximum air movement, which minimizes odor buildup and allows damp items to dry faster. Provide a durable, functional, and modular solution for storing a variety of gear and equipment. The integrated, hinged seat allows for maximum space by eliminating the need for additional benches while providing added gear storage undern...

The Mercyhurst University Hockey Team can safely store their equipment and gear using GearGrid’s Wall Mount GridIron lockers. The open-grid design promotes maximum air movement, which minimizes odor build-up and allows damp athletic gear to dry between games. The integrated, hinged seat eliminates the need for additional benches, creating a more open floor plan. The lockers were even customized to match their team’s colors along with their logo.

Stephenson Gobin (Geofire’s parent company) has successfully passed its first standalone Environmental Management System ISO 14001:2015 certification audit. Following a decision to migrate the group’s company certificate to individual certificates in 2021, Stadium Export Services, BEL Engineering, Stephenson Gobin, and BEL Valves joined CMP Products and Tyne Pressure Testing and have passed their first individual audit. ISO 14001:2015 ISO 14001:2015 is an internationally recognize...

Currently progressing its way through Parliament, the Fire Safety Bill 2020 proposes fundamental changes to the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The changes will action the recommendations identified by the Grenfell Tower public inquiry and the Dame Judith Hackett review which found current building and fire safety regulations needed a “major reform” in order to prioritize and protect residents’ safety. In conjunction with the Building Safety Bill, which overha...

Fire door safety in the medical sector can be challenging, especially as many occupants may require some degree of assistance in the event of a fire. In a busy building such as a hospital, it can be tempting to wedge open internal fire doors to assist with free movement, but this practice is illegal and puts the patients, staff and building at risk. The Agrippa sound-activated fire door holder offers the ideal solution for the medical sector, allowing internal fire doors to...

Golden Lane Housing provides increased independence within their assisted living homes as residents hold open their fire doors safely with Geofire Agrippa fire door closers. Agrippa sound-activated devices that close automatically in the event of a fire have been installed in over ten of their properties so far, protecting tenants and buildings from the spread of smoke and toxic fumes if the worst does happen. Homes at Golden Lane Benedict Lane, compliance and services manager stated, “...

A new organization set up to encourage hotels to become more deaf-friendly has chosen the Agrippa pillow alarm to show hotels how easy it is to make adjustments to their services to attract more customers. Heary, based in the Netherlands, which offers training and products to the hotel industry, has undertaken research suggesting the majority of hotels offer no additional options for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, in the event of a fire evacuation. portable Agrippa pillow alarm Agripp...

Due to demand, Salamander training sessions released another date for March! Join on Tuesday 5th March 2019 to become an approved installer of the Salamander fire door system. Specified as a BS7273-4 critical actual or category A, the Salamander conforms to the highest fire safety standard in the UK. A central controller is directly connected to the building’s fire panel and includes wireless, battery-powered fire door holding, and closing devices. As a Salamander installer will receive...

Many leisure facilities hold their doors open to welcome new and existing members, especially at this busy time of year, following the festivities and New Year celebrations. Customers in the leisure industries have admitted to using kettlebells to keep fire doors open, which increases the risk of fire spreading. Holding open fire doors with a weight or heavy object prevents a fire door from closing if a fire occurs. Fire, toxic fumes, and smoke will then travel through a building risking life a...

A full Salamander system has been successfully installed into the Emmaus Trust care home in Cumbria. A total of 25 closers, three boosters, and one controller were installed into the care home by Castle Alarms, an approved installer of Geofire’s Salamander range of products. The radio-controlled, wireless system was installed into the care home with minor disturbance to the building’s fabric or residents. free-swing mode Door operation is light and easy when in the free swing...

Geofire will be exhibiting at the USHA Fire Seminar on 10th – 11th June at the County Hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Universities Safety and Health Association (USHA) promotes safety and health in higher education ensuring the well-being of university staff, students, and visitors. With this in mind, we will be demonstrating how our range of Agrippa and Salamander wire-free door holders and closers can help your building to become compliant to the highest level.

Visitors to fire technology specialist Geofire’s FIREX International stand E80 will be able to get a sneak preview of the latest addition to the highly successful Agrippa acoustic range – a new Agrippa pillow alarm. The Agrippa ‘listen and learn’ technology, also available in the door holder and closer, is being used to alert deaf or hard-of-hearing people if the fire alarm sounds while they are sleeping. Pillow Alarm features and functions The Agrippa pillow alar...

Agrippa fire door holders are proving to be the perfect solution for a number of the UK’s prime care home operators, to ease access for residents while protecting them in the event of a fire emergency. A spokesperson for prime UK care homes operator where 29 wire-free Agrippa fire door holders are in use confirms that they are the perfect solution. “They are wire-free so they were very easy to install with no disruption, and have proved to be perfectly reliable, with no false activa...

Agrippa fire door holders have been successfully installed at Surrey’s leading specialist Science College to improve access for staff and students, and reduce the effects of door wear and tear while protecting occupants in a fire emergency. Blenheim High School, at Epsom, Surrey, is a co-educational, publicly funded specialist Science College. With in excess of 1,300 students the need to ensure smooth traffic flows while maintaining safety and security and unrestricted access are a priori...

A massive £200,000 fine plus costs and a four-month suspended prison sentence, handed down to a central London hotel owner for putting lives at risk by flouting fire safety laws, is the latest in a number of high-profile prosecutions sending out a strong message to those that own and manage hotels about the importance of fire safety. When fire safety officers visited the six-floor, 18-room hotel to carry out a routine inspection they discovered numerous fire safety breaches, including fai...

Geofire’s new wire-free Agrippa fire door holder is a significant technological breakthrough that delivers new levels of functionality and reliability. Easy to install and program, the Agrippa holder allows fire doors to be held open for ease of access, releasing them in the event of a fire alarm sounding, to prevent the spread of fire and smoke. Advanced digital technology enables Geofire’s new Agrippa wire-free fire door holder to uniquely ‘listen and learn’ the sound...

Geofire is celebrating 50 years in business, a milestone that shows its commitment to innovation in the fire safety industry. Established in 1972, Geofire continues to expand its work force, design innovative products and diversify into new sectors. Originally established as an electromagnetic brake and clutch manufacturer in the north east of England, near Bishop Auckland, the company has grown significantly into a major specialist in electromagnetic fire door safety solutions and its products...

The radio-controlled Salamander system has been installed in the National Library of Wales (NLW) located in Aberystwyth. The NLW reached out to the Salamander-approved installer, AKD Fire and Security, to upgrade their current fire door system following false activation and trip hazard concerns with their existing solution. Salamander system The Salamander system offered the NLW a perfect alternative, hygienically positioned at the top of the door, Salamander is the only wire-free, radio-cont...

Deaf Awareness Week is an annual event hosted by the UK Council on Deafness (UKCoD) to raise awareness of deafness and hearing loss. The theme ‘Coming Through it Together’ will focus on the added challenges presented by the pandemic such as remote working and mask-wearing. The campaign also aims to highlight the need for improvements within the quality of services available in education and care, raise the profile of the importance of equality and accessibility and inform the G...

Results from a survey conducted by a manufacturer of fire safety technology, Geofire, found that 53% of fire safety professionals have seen an increase in fire doors being wedged open since the start of the pandemic. The survey, which was completed to gain an insight into how COVID-19 has impacted the fire safety industry over the last 12 months, highlighted key themes such as the impact of financial pressure following the pandemic. Fire safety maintenance 84% of the respondents identified th...

As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the COVID-19 virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure. In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7 billion in 2019/20. fire safety standards compliance Emergency hospital evacuations are inherently more complicated when compared to other publi...

Geofire has launched a new website providing German-speaking distributors and customers with an online platform to access translated literature and speak directly to the expert team. German-language site Due to the increasing demand for high-quality fire safety products and the widespread need to safely hold open doors to support infection control, Geofire has developed a German-language site to support the growing European presence. In an industry as critical as fire safety and prevention, i...

As the rising number of COVID admissions pushes patient capacity limits, ensuring compliant fire safety has never been more important. As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure. In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7bn in 2019/20. Despit...

Vimpex has supplied Agrippa wireless acoustic fire door holders to hold open fire doors at the HQ of one of England’s largest housing associations to provide an easy and effective method of infection control, while not impacting on fire safety. A COVID-secure risk assessment identified the need to reduce the touching of fire door locks and door handles at the organization’s administration offices by staff and visitors. “Reducing the spread of germs and bacteria has never been...

Innovators in fire technology, Geofire, launches the Deaf Alert, a safety device for the deaf and hard of hearing. The Deaf Alert is a digital, vibrating pillow alarm that uses ‘listening’ technology to activate on the specific sound of a home smoke alarm. Geofire has manufactured fire safety products in the UK since 1972. The Deaf Alert will join the Agrippa acoustic product line which includes the battery powered fire door holder and closer. Working smoke alarm The acoustic tech...

The launch of the Government’s ‘Back to School Safely’ campaign following the announcement that all educational facilities will reopen from the beginning of the autumn term. Following the opening of nurseries, schools, and colleges, the government has advised schools to implement a range of protective measures in order to mitigate the risk of the virus being spread. six preventative actions The six preventative actions which have been outlined by Gov.UK and Public Healt...

To prepare for its reopening, Scarth Memorial Hall in County Durham has chosen the Agrippa door holder to support their COVID prevention strategy and reduce door handle contact. Agrippa door holder Built in 1875, the Scarth Memorial Hall is a Victorian building that has served its community for over a century, such as providing facilities to soldiers during the Second World War. Ensuring that the property’s character remained intact when implementing COVID prevention measures was of high...

Reducing the spread of germs and bacteria has never been more essential in the current climate. Holding open internal doors provide an easy and effective method of infection control within the building, but it is important that this does not impact the user’s fire safety. A study by the New England Medical Journal, which researched the survival of coronavirus on a number of surfaces, identified that the virus was still detectable on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel 72 hour...