United Kingdom (UK) Fire Industry News

The symptoms of the illness associated with this novel coronavirus are similar to those caused by influenza and other respiratory illnesses and include coughing, shortness of breath, fever, and difficulty breathing. In many countries, COVID-19 is considered to be a high-risk workplace hazard for healthcare workers in a variety of fields and specializations. The WHO and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended airborne precautions for healthcare workers for certain...

A large-scale gas escape in one of the UK’s largest cities was resolved in less than 24-hours due to the skill and commitment of the team at AVK UK in Staveley, Chesterfield. AVK was notified about the gas escape at 4pm on Friday 27th March. The customer urgently required two DN500 Donkin Series 555 Soft Seal Gate Valves. The DN500 Donkin Series 555 is far from a standard item, with a normal lead-time of twelve weeks. The AVK team, by 5pm, had allocated the components to enable the valve...

When it comes to the public fire brigades’ services, the equipment used is generally governed by a set of national regulatory and operational requirements that vary slightly between countries. However, it’s also important that the private fire crews within airports, ports, oil and gas and petrochemical installations also conform to fire safety guidelines within their specific industries. Among these essential safety measures that must be adhered, is ensuring that the communication t...

Popular with fire-fighters around the world, XFlex is Bristol Uniforms’ flagship range in structural fire fighting (Personal Protective Equipment) PPE. Its name came from the ‘X’ shape formed by the curved seams on the garment’s elbow and its flexibility. It enables excellent range of movement which helps fire-fighters carry out their physical roles more effectively. The creation and introduction of XFlex into the market marks a new direction in fire fighting PPE design a...

Nittan Europe, globally renowned manufacturer of conventional and addressable fire detection products, has announced that it is a proud sponsor of South Eastern Regional College’s (SERC) ‘Outstanding Apprentice Fire Alarm Engineer of the Year’. Nittan has supplied a prize and trophy, plus free of charge fire alarm products for students to train on. SERC, based in Northern Ireland, provides a wide range of courses, apprenticeships, professional development training, online lear...

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue is advising businesses to review fire risk assessments following the Prime Minister’s announcement to restrict movement and close businesses.  "The fire safety measures within buildings are designed for their specific use and often do not include people sleeping. It may therefore not have the necessary fire safety measures installed to make this a safe practice," said Fire Safety Lead Matt White.  Isolating electric items  The advice comes af...

The Institute of Fire Safety Managers Incorporating Life Safety Managers (IFSM) has received a few queries asking if fire risk assessors and those linked with the fire industry are classed as ‘key workers.’  The Institute’s clear position is in supporting the Government and the main information and guidance for employees and employers is set out on the Governments website, including definitions of ‘key workers.’  Future of fire risk assessment  The...

During the national emergency, many in the Fire Sector will be concerned regarding what work should or shouldn’t go ahead.  The government advice is most importantly to all “Stay Home-Stay Safe-Protect the NHS”. This is for an initial three-week period as all play their part by limiting contact with others to reduce the virus’s opportunity to spread. There are exceptions which have raised multiple questions within the wider sector.  Key worker status  Th...

The intelligent Sigma A-XT gas extinguishing panel from Kentec, is at the heart of Luke Alexander’s 'Luke 227' fire extinguishing system integrated by the experts at GECO Mechanical and Electrical Ltd. Co. (GECO) to preserve the Holy Quran and other holy texts at the Holy Quran Academy within Al Qasimia University in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Al Qasimia University is a vision of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the Ruler of the Emirates of Sharjah and a...

With more of the people spending extra time at home over the next few weeks, either through home working, self-isolating or social distancing and with the added distractions that can bring North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service would like to give its users some safety advice and tips to help them stay home and stay safe. Smoke alarms are essential items! They can help give the user and their family a few minutes warning if a fire breaks out in their home. They should fit smoke alarms on every...

Norfolk’s Chief Fire Officer and his team are working with colleagues at The East of England Ambulance Service Trust (EEAST) to identify ways fire service staff can support them during the COVID-19 pandemic. This morning, the National Fire Chiefs Council published a national agreement following discussions with Fire and Rescue Services and the Fire Brigades Union. It paves for the way for the local discussions to identify areas where Norfolk’s firefighters and other staff can best s...

Whilst the situation regarding the Coronavirus outbreak in Europe and the UK is developing and changing quickly, Hochiki Europe would like to assure all their partners that the business has been continually reviewing and monitoring the UK Government’s advice. To date, the company has implemented the following actions to reduce the virus spread: Encouraging staff to work from home, where practicable Travel ban in place for overseas business travel Staff rotation in place to promote soc...

Much like other services across the country, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service’s community safety activity currently looks different from normal. This is due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which has impacted on its ability to deliver home safety visits, safe and well checks, school visits, and station-based events. The joint police and fire - Lifewise Centre is also closed, until further notice, and fire station community rooms are no longer being used by their partner agencies....

South Yorkshire’s firefighters will be able to deliver food and drive ambulances to support their communities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This comes following an unprecedented national agreement that has been struck by fire chiefs, national employers, and representative bodies such as the Fire Brigades Union (FBU). responding to emergency incidents Crews will also be able to retrieve dead bodies, as part of the deal, while continuing to do their core duty of responding to emer...

Bacharach announces the MGS-402 gas detection controller for refrigerant, toxic and combustible gas detection applications. The system is designed for safety compliance in mechanical rooms, cold storage facilities, walk-in freezers, and cold room applications to -40° F/C. The MGS-402 is part of the MGS-400 series gas detectors that connect through Modbus to up to two remote MGS-410 gas detectors at up to 1000ft (305m). Building management systems The MGS-402 is powered by 110-240V AC and...

The Advisory Board of Werner International Holding S.à.r l. (WernerCo) announced that Gary Scott has been named Global Chief Executive Officer of WernerCo, a fully integrated and international manufacturer and distributor of access products, fall protection equipment, secure storage systems, and light-duty construction equipment. Gary Scott will start in his new position, effective April 16, 2020, and will work out of WernerCo’s headquarters, located in Itasca, Illinois. Building...

The inspiring work that the experienced instructors have been doing at the Counter IED wing of the Humanitarian Peace Support School in Nairobi, Kenya has been featured by Force News. The school opened in 2016, and since then over 1600 students from 15 nations have received training in safe bomb disposal from instructors such as Tony Dedman, who has half a century of experience behind him, and Glyn Hannah, who has a 25-year career spent within Search, IEDD and Conventional Munition Disposa...

During the current pandemic caused by the Coronavirus, global supply chains and operational processes are facing an unprecedent level of difficulty, restrictions at different levels including strong travel bans, too. At the same time, in situations like these, the employees in Magirus are committed to do everything in their power to keep their products in operation at any time. The company is working intensively with their suppliers and they will implement all the necessary actions to protect t...

UK rental company Smart Platform Rental Ltd adds two Bronto aerial work platforms with working heights of 35 and 38 meters to its rapidly expanding truck-mounted rental fleet. Both newcomers are mounted on an 18 ton, Euro VI compliant, Volvo chassis. The specifications both include secondary guarding, material winch and a built-in generator, as well as variable jacking for flexibility. The S35EM features a 5-section telescopic boom and an articulated cage boom and it provides a maximum out reac...

Hochiki Europe, a renowned manufacturer of life safety solutions, has partnered with the FIA (Fire Industry Association) to host a roundtable discussing best practice when it comes to life safety in Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs). Panelists were made up of professionals involved throughout the life safety procurement chain, including representatives from the manufacturing, facilities management, consultancy/specification and installation sectors, as well as the FIA itself. selecting emerge...

Emergency scenarios will be able to be dealt with quicker, safer and more efficiently, thanks to a new strategic partnership between Rosenbauer International AG, a renowned manufacturer of fire service vehicles and firefighting equipment, and DJI, a renowned provider of civilian drones and aerial imaging technology. From now on, the two companies will work together to bring the benefits of digital emergency response management to anyone involved in being called to tackle an emergency situation....

Infographics is a Gold sponsor of the 2021 National Fire Chiefs Spring Conference, taking place at voco St John’s, Solihull. The event has been rescheduled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. key issues It brings leaders from across the fire and rescue sector to discuss strategy, key issues, and the latest industry innovation. Commercial director, Russell Wood, will deliver a presentation as part of the participation in the conference.

Seek Thermal, a global provider of affordable, high-performance thermal imaging products, announces the introduction of Seek Scan™, a simple, low-cost thermal imaging system designed to automate body temperature screening using skin temperature as a proxy. Seek-Scan Seek Scan is specifically designed and calibrated to deliver accurate skin temperature measurements while enabling social distancing protocols. In seconds, the system automatically detects a face, identifies the most reliabl...

The Polish state professional fire brigade, State Fire Service (Państwowa Straż Pożarna) ordered 20 Rosenbauer aerial rescue devices at the beginning of March, which will be produced and delivered this year. The vehicles are seven L32A-XS 3.0 turntable ladders and thirteen L42A-XS 3.0 turntable ladders. The procurement is co-financed by the European Union with funds from the Cohesion Fund, the vehicles are stationed at fire brigades in 14 of the 16 voivodeships, the political administrative dis...

The state fire department of Poland (Państwowa Straż Pożarna - PSP) ordered 20 Rosenbauer aerial rescue devices at the beginning of March, which will be produced and delivered this year. The vehicle fleet consists of seven L32A-XS 3.0 aerial ladders and thirteen L42A-XS 3.0 aerial ladders. The procurement is co-financed by the European Union using funds from the cohesion fund, with the vehicles being stationed at fire departments across 14 of the 16 voivodeships - the top-level administrative d...

BAFE is delighted to announce that Lewis Ramsay QFSM has joined the BAFE Board of Directors. Lewis Ramsay is a former Assistant Chief Fire Officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service specializing in both Response and Resilience and extensive work in Prevention and Protection. Stephen Adams, Chief Executive – BAFE, commented: “The BAFE Board brings together a very wide range of experience of the fire protection industry and related skills. Lewis’s experience and knowledge w...

Infographics has announced that Humberside Fire and Rescue Service is the latest fire service to move to the company’s FireWatch Cloud, a fully-managed service based on the Microsoft Azure platform. FireWatch Cloud solution The new FireWatch Cloud solution will provide a resilient architecture, flexible access to the FireWatch integrated fire service management platform from remote locations, and includes software upgrade services and other benefits. Richard Jacques, ICT Data & Appl...

The Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB) is a certification body for organizations providing security systems and services, fire detection and alarm systems, telecare systems and services, manned security services and monitoring services. In this challenging time, with the closure of many business and the Prime Minister’s statement to further restrict movement, it is important to ensure the vital national work that the private security industry firms carry out is recognize...

Telguard, globally renowned company in the field of security and life safety communications, has announced that its cellular fire alarm communicators have been issued a Certificate of Approval, #6316. This means Fire & Life Safety dealers in New York City are now able to use Telguard’s premier cellular fire communicator, the TG-7FS LTE. Fire communicators New York City has strict regulations on fire communicators that can be used, and manufacturers must obtain a Certificate of Approv...

Following the prime ministers recent address to the nation, Envirograf has taken the decision to temporarily close business from 5pm on the 25th March 2020.  They have temporarily closed as the health of the customers and colleagues is the top priority and they are committed to playing a part in preventing the spread of COVID-19.  current guidelines  All enquiries and online orders that Envirograf will receive during this time will be processed as soon as th...