United Kingdom (UK) Fire Industry News

Towards the end of 2019, and already in 2020, sprinklers are operating efficiently and effectively saving lives, children’s education and businesses from fire. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to reports of a fire in the basement of an office block. The sprinkler system had actuated and helped to suppress the fire which was extinguished in just over an hour. wall-mounted sprinkler head A fire in an 8th floor flat in an 11 storey building was extinguished by one s...

SELECT has launched an essential guide to help the public understand new regulations about smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms in Scotland. New alarm regulations Under the new laws, all homes in Scotland must have an effective interlinked warning system in place by 1 February 2021.To help comply with the new ruling, which came into effect in February 2019, SELECT has produced an eight-page brochure that gives clear step-by-step guidance on exactly what is required. Designed to be handed ou...

With more than 200 countries agreeing to usher in a new class of refrigerants, effective this year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and its research affiliate, the Fire Protection Research Foundation (Research Foundation), have released free online training for the fire service, as well as an instructor-led training module to educate firefighters about the potential hazards associated with new refrigeration and cooling units. Calls for low GWP refrigerants The new accord calls...

Swansea University installs a network of Advanced fire alarm control panels to protect its 65-acre, £450million Bay campus from the threat of fire. The University installs 25 one, two and four-loop MxPro 5 fire alarm control panels throughout its 11 academic Bay campus buildings, specified thanks to their superior networking abilities. Installed alongside over 5000 Hochiki and Apollo protocol devices, each fire panel has been programmed as a standalone, with all information reporting back...

Ideal for OSHA safety compliance and engine efficiency testing for forklifts and other equipment Bacharach, an industry provider of gas detection and analysis instrumentation, introduces the Monoxor XR (extended range) hand-held exhaust gas analyzer for measuring CO (carbon monoxide) in ambient air or directly from the exhaust pipe of forklifts, floor burnishers or other equipment burning propane, gasoline, diesel, or CNG (compressed natural gas). The Monoxor XR is the ideal instrument for veri...

MFC International is pleased to announce the sponsorship of local rugby team Penygraig RFC for their 2019-2020 season. MFC International has been part of the local community for over 50 years and it is proud to support one of the local teams and help give something back to the community. MFC would like to wish Penygraig RFC all the best for the 2020 season.

Join in for the 3rd in the series of PAFSS webinars, the topic of the latest one is ‘Fume Hood / Cupboard Fire Suppression Systems’ hosted by Simon Rollason, PAFSS Business Development Manager for Jactone Products. This webinar is ideal for companies, businesses, and facilities that would like to learn more and that have a requirement for fire suppression systems to protect fume hoods, cupboards, and laboratories. The webinar will be taking place on January 14th at 10 am. Key areas...

PACCAR is participating in the CES 2020 show in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES is one of the world’s largest showcases for technological innovation. Powertrain commercial vehicle PACCAR is an autonomous and alternative powertrain commercial vehicle and is exhibiting three vehicles with these technologies at the show: a Level 4 autonomous Kenworth T680; a battery-electric Peterbilt Model 520EV; and a battery-electric Kenworth K270E. Peterbilt and Kenworth designed these trucks for a range of cus...

Sepura staff have combined forces to raise over £4,000 for the Arthur Rank Hospice, bringing the charity closer to their £100,000 target for their Hospice at Home service. During the six month period when Arthur Rank was the company’s chosen charity, staff took part in various fundraising activities, including treasure quests, gin tasting and karting. active social programme Sepura chose to support Arthur Rank in memory of David Armitstead, a colleague who sadly died in the c...

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has some exciting membership news to start out 2020. The NVFC strives to offer the best services for thier members, and also want to make sure membership is affordable for volunteers. That is why they are introducing a new single-category individual NVFC membership. No more categories, no more confusion — just one membership level at one low price. Access To Online Training NVFC membership still provides the same important benefits as before, su...

The Building Safety Bill’s purpose is to implement and enhance regulatory regimes for building safety and construction projects. The bills also aims to give residents ‘a stronger voice in the system, ensuring their concerns are never ignored and they fully understand how they can contribute to maintaining safety in their buildings’. Building Safety Bill It will learn from the lessons of Grenfell Tower fire and will strengthen the whole regulatory system for building safety. T...

Home improvement projects that resist flames and embers. Teaching neighbors about wildfire risks and how to reduce them. Removing flammable debris that could fuel a wildfire. These and other related activities are being actively supported by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and State Farm via the National Wildfire Community Preparedness Day campaign.  The seventh annual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020. Since 2014, community groups...

Motorola Solutions has announced Michael Kaae as Regional Vice President Of Sales for Europe. Kaae, who has over 20 years of technology sales leadership experience, will lead Motorola Solutions’ direct government and commercial sales business across Europe, including Russia. In his position, he will be responsible for the company’s go-to-market strategy as well as sales and business development across the region. Kaae has been with Motorola Solutions for over 10 years, holding key r...

Earlier this year, ASSA ABLOY Security Solutions announced that ASSA will be marketed as a range from ASSA ABLOY in the UK, providing customers with a market leading specification and architectural hardware range under a single brand. Following the merger of ASSA and ABLOY back in 1994, ASSA Scandinavia has played an important part in the development of the ASSA ABLOY brand, to become the leader both in the UK and internationally, for the specification of door opening solutions. Rebrand to ASS...

The FireFit Championships course at INTERSCHUTZ comprises five firefighting tasks that will take contestants to the limits of their strength and endurance. The first task is the Stair Climb, in which contestants, in full turnout kit, race up a HAIX stair tower – that's three flights of steps and a total height of 12 meters – carrying a 19 kg high-rise hose pack. Once at the top, it's time for the Hose Hoist, in which the contestants must haul an additional hose pack up from the grou...

FieldEquip, a digital Industry 4.0 SaaS Software provider in the fields of Oil & Gas, Postal, Packaging, e-commerce, IoT & field service announces today that it has been approved by the International Trade Administration (ITA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce for the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework certification, designed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Commission. The EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework provides the means for companies to transfer the personal i...

The German Fire Brigade Association (DFV) and the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) have expressed concern about Federal Health Minister - Jens Spahn's plans to reform emergency care.  “Germany has one of the most exemplary rescue service systems in Europe, which many people even envy us for,” said the Presidents of DFV and vfdb, Hartmut Ziebs and Dirk Aschenbrenner, on the sidelines of the DFV Federal Congress on Thursday in Berlin. This well-rehe...

Kent is one of the first fire and rescue services in the UK to be using a new kit that will enhance the way firefighters rescue casualties from heights and confined spaces.  The new winches can hoist up to three people to safety from vast drops and allow crews to access casualties stuck in difficult-to-reach areas more easily.  Easy to use Deal Crew Manager and Member of the Technical Line Rescue Team, Dan Yates, said, “We’re pleased to have these new winches now in oper...

Recent shifts in the transport industry towards green energy have led to an increase in electric, hydrogen, and hybrid electric vehicles on the road. Public transport has seen a rise in the number of clean energy buses in use, and some questions regarding the safety of the vehicles have been raised. fire suppression systems One such question was that of the effect of the quiet vehicles on other road users and the partially sighted, which led to UNECE Regulation No. 138 for Quiet Road Tran...

The drastic consequences of fire are well known. Fires on vehicles such as buses and coaches put lives at risk and it’s often difficult for the driver to detect a fire on his vehicle. The engine compartment is located at the rear of the bus or coach, where the driver’s visibility is obscured, which can mean that if a fire starts it goes undetected until it has caused a large amount of damage and can be seen billowing from the back of the bus. Coach fire suppression Preventative me...

The National Fire Chiefs’ Council has called for all residential buildings with four floors or more to be installed with sprinkler systems after a huge fire tore through student flats in Bolton, United Kingdom last month. Fire sprinklers in Tall buildings But a Freedom of Information request from The Argus revealed 44 council-owned housing blocks in Brighton and Hove which are four storeys or taller do not have sprinklers installed. This is a worrying discovery as two of the 44 buildings...

Door Group, a unit of ASSA ABLOY Opening Solutions UK & Ireland, has secured a series of high-profile contracts with Transport for London and Crossrail Limited. These contracts have included supplying and installing security doors for major London Underground redevelopments including London Bridge, Bond Street and King’s Cross, as well as station upgrades such as Victoria. newly-built accessible stations The new Transport for London-run Elizabeth line will open from December 2018...

Technologies to protect against fire are among the innovations being shown at CES 2020, the technology event, Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas. The fire market is one of many served by the range of consumer and smart home technologies on display at CES 2020, from artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G, vehicle technology to AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics to home automation. For example, Longan Vision will display augmented reality systems for firefighters, helping them make good decisions du...

Rosenbauer has further developed and improved the quality of its simulation systems with the release of the new RCS Simulator Driving. Training for municipal fire department emergency journeys is undertaken on the RCS Simulator Driving, whereby particularly critical driving situations can be practised without risk. On the new RCS Simulator Familiarization, airport road users can familiarize themselves with specific locational conditions, and train for the required driving authorizations. Both s...

Experts have frequently warned of a ‘cry wolf’ attitude towards fire alarms in the UAE, and with one out of three GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) residents who ignore fire alarms coming from the UAE, is the country suffering from alarm fatigue? Every false fire alarm is costly and disruptive; an avoidable amount of money is wasted and unnecessary strain is placed on emergency services as a result of false fire alarm call-outs. A false alarm causes inconvenient evacuations; affecting...

In fact, from early January 2019 the London Fire Brigade (LFB) became the first UK fire service to recover costs from buildings like hospitals, airports and student digs with a poor false alarm record. Amazingly, figures show that if charging had been in place in 2018 London hospitals alone would have faced a bill of £500,000 for the excessive number of times firefighters were called to a fire alarm sounding. BS 5839-1:2017 - The British Standard for fire alarm installations recommends th...

St Leger Homes of Doncaster have been working closely with colleagues at Doncaster Council to improve fire safety across its housing stock. Doncaster Council funded fire safety works in all of St Leger Homes’ high-rise buildings at a cost of around £6m, with sprinkler installations accounting for over half of the total spend. South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority contributed £200k to the installation of sprinklers at Silverwood House from their Safer Stronger Communities Re...

Nearly one-third (29 percent) of U.S. home fires that begin with Christmas trees occurs in January. With this potential fire hazard in mind, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) strongly encourages everyone to remove Christmas trees from their homes promptly after the holiday season. “Christmas trees are combustible items that become increasingly flammable as they continue to dry out,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy. recycling p...

In the year 1906, while emperors and kings where ruling, the first sprinkler system standard in continental Europe was published – the German “Regulations for the Installation of Automatic Fire Sprinklers”. The VdS predecessor “Association of Private Fire Insurance Companies” had pooled its entire knowledge for the planning and installation of these vital systems in less than ten pages. water spray extinguishing systems A century and a multitude of technical diver...

3M today announced that it has completed the sale of the company’s advanced-ballistic protection business to Avon Rubber p.l.c. for $91 million, before closing and other adjustments. A further contingent consideration of up to $25 million is payable depending on the outcome of pending tenders. Avon Rubber is a provider of advanced chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear respiratory protection systems for military, law enforcement and fire customers. Ballistic Helmets The business...