United Kingdom (UK) Fire Industry News

Running from 7th to 11th November 2022, World Quality Week offers the chance to celebrate and highlight the vital role that quality plays in all aspects of people's daily lives. The theme for the event is ‘Quality Conscience’; something which either gaining accreditation or using accredited services both indicates and helps to develop. Accreditation Working in tandem with standards and measurement, UKAS accreditation is one of the pillars that the UK’s national quality infra...

Danny Kesler, who works as a security guard at Asda House in Leeds, was on duty in the early hours of Sunday morning when he noticed a man walking alongside the River Aire, near the rear of the building on Great Wilson Street. He witnessed him fall into the river and immediately ran from the security CCTV desk to the riverside. Using a length of cable he had managed to find, he threw this down to the man, shouting to him to grab on. The man gripped this cable along with the side wall at the ban...

Each year the government is seeing an increase in the number of attacks on fire service crews–with figures the highest they have been in over ten years. This year there were 983 attacks-an increase of 5% from the previous year when there were 934 incidents, and a big jump from two years ago when there were 899 attacks. The figures from the Fire and Rescue Workforce and Pensions Statistics are gathered from the Home Office’s Incident Recording System and cover the financial year runn...

During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, individual firefighters were praised for bravery; however, the London Fire Brigade, as an institution, was criticized for ‘serious shortcomings’ and ‘systemic’ failures in its handling of the Grenfell Tower fire. At Quelfire, they wholly believe in early engagement in firestopping and continuously promote that for fire safety to be a priority, all parties need to be involved and firestopping needs to be considered for buildings as early...

The number one reason to install a fire alarm is to make the building safe for your employees, customers, and tenants. A combination of smoke and heat detectors, sounders, and visual indication provide automatic detection and alert building occupants of a fire, giving them ample time to evacuate in an orderly fashion. While sounders and visual indication don’t actively put out fires, they alert the people in the property who can contact the fire services. Monitoring fire alarm systems aut...

An Emergency Voice Communication (EVC) system provides two-way communication between the emergency services, principally the fire service, and those people inside a building who need to be evacuated but are unable to immediately leave. The reason for this could be because they are handicapped, suffering from an injury that impairs their movement, pregnant, or are in a building that requires a phased evacuation. In the event of a fire, people in this position should know to make their way to an...

When a fire breaks out, it is important to know how to combat it. People need to act fast in order to protect themselves, others, and the surroundings, and understanding what properties make up a fire is a great way to know how to tackle a blaze, when it breaks out. The fire triangle does exactly that, helping people understand how fires break out, how they’re sustained and, most importantly, how they can be put out. In this article, Hoyles Fire and Safety will explain what the fire...

The safety of a building is something that simply mustn’t be overlooked. Ensuring that everyone within the facility is safe at all times should be a top priority for all organizations. Fire poses a real threat to buildings of all shapes and sizes. Data from the UK government shows that more than 167,000 fires in England were attended to by the fire and rescue services in 2017/18, 74,000 of which were primary fires. This resulted in 334 fire-related fatalities. It’s therefore absolu...

Whether it is a new business starting out or one that’s been established for a while, if there is a need of a quick recap on fire risk assessment responsibilities, One may read on. The article will be covering: who is responsible for fire risk assessments? the responsibilities associated with ensuring fire risk assessments are carried out, the importance of carrying out fire risk assessments, the consequences of failing to carry out a fire risk assessment, and who is responsible for ensur...

For many employers, a fire breaking out on their premises is a nightmare scenario. Unfortunately for some, it can become a reality. The best way to prevent this from happening and to keep your property safe is to understand the most common fire risks for your workplace. This article will outline how common certain types of fire are in the workplace, and how one can prevent them from occurring.   Electrical equipment According to Fireward, electrical fires account for 25% of workplace bl...

Every business needs working fire alarms to draw people’s attention to a possible emergency situation, together with a comprehensive and well-understood evacuation procedure so that its staff and any visitors know exactly what they need to do in the event of a fire on the premises. The primary function of any fire safety procedure is, of course, to give everyone the very best chance of exiting the building safely in the event of a fire. However, it can be just as important to have a desi...

Electrical fires are among the most common types of domestic fire, with approximately 20,000 happening in UK homes every year. Of these, most are caused by electrical items (89%), with the rest being as a result of faults in electrical installations (i.e. the wiring, fusebox, lighting circuit, etc.) or through misuse of those installations. Among the most common electrical fires are those caused by cooking appliances, laundry appliances, lighting, portable heaters, and televisions. Knowing how...

No sprinklers were fitted at Grenfell, partly because at the time there was no legal requirement for them – for residential buildings, sprinkler systems were only a necessity for those at least 30 meters high and built after 2007. Although over twice that height, Grenfell Tower was constructed between 1972 and 1974. The law was updated in November 2020, so that all blocks of flats that are new or have undergone significant conversions, and are at least 11 meters high, now need to be fitte...

UK crime statistics are published annually by the Office for National Statistics and are open to public to assess the state of crime in the country. These statistics can be used to see trends in the country’s crime rates. The statistics used in this article can be found published by the Office for National Statistics for the year ending in September 2019. Burglary Statistics UK The Burglary Statistics UK feature: Vehicle Offences: Duing the year September 2018-2019 the UK Police Forc...

Cavities are found throughout buildings of all types. They are created by the way the structural elements of a building fit together, leaving often hidden gaps that serve no function. Common places to find cavities are in external walls and ceiling voids. When a cavity exists in an external wall, it can act in the same way as a chimney – in the event of a fire at ground floor level, that means it can draw the flames and heat up to the higher floors. That in turn allows a fire to spread th...

When it comes to fire safety in a commercial organization, every business has a duty of care to its staff and any others on the company premises, as specified in The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005. That includes ensuring that appropriate training is provided to keep everyone safe in the event of a fire in the workplace. However, fire safety in the office is a complex matter, and it’s vital that whoever takes on the responsibility is fully aware of all the issues involved. This...

Fires come in a number of different types, and depending exactly what it is that is on fire, one needs to use different kinds of extinguishers to put them out. That’s because some extinguishers are more effective at putting out certain fires, while others can be positively dangerous when used at the wrong time, such as using a water-based extinguisher on an electrical or kitchen fire. One common fire extinguisher that one likely to come across in many work environments directs carbon diox...

Paul Hammond, Chief of Staff at NSPA met Avon Protection at DSEI following their first successful year of delivery against the 10-year contract to supply a complete CBRN personal respirator system. Understanding the operational flexibility required by NATO forces, Avon Protection were awarded a 10-year contract to provide a unique modular respirator system to protect NATO troops. The FM50 respirator and a suite of filters are at the core of the personal respirator system selected by NSPA. The...

Performance Inflatables Co., LLC, and Avon Rubber p.l.c. jointly announced the acquisition by Performance Inflatables Co. of Avon Engineered Fabrications, Inc., Avon Rubber’s US based hovercraft skirt and bulk liquid storage tank business. Avon Rubber, an innovative technology group specializing in respiratory protection systems and milking point solutions, has sold Avon Engineered Fabrications (AEF) to Performance Inflatables Co., LLC, a pioneer and innovator in the design and manufactur...

Avon Protection has developed a new range of products to protect military personnel operating in CBRN environments: the EXOSKIN-B1 High Traction CBRN Boots and EXOSKIN-G1 Tactile CBRN Gloves. The CBRN threat is a growing concern for military forces, with the use of chemical weapons rising among both state actors and terrorist groups. In response, Avon Protection developed the EXOSKIN range of boots and gloves to supplement its CBRN respiratory protection products to protect personnel without c...

A.P.E Fire & Security, is committed to ensuring that the security of property is never compromised. For over 40 years, the company has been providing industry-renowned fire alarms, CCTV systems, biometric devices, and other fire and security systems to clients across the UK. The specialist services have achieved a wealth of certifications since the company has started in 1977, helping to reassure its clients that their property is in the safe hands of experienced and reputable security expe...

Avon Protection announces certification of its Argus range of thermal imaging cameras, which include the Mi-TIC E, Mi-TIC E L, Mi-TIC 320, and Mi-TIC S models. Once again, Avon Protection offers the most diverse range NFPA compliant thermal imaging cameras. NFPA1801:2018 is the latest edition of the ‘Standard on Thermal Imagers for the Fire Service’. First published in 2013, the standard defines the minimum performance requirements for Thermal Imagers worldwide. Key changes in the 2...

There are a number of tools at the disposal of those tasked with preventing fires from wreaking damage on their commercial premises. Some are there to reduce the chances of a fire happening in the first place, some are there to prevent a fire from spreading and some are there to put out a fire. Among the tools that can be used to put out a fire are what are called ‘fire suppression systems’. This article will examine what they are, how they work, the different types of fire suppress...

A.P.E Fire & Security offers maintenance and servicing agreements to anyone who they have installed a system for. Fire, intruder, CCTV, and access control are all systems that can maintain the fire and security system. Servicing the system regularly will elongate its lifespan and also, potentially reduce the overall cost of the system. Finding an issue with the system early means that parts can be fixed or replaced without having to replace the entire system. Replacing the entire system T...

Having the right fire alarm system installed could not only prevent serious damage to a property, but it could also save lives. In this guide, they discuss the various fire alarm systems suited to office environments. As a business owner or office manager, the priority is the safety of the staff and visitors to the office. With the amount of electrical equipment in offices, it is essential that users have installed an adequate fire alarm system. Good Fire Alarm System Why it is Important to h...

Shoplifting is the most commonly recognized security problem in retail. Crime statistics indicate there were 382,000 incidents of shoplifting in 2018 and there has been a steady rise in the number since 2013. Most thefts occur during busy shopping days and hours. Shop staff is usually too busy serving honest customers to recognize and deter the shoplifter. So, how can retail spaces improve their security to prevent potential theft and break-ins? CCTV Installing a retail store security device,...

An intercom system allows personal contact with visitors without the need to physically answer the door. They also provide a sense of security by allowing homeowners and building occupants to determine who’s at the door before letting them in. An intercom, talkback, or door phone is a stand-alone voice communication system for use within a building or small collection of buildings, functioning independently of the public telephone network. Most intercom systems are stationary and fixed to...

Whether users are new homeowners or have recently acquired new business premises, a prime concern will be how to keep their property safe. And of course, it’s not just the building and its contents that APE is thinking about; keeping the family and employees safe is going to be a top priority too. Functioning alarm system With research amongst previously convicted burglars indicating that they are least likely to target a property they immediately see to be protected by a fully functioni...

Avon Protection announces the launch of the CH15, a revolutionary new, ultra-thin, single-size portable escape hood that provides a minimum of 15 minutes of respiratory vision and facial protection against Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear threats. The last decade has clearly demonstrated how the threat profile has changed significantly. Currently, most threats are unplanned, the CH15 is a development driven after an emerging requirement from specialist users to provide instant pro...

Avon Protection announces the launch of the Tactical Mask Communications (TMC) System, a communications solution for customers to interface between their headsets to the Avon series Air Purifying Respirator. Tactical Mask Communications (TMC) system is designed for users of Avon Respiratory Protection Equipment who require a simple yet scalable Tactical Communications solution when 'masked up'. Tactical Mask Communications (TMC) System The TMC is simple to configure, install and use, with a r...