United States of America (USA) Fire Industry News

Flood damage inspection in ArkansasPhoto by Patsy Lynch/FEMA The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced that federal disaster aid has been made available for Arkansas to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding beginning on October 29, 2009, and continuing. Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain priv...

Our mission is to assist states in rapidly connecting restoring victims to  a pre-disaster level of self-sufficiency  This agreement is a component of FEMA's interim two-phase disaster case management model.To better assist individuals recover from disasters the Department of Health and Human Services' Administration on Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have signed an interagency ag...

FEMA has extended the comment period on standards selected for the Voluntary PS-Prep Program New deadline for comments is January 15.NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs has been designated for adoption under the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Voluntary Private Sector Preparedness Accreditation and Certification Program (PS-Prep). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of DHS has extended the comment...

Secretary Napolitano will meet with leaders from real estate, professional sports, financial and media industries(Photograph by M. Broussard, FEMA)  Secretary Napolitano will discuss protection of critical infrastructure among other things. "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will travel to New York City on Dec. 2-4 to meet with private sector leaders in the real estate, professional sports, financial and media industries to discuss t...

FEMA will host a flood risk information open house for Calhoun County residents Those interested may drop in at any time during the event to discuss mapping issues with MDEQ representatives. Representatives from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, will host a flood risk information open house for Calhoun County residents on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009, f...

Flood damage in Cedar Rapids, summer 2008. Photography bySusie Shapira/FEMA The general public is invited to view the floodplain maps and assess the risks of flooding. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), will host , 120 N. 4th Street in Hennepin.Newly released preliminary Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps will be displayed so residents can lea...

The life-saving technology of fire sprinklers has been around for more than 100 years The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA) has announced the availability of a new, online resource toolbox to provide community leaders with the latest available assets and information to assist with planning issues at the local level. The National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), the longest-tenured fire sprinkler advocacy organization in the U.S., has announced the availabili...

NFPA and DRI have joined forces to offer an interactive 4.5 day certification program The program deals with both existing and emerging requirements in the industry. NFPA and the Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI), the leading certification and education body in business continuity planning, have joined forces to offer an interactive 4.5 day certification program that provides training, tools, and hands-on experience. Course materials delve into existing...

NFPA 1600 and 14 other NFPA first responder codes and standards have received DHS's QATT designation  This is the first block of standards to receive this “Qualified Anti-Terrorism Technology” designation by the DHS. NFPA 1600, Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs and 14 other NFPA codes and standards have been designated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as "Qualified Anti-Terrorism Tec...

The NFA's Fiscal Year 2010 second semester application period is open now through December 15 The National Fire Academy's Fiscal Year 2010 second semester application period is open until December 15.  The second semester includes classes running from April 1 through September 30, 2010.  Interested applicants can submit their completed FEMA Form 75-5, General Admissions Application right away. For complete application information and course schedule i...

North Kent firefighters recently took part in a training exercise to learn tackling fires in high rise buildings North Kent firefighters have been back to college for a training exercise to tackle blazes in high rise buildings. Around 25 staff and four appliances were involved in the drill which simulated a fire and required the rescue of people trapped on the sixth floor of a special tower at Dartford's North West Kent College. The practice is part of ongoing training tak...

NFPA Firewise Communities program encourages local solutions for wildfire safety by involving others The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is celebrating the milestone achievement of surpassing 500 communities participating in its national Firewise Communities Program. The program is an interagency effort designed to encourage wildfire safety by involving homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters, and others at the local le...

  Kochek Company has appointed Kurt Voland to the newly created position of Director of Sales and Marketing   Kochek Co has appointed Kurt Voland to the newly created position of Director of Sales and Marketing. In his new position Voland will provide a single point of contact between the field sales force and the factory and increase coordination with the management team and company goals. Voland has degrees from Norwich University and Western State College...

FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate addressed students and faculty at Savannah State University The event was sponsored by the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Student Organization (HSEMSO). FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate addressed students and faculty at Savannah State University, in Savannah, Georgia. The FEMA Administrator praised students for choosing to study emergency management and recognized the administration of Savannah State, a Historical...

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano. Photograph by Manuel Broussard, FEMA Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano has unveiled a new website for veterans. The new website has been designed to provide a one-stop location for veterans and veterans organizations to learn about DHS' many veteran outreach initiatives and hiring and contracting opportunities. "This new website reflects the shared commitment across th...

 Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano ( Manuel Broussard, FEMA) The meetings were held to discuss critical infrastructure security. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano today hosted the first in a series of roundtable meetings with private sector leaders. She also unveiled a new web site designed to inform the public about the Department's critical infrastructure protection, readiness and resiliency e...

Fire Corps is administered through the National Volunteer Fire Council The 2009 Award of Excellence was presented during the meeting to the Mesa (AZ) Fire Department. The Fire Corps National Advisory Committee (NAC) met on October 26 at the Fire Corps national office in Greenbelt, MD. The NAC, which is comprised of representatives from many national fire and emergency service organizations as well as other prominent leaders in the industry, came together to provide e...

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano Photograph Manuel Broussard, FEMA. The forum was designed to encourage stakeholders to provide direct input and ideas for disaster recovery. The Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group recently held its third of five planned stakeholder forums in Los Angeles. The Working Group - co-chaired by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Department of Housing and Urban Development Secret...

Celebrate safely - prevent fire and burn-related injuries during the winter months Utilize these safety tips and information from Fire Corps to help prepare your family, friends, and neighbors and ensure a safe and happy holiday season for all. The holiday season is a time to celebrate with friends, family, and good food, but it is also a time to be conscientious of everyday hazards. Cooking SafetyAccording to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), cooking...

UL and NFPA are working together this season to remind consumers to think about savings and safety Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are working together this season to remind consumers to think about savings and safety. Surveys from the National Retail Federation and Information Resources, Inc. suggest that uber-competitive bargain-hunting will dominate as this year's trend among families who have spent the...

The CSB investigative team plans to thoroughly examine the facility's fire safety practice CSB investigators continue to examine the events and circumstances surrounding the catastrophic tank explosion and fire. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) has announced that it will be conducting a full investigation of the October 23, 2009 explosion and fire at Caribbean Petroleum Refining.  At 12:23 a.m. on October 23, a large vapor cloud ignited at the Caribbean Pet...

Veterans would like to participate in disaster relief in their communities The conference was hosted by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) on November 18. According to a study released by Civic Enterprises on Veterans Day this year, 88 percent of veterans surveyed would like to participate in disaster relief efforts in their communities.  The conference focused on engaging veterans in communities and how to receive fun...

U.S. firefighters responded to roughly 1,300 home fires involving cooking equipment on Thanksgiving in 2007 The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is calling on cooks across the nation to consider fire safety whilst cooking, because Thanksgiving is the day with the greatest number of home fires in the USA. U.S. firefighters responded to roughly 1,300 home fires involving cooking equipment on Thanksgiving in 2007, roughly three times the daily average of cooking...

Verint's public safety call recording system now supports Motorola's Dimetra IP TETRA network application Verint is extending relationship with Motorola to support state-of-the-art IP Trunked Digital Radio System using TETRA standard.Verint Systems has announced that it is extending its public safety call recording platform to include support for Motorola's Dimetra IP TETRA (terrestrial trunked radio) network system, part of the Motorola family of communication...

Prince George's County recorded no deaths in fires in any homes protected by home sprinklers Recent findings from a key study show the overwhelming effectiveness of mandatory home fire sprinklers in saving lives in municipalities with mandatory fire sprinkler codes for homes. Prince George's County, Md., the first county in the nation to require residential fire sprinklers in its building code, has reported that since 1992, when the code was first adopted, there...

The new NFPA report outlines the big losses caused by wildland fires The report appears in the latest issue of NFPA Journal®, the official magazine of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). For the fifth time in the past 10 years, the largest loss associated with fires and explosions occurred in wildlands, and for the second year in a row, it happened in Southern California, according to the newly released National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) report...

RHoK brings together disaster relief experts and software engineers to develop solutions to critical issues The event brings together top programmers to develop solutions to disaster relief challenges.FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate keynoted the inaugural ‘Random Hacks of Kindness, Disaster Relief Codejam' (RHoK) initiative. RHoK is sponsored by industry leaders such as Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! in conjunction with NASA and the World Bank, and brings together d...

The Disaster Recovery Center at the Lee Center in Utulei will be open daily except for Sundays The deadline to register with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and to turn in a completed U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) loan application is only a few days away.FEMA's Federal Coordinating Officer Kenneth R. Tingman said the deadline for American Samoa residents to apply for disaster assistance and return a completed SBA loan application for damages or...

CSB Chairman John Bresland asked US jurisdictions to adopt the ASME Pressure Vessel Code CSB Chairman John Bresland released a new video safety message, asking jurisdictions across the country to adopt the ASME Pressure Vessel Code.  The message is aimed at reducing the number of accidents involving catastrophic pressure vessel failures in process industries.The safety message can be viewed on CSB.gov and on the CSB's safety message channel,...

The IAFF represents more than 296,000 full-time professional firefighters and paramedics  The conference was organised around the theme - Preparing You for Survival: The Fire Ground, the Economy and Beyond. To more than 1,100 attending firefighters and paramedics, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger kicked off the 20th John P. Redmond Symposium held in Los Angeles, California, November 8-12. Schaitberger kept to the conference theme - Preparing You for Su...