United States of America (USA) Fire Industry News

 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...

All new one- and two- family dwellings in the US are to have residential fire sprinklers starting 2011   American homes are one step closer to being more fire-safe, following an October 28 vote at the International Code Council (ICC) hearings in Baltimore, Md. The vote reaffirmed national building codes making it mandatory for all new one- and two- family dwellings to have residential fire sprinklers starting in 2011. American homes are one step closer to b...

Perfection manufactures tough and standard uniforms for the fire, police and rescue service professionals Perfection Uniforms prides itself on incorporating image and performance into each garment. Perfection Uniforms, a Brentwood-based manufacturer that proudly outfits Police, Fire, EMS, and DNR agents, has made BusinessTN magazine’s list of Hot100 Fastest Growing Companies. Perfection Uniforms is a relatively young business, yet according to Steve Olesky (President),...

FEMA Administrator W. Craig Fugate. FEMA/Bill Koplitz Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate yesterday addressed the National Voluntary Organisations Active in Disaster (National VOAD) Board of Directors Meeting. The gathering of national nonprofit organisations, that are dedicated to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery, took place at the Salvation Army headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. "FEMA's only one part of our nation's...

An estimated average of 3,800 fires occurs each year in university dwellings The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) United States Fire Administration (USFA) has issued a special report examining the causes and characteristics of fires in college and university residential buildings that include dormitories, fraternity, and sorority houses.  Thef report, University Housing Fires, was developed by the National Fire Data Center and is a part of the USFA's Topi...

 Flood damage in Cedar Rapids, summer 2008. Photography bySusie Shapira/FEMA The team of inspectors found that the Cedar Rapids fire station has suffered so much flood damage that it would be easier to replace than to repair. The State of Iowa and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that the City of Cedar Rapids will have the option to replace the Central Fire Station. The Central Fire Station was damaged during the historical flooding in...

The Program Guidance document for the FY2009 SAFER Grants provides a wealth of information on the SAFER program The FY2009 SAFER program has approximately $210 million available for grants. The application deadline is December 18. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the posting of the Program Guidance for the FY2009 SAFER Grants. The Program Guidance document for the FY2009 SAFER Grants provides a wealth of information on the SAFER program including t...

116 Georgia cities, counties and other public organisations have applied to GEMA for public assistance In just over six weeks, more than $82 million have been channelled to survivors of the Georgia floods to help them on their way towards recovery. "While much has been done to help thousands of people, there are still those who have not registered for help," said Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) Director Charley English.  People and businesses in 17...

Voters and legislators across the United States had consistently rejected TABOR initiatives In Maine and Washington, voters rejected the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). On Tuesday, November 3, voters in many states went to the ballot box. In two states - Maine and Washington - ballot initiatives that would have severely impacted professional fire fighters and other public safety personnel were roundly rejected. In both states, voters rejected a proposal known as...

IAFF members can call their local country radio stations and request "My First Ride" The IAFF Disaster Relief Fund assists the US and Canada members who suffer financial hardship as the result of a federally declared disaster area. BLEVE Entertainment Group, LLC continues to work to raise money for the IAFF's and Fraternal Order of Police's (FOP) disaster relief funds from sales and performances of the country music single, "My First Ride," featuring recording a...

The project aims to determine the best way to communicate fire safety messages to children aged 3-9 Through this project, the two organisations are seeking to encourage safety-conscous behaviour in children. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) announced a joint project titled Strengthening the Impact of Fire and Life Safety Messages...

  Fire Sprinkler Initiative, a project of NFPA, is a effort to encourage the use of home fire sprinklers   Home fire sprinklers can be integrated with local water supply systems with ease, according to a new study.  The study - Integration of Residential Sprinklers with Water Supply Systems (PDF, 842 KB) - was released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Conducted by Newport Partners of Maryland, it looked at deta...

  Fire Sprinkler Initiative, a project of NFPA, is a effort to mandate the use of home fire sprinklers   NFPA has called the vote a critical step toward reducing deaths and destruction caused by home fires National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) President James M. Shannon applauded the recent vote by the International Code Council (ICC) to retain the code provision in the next edition of the International Residential Code (IRC) that all new...

EPA workers locating hazardous material moved by Ike in Texas The funds will go toward developing an all-hazard multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $437,325 in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funds to Cook County, Ill., for the development of an all-hazard multi-jurisdictional mitigation plan. This plan will identify and propose ways to reduce the risks of na...

USFA launched an effort to encourage everyone to install and maintain home smoke alarms and sprinklers The nationwide ‘Install. Inspect. Protect. Campaign' will emphasise how important smoke alarms are to the saving of lives. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has launched an effort to encourage everyone to install and maintain home smoke alarms and, if possible, sprinklers. More than 3,000 people die in home fires each year, and the majority of them have...

The National Volunteer Fire Council has an online resource to help applicants The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will begin accepting applications for FY 2009 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Services (SAFER) Grants beginning November 16, 2009 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The deadline for receipt of the SAFER Grant applications will be December 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The automated applications will be accessible from the web site for the Assistan...