Fire Industry News for April 2023

Violence is the second most frequent cause of nonfatal injuries to emergency medical services (EMS) providers according to 2020 data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) data tracking. Most of these injuries are caused by the patient's EMS providers are treating. Recommendations Recommendations for personal safety vary from department to department and include: Understanding that emergency scenes are dynamic and that violence to emergency responders is alwa...

The LPC Sprinkler Rules for Automatic Sprinkler Installations is the UK's most significant sprinkler installation standard which incorporates the full BS EN 12845:2015+A1:2019 standard and related Technical Bulletins. Published by the FPA, this document has recently been updated to incorporate new Technical Bulletins and update existing ones to provide a specification designed to ensure the highest reasonably practical levels of property protection, life safety, and resilience to fire can be ac...

A high-rise office building in Changsha, central China, saw a major fire break out on 16 September 2022, though no casualties have been reported and the cause of the fire is still unknown. CCTV, the state broadcaster, reported that “Thick smoke billowed from the site and dozens of floors burned ferociously.” A photograph released by CCTV on social media revealed the 218-meter building enveloped in flames with thick black smoke issuing from all sides. State-Owned telecommunications...

Hempel, the coatings supplier to the wind energy industry, announced the launch of Hempablade Edge 171, a new coating for renowned edge protection (LEP) on wind turbine rotor blades.  With the highest rain erosion performance data on the market for a liquid LEP and some of the lowest dry film thicknesses, Hempablade Edge 171 provides long-term protection against rain erosion and reduces time and costs during application. wind turbine blade The leading edge of a wind turbine blade is expo...

A stark warning about the risks of taking shortcuts in an attempt to save fuel costs has been given by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. Group Commander - David Girrity told a meeting of the Midlothian Police, Fire and Rescue Board that fires in homes will increase as the cost-of-living crisis hits households, according to the Edinburgh Evening News. Single occupancy households Group Commander - David Girrity said: “The poverty of fuel, I can see that exacerbating the issues in rela...

Both FireQual and BAFE are deeply saddened by the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen was a bastion of integrity and service to the United Kingdom, which both FireQual and BAFE profoundly respected. Her death is a huge loss for everyone. respects and condolences The Queen had a strong link to the Fire Service College in Moreton-in-Marsh (where FireQual and BAFE are based), having officially opened the site in May 1974. Both give respects and condolences go out to The Royal Fam...

At least two sets of fluorine-containing wastewater treatment systems shall be set up, one for use and one for standby, with two-stage treatment. The HF wastewater is first lifted from the homogenization tank by the water pump to the first reaction tank, where Ca(OH) is used to adjust the pH to partially generate calcium fluoride and then flow into the second reaction tank. Precisely adding CaCl2 in the second reaction tank will completely react with the fluorine in the wastewater, and at the s...

The London Fire Brigade has issued another e-bike safety warning after five people were rescued from a flat fire in St John’s Wood. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters attended the scene at around 2am, which was under control by 02:56. Around half of the flat on the second floor of a block on Frampton Street was damaged by the fire. One resident was taken to hospital as a result. Correct safety standards The fire is believed to have been accidental and caused by a lithium-ion b...

FireQual are proud to support the WorldSkills UK Fire Detection and Alarm Systems Competition. WorldSkills UK is delighted to launch the new Fire Detection and Alarm Systems Competition, run in partnership with Skills for Security. As well offering apprentices the chance to boost their skills, they also have the unique possibility of competing at the ‘international skills Olympics’ in France in 2024. Undergoing intensive training The competition, which kicked off in May at the IFS...

Semiconductors are the main application scenarios for specialty gases. According to "Global Electronic Specialty Gases Market Research 2022", the global electronic specialty gases market size will be USD 4.423 billion in 2021. However, rising inflation, soaring energy prices, the impact of COVID-19, and other reasons have caused the semiconductor industry to enter a downward cycle and weaken consumer electronics demand. Chip and Science Act On August 9, the United States signed the "Chip and...

Coatings company, Hempel A/S, announces the promotion of Steen Niemann Madsen to Executive Vice President, Energy & Infrastructure. Steen will succeed Michael Hansen in the position from 15 October 2022, when Michael Hansen steps into the position of Group President and CEO of Hempel A/S. With the appointment, Steen Niemann will become part of the Executive Group Management. Vast Industry experience  Steen Niemann comes from his current position at Hempel as Vice President, of Infras...

Michael Hansen announced to succeed Lars Petersson as Group President and CEO of coatings company, Hempel A/S. Michael will step into his new position on 15 October 2022. Michael Hansen joined Hempel in May 2017 as Chief Commercial Officer and has delivered remarkable results as a central driver of the global transformation in Hempel. Michael is part of the Executive Group Management as Executive Vice President, Energy & Infrastructure. Strong social engagement Michael Hansen has extensiv...

The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has detailed a potential safety weakness in a large number of building ventilation systems. BESA have issued the warning, alongside a revised edition of their technical bulletin VH001 Fire and Smoke Damper Maintenance V3, following the revelation that annual inspections found ‘a huge number of dampers’ had been incorrectly installed. Building ventilation systems Graeme Fox, Head of Technical for BESA, said: “We have been a...

Peroxides play a significant role in industrial production and people's lives, they are widely used as curing agents, catalysts, bleaching agents, deodorants, antiseptics, and disinfectants in the fields of polymer chemistry, fine chemicals, textile printing and dyeing, food processing, furniture manufacturing, etc. However, peroxides are very unstable substances with high fire and explosion hazards. In recent years, major fire and explosion accidents caused by them have occurred continuously....

The cause of the fire between London Bridge and Waterloo East stations has been identified as a pedicab. Ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters tackled a fire at a commercial property under railway arches on Union Street in Southwark, which crews described as ‘completely alight.’ Smoke could reportedly be seen for miles around. Affected train services A railway arch in Southwark used as a garage, and another nearby unit storing vehicles, including electric scooters and bikes,...

The Home Office has released statistics that provide a new analysis of automatic fire alarms by confirmed type. The figures include a count of the number of incidents classified as Automatic Fire Alarms at the time of call, by Fire and Rescue Service, by confirmed incident type at scene attendance, and by Financial Year, covering 2016/17 to 2021/22. Automatic Fire Alarms incidents  The work shows that in the year 2021/22, there were nearly 130,000 incidents classified as Automatic Fire A...

Fire crews were called to an incident on Duckett Street in Stepney Green, London on 6 August. The blaze, which the London Fire Brigade's (LFB) investigators believe was caused by the failure of a Lithium-ion battery from an e-bike, damaged a first-floor flat in a three-story block. Nine residents of the block had already left the building when the Brigade arrived, and there were no reported injuries. Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to the fire at 01:05, which was under...

This World Drowning Prevention Day (25 July), Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is urging Kent and Medway residents to respect the water. In the UK, drowning is a cause of accidental death and statistics have shown that drowning deaths are increasing, with more lives lost in inland water, than on the coast. KFRS has specialist water safety teams with crews always ready to respond to inland water rescues, where people are in trouble in lakes and rivers. Water rescue experts With a number of...

A gas cylinder cabinet is a common piece of equipment in industrial production or laboratory. As a safety protection cabinet for storing various types of dangerous gases, it can ensure the safe and stable use of dangerous gases, not only to ensure experimental production but also to maintain the safety of personnel.  There are three major elements of electronic special gas supply systems in the semiconductor industry: safety, stability, and purity, of which safety is the first element of t...

Firefighters are urging people living in Kent and Medway to follow simple steps to stay safe during the heatwave, and throughout the summer months.  With soaring temperatures in recent weeks and record-breaking highs forecast for 18 and 19 July, the Fire Severity Index is currently at level 4 'very high', moving to level 5 ‘exceptional’ throughout the day meaning fires could develop and spread rapidly and with greater severity. accidental fires In these conditions, crews...

MOCVD is a new vapor phase epitaxy growth technology developed based on vapor phase epitaxy (VPE). It uses organic compounds of III and II elements and hydrides of V and VI elements as crystal growth source materials, and conducts vapor phase epitaxy on the substrate by thermal decomposition reaction to grow various III-V main groups, II-VI subgroup compound semiconductors and thin-layer single-crystal materials of their multicomponent solid solutions. Abbreviation: Metal-organic Chemical Vapor...

Coatings supplier - Hempel launches Hempaprime CUI 275, a new coating to combat corrosion under insulation. With extremely short overcoating intervals and a wide temperature resistance, Hempaprime CUI 275 is designed to increase productivity and improve corrosion protection at energy generation and oil & gas facilities. Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a major challenge for equipment operators in the process industries. In the US alone, repair and downtime caused by CUI is estimated to c...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is proud to announce the Queen has recognized Paul Grimwood, a KFRS Senior Principal Fire Engineer, in the 2022 Birthday Honors List. Paul, who has a career spanning over 50 years in firefighting and fire engineering, has been awarded an MBE (Member of the British Empire). High-Rise buildings He is highly regarded within the fire industry as an expert and pioneer for new operational tactics, as well as for his meticulous work when it comes to ensuring resi...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is delighted to announce it has been awarded the Investing in Volunteers (liV) quality standard, in recognition of its commitment to volunteering.  The celebrations also mark the start of national Volunteers’ Week, which begins on 1 June.  recruits; supports and manages volunteers Throughout the process to achieve the accolade, KFRS worked with an IiV assessor to examine how it recruits, supports, and manages volunteers, to ensure they have...

A safety warning on the use of lithium-ion batteries is being issued by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) following several battery related fires this month. A safety warning on the use of lithium-ion batteries is being issued by Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) following several battery related fires this month. Lithium-ion batteries, or li-ion batteries (sometimes called LIBs) are commonly found in many items including mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes, hover boards, vaping devices and sco...

The shrill sound of a smoke alarm is very effective at alerting people when there’s a fire, but what if a person is deaf or has hearing difficulties? That was the concern of 62-year-old Lyn, who lives alone with her assistance dog, Clay, in New Romney. While Clay is excellent at helping out and alerting her when something is wrong, she was concerned about their safety if he was ever poorly and unable to let her know the smoke alarm was sounding.  home fire safety visit She boo...

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has been awarded for its innovative work in embedding a customer-centric culture throughout the organisation - tailoring services for everyone in the county to help keep them safe. Customer-Centric culture The accolade of achieving bronze in the Customer Focus category of the iESE Public Sector Transformation Awards on 9 March, acts as a springboard for KFRS as it embarks on a pioneering project to really get to know the people it serves. The insight gather...

BIOEX is exhibiting at SICUR 2022. Date: February 22-25, 2022. Location: Madrid, Spain SICUR brings together companies, associations, professionals, and users of global security, fire, and emergency safety in the public and private spheres.

More than 200 emergency service staff at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) came together on Wednesday 2 February for a virtual session to learn and share emotional personal experiences around inclusivity and diversity. Hosted via Microsoft Teams, the conference included informative and inspirational guest speakers, who each highlighted how everyone can embrace difference and drive positive change in the workplace, as well as in everyday life. Equal and inclusive world The virtual event, run...

Firefighter Eric Newman has officially clocked out for his last tour of duty and entered retirement on November 29, 2021. Work experience  Eric Newman began his fire service career with the City of Rolla in 1997 before joining us as a volunteer in October 2009. Firefighter Newman was then brought on as a career member 5 months later in March of 2010 in which he spent the next 11 years serving the people of Osage Beach Fire District.  Firefighter Eric Newman has been an integral...