Fire Industry News for August 2022

The Construction Industry Council (CIC) welcomes the Building Safety Act, which received Royal Assent. CIC and its membership of the professional bodies across the built environment have been liaising with officials at DLUCH (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) since the Grenfell tragedy in 2017. Recommendations CIC has provided input, representing our membership, into the Hackitt Review, the draft bill, and the Bill which has, amongst other things, sought to implement her re...

Agility Technologies Corporation (Agility), a developer of innovative products for the emergency services market announces the introduction of the new FIRSTLOOK brand across all its digital and printed media assets and social platforms.   The successful introduction and adoption of the FL360 rescue camera across the global rescue community, in addition to the development and launch of multiple private label products, have accelerated the need to execute on a long-term organizational s...

The World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Risks Report 22’, which was just released in February 2022, no longer includes water or water-related issues among the top five threats lurking within the next ten years. Unfortunately, it's not because the world has come to grips with water infrastructure. Other threats have just come along and seem more plausible. Climate action failure - the greatest threat to human safety Climate action failure is now considered the greatest threat to h...

FASS has covered in a couple of news updates the dangers of lithium batteries in terms of a fire and/or explosion risk if they are not stored correctly, protected from impact and damage, or used in inferior quality items. The resulting fire can be truly catastrophic even from a relatively small battery. fire intensity FASS’s attention was drawn to a recent article posted by ERI online which looks at the other end of the scale, the 5 largest known Lithium Battery fires in the USA to date...

ASFP are delighted to confirm that it has 2 courses this summer ahead of the IFE October exam. The dates and locations are as follows: Hilton Manchester Airport, Outwood Lane, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M90 4WP 16th August 23rd August 30th August 6th September 13th September 20th September 27th September Hilton Reading Hotel, Drake Way, Reading, Oxfordshire, RG2 0GQ 18th August 25th August 1st September 8th September 15th September 22nd September 29th September

As part of Global’s partnership with Winkhaus on Global's Composite Fire Doors, this month it took some samples down to the experts at Warrington Fire in High Wycombe for a destructive Fire Resistance Test at their facilities. Its relationship with Winkhaus and its other partners allows a syndicate of companies to develop skills and knowledge in composite fire door fabrication under the BM Trada Q170 Scheme. Various testing  This means that Global are all able to conduct...

II Aspire has been working with Skills for Security and other professionals across the fire industry, to review the National Occupational Standards in Mechanical Fire Protection. ​The National Occupational Standards in Mechanical Fire Protection relate to any non-electrical device used for fire protection, such as – sprinklers, gas systems, water mist and powder, foam and chemical systems, dry and wet risers, and fire mains. Consultations on the National Occupational Standards They are...

In 2021, Optimum experienced another year of uncertainty within the construction industry. With both COVID and Brexit exacerbating material availability and putting unprecedented strain on the supply chain. However, Optimum is delighted to have navigated through the turbulence of 2021 and ended the year on a high, and are very proud to announce that the Optimum Fire Stopping team won Best Installation Project of the Year for their contribution to The Grange University Hospital (SCCC) project in...

“I came to be a part of the industry almost by chance,” said Rebecca Gallagher, Area Sales Manager – Scotland & North East, adding “I’d not long left university and wasn’t sure which career path I wanted to take. Then, a recruitment company set me up with an interview at ROCKWOOL and almost four years later it was the best decision I have made.” Rebecca continues, “Although there’s an obvious perception that construction is predominantly...

Agility Technologies (ATC) is excited to announce a new addition to its global reseller network in Chile, Fireground Equipment (Fireground). fire and rescue products Fireground is dedicated to the import of the highest quality fire and rescue products for all institutions and members of Chile’s emergency services community. The team is made up entirely of emergency responders with years of knowledge and experience. The Agility team welcomes Fireground to its family and encourages all fi...

Global is so happy to be celebrating Assistant Quantity Surveyor Kenny Robertson placing as a Runner Up in the CHIC Ltd (Communities & Housing Investment Consortium) Trainee of the Year Awards. From Kenny’s first day, Global has been impressed with his can-do attitude and approach to learning and improving himself. He has continually strived to build his skills within his role and to advance throughout the company. Being one of the youngest members of staff, Global has always been imm...

Global is incredibly proud to announce that it has been named Winners of the Innovation of the Year at the ASFP Awards. It is an absolute honor to receive this award and is thrilled to spotlight the new and innovative Independent Fire Scrutineer Role. Customer service Global would love to thank the wonderful technical team for their hard work developing and working in this role, providing an excellent service to the clients, and pushing forward higher standards of fire safety. ASFP is so...

The growth and development of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) continue apace; having recently gone through a rebranding initiative one of the final steps was to install new signage at the Association’s registered office. In 2020, the ASFP moved its secretariat and management services to be under the provision of the British Coatings Federation (BCF) at their Coventry-based facility, Spectra House. This move has seen the ASFP’s professionalism and resources grow...

The former Township of West Carleton Fire Department (now a part of the newly amalgamated City of Ottawa) recently completed the installation of a network of 14 dry fire hydrants. Working in conjunction with Mainstream Dry Hydrants Inc., sites were selected to ensure year-round access to local ponds, lakes, rivers, and cisterns strategically placed in the District. To date, all of the dry hydrants have been used in real fire situations. Hydrant rating classification According to Sector Chief,...

Agility Technologies (ATC) is excited to announce a new addition to its global reseller network in Indonesia, PT. Anugerah Mekatama Sejahtera (PT-AMS). Since 2006, PT-AMS has been providing the best fire fighting and rescue equipment/tools to all the government agencies and private companies in Indonesia. The Agility team welcome PT-AMS to the family and encourage all fire rescue/USAR departments to call or email them for an in-person or virtual demonstration of the #FirstLook360 camera system...

Global HSE is supporting Fire Door Safety Week. A campaign was created to engage and educate building owners and building users on the importance of a fully compliant and functioning fire door. This article will help give a better understanding of what is a fire door, the components that make one up, and how to maintain and inspect them. What is a fire door? Fire doors are a legal requirement in almost all commercial buildings and residential properties including blocks of flats, sheltered ac...

In the coming weeks, further restrictions regarding COVID safety may be reduced or completely removed following assessments by governments across the nation. This poses important steps for fire safety service providers/contractors, including reviewing COVID safety policies in the interest of employee and client safety. Tips to follow BAFE would like to offer the following guidance considering the removal or reduction of restrictions: Continue to exercise a risk-based approach before visiti...

Bryland announced their completion of a 2-year multi-million-pound project designing and installing fire protection systems for a new 10MW data center. In news from Bryland, Graham Turner, Managing Director - Bryland Fire Protection, explained “As this client specializes in providing telecommunications, protecting ‘uptime’ which is the number of time servers stay operational, was critical." gaseous suppression system "Water sprinklers may be one of the most economical soluti...

The UK Home Office on Monday (07/06/2021) published an update regarding guidance covering fire safety in purpose-build blocks of flats. The UK Home Office states that ‘this document is a guide to ensuring adequate fire safety in purpose-built blocks of flats, regardless of age’. how to assess fire risk Practical advice is offered on how to assess the risk from fire and how to manage fire safety in such buildings. The document also includes case studies based on the commonly found i...

The Agility team is excited to announce the addition of Georgia Fire & Rescue Supply as its first exclusive authorized dealer for the state of Georgia. Founded by J.T. and Barbara Whidby, Georgia Fire & Rescue Supply has been providing Georgia’s Fire, Police, and EMS markets with the highest quality goods and services since 2003. The Agility team is very excited to have Georgia Fire & Rescue Supply as a partner and encourages all departments to call or email them for an in-pe...

On May 27, 2021, the Department for Education opened its consultation on Building Bulletin 100 (BB100). This document is described by the Department as “non-statutory guidance on fire safety for schools.” “The guidance covers designing a school building so that pupils and staff will have early warning if a fire breaks out and can evacuate quickly and safely. BB100 advises how to minimize the spread of fire and how to ensure the building structure is adequately resistant to fir...

The Agility team is excited to announce the addition of Rutger van Dujin and his company RVI TOOLS as the new exclusive dealer in The Netherlands and Belgium. With the addition of #FirstLook360 to the RVI TOOLS product portfolio and Rutgers's years of experience with visual inspection tools, we expect great things to come. Contact Rutger by phone or email him for an in-person or virtual demonstration of the first wireless 360° spherical imaging search and rescue camera, FirstLook360.

The Fire Protection Association (FPA) are delighted to announce they have been awarded UKAS accreditation to carry out fire tests on watermist systems to BS 8458:2015 Fixed fire protection systems – Residential and domestic watermist systems – Code of practice for design and installation. The Fire Protection Association is among the first UK testing laboratories to become UKAS accredited for BS 8458 watermist system testing. The Fire Protection Association (FPA) is delighted to anno...

Fire safety in the built environment has become an ever more important design requirement in recent years. With a greater focus on testing and continuous product development, fire safety has never been more essential. From advancements in fire products and improved testing to changes in how people are approaching fire safety throughout the construction industry, demand continues to grow for safer, more reliable fire-resistant solutions. Optima will take a look...

At the beginning of the current lockdown period, BAFE published news that new national lockdown restrictions categorically did not restrict fire safety work. Fire safety personnel continue to remain “key workers” and continuing this work is outlined as acceptable in national lockdown guidance by Government. "You may only leave your home for work if you cannot reasonably work from home, to help reduce the spread of the virus and protect others. If you cannot work from home you should...

With the announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a national lockdown is now in effect until further notice. New guidance New coronavirus lockdown guidance has been issued for “people who are fit and well”. It is advised that “you must not leave or be outside of your home except where you have a reasonable excuse”.  The guidance clearly states that a “reasonable excuse” includes working “where it is unreasonable for you...

BAFE are an official supporting partner of the BSI virtual event. BSI will be hosting a one-day free virtual event that will be looking at “the rapidly growing fire safety market and answers key questions around what’s changing, the likely impacts, emerging trends, and how knowledge can be shared between the fire and construction sectors to help meet the new challenges.” The event has been created for multiple people with roles directly linked to fire safety within an organiza...

A survey of leaseholders found that ‘nearly nine in 10’ or 89% who have received external wall fire review (EWS1) checks have been told their buildings require remediation work. Recently, the housing, communities, and local government committee (HCLGC) found that ‘fixing fire safety defects’ in high-risk residential buildings could cost up to £15bn, and branded the mortgage industry’s cladding form ‘slow and expensive. EWS1 process The EWS1 process he...

Following provisions of the so-called “Tunnel Decree” in force in Italy, in April 2021 all the trains running on the Italian railway network must be equipped with fire detection and fire fighting system fully compliant with the technical regulations governing the “Italy specific case “of the European TSI currently in force. SILFI-GUARD© system SNCF has planned to upgrade its high-speed trains to ensure compliance with the new regulations Given this deadline, all r...

The government announced the publication of its response to the consultation it undertook on ADB, publishing at the same time an amendment to ADB that ‘extends the provision of sprinklers in blocks of high-rise residential buildings to those buildings with a top floor height of 11 meters above ground level’. New guidance on consistent wayfinding signage This announcement also contained ‘new guidance on consistent wayfinding signage’ for fire and rescue service (FRS) per...