Fire Industry News for November 2023

Young people across South Yorkshire are being given the opportunity to change their lives thanks to the county’s police and fire services. South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue will once again be teaming up to deliver the ‘life-changing’ Prince’s Trust Team Program course later this month (September 2023) and will also run in January and March next year. Range of life skills This is a course for people who are between 16 and 25 years old and not...

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue will be offering small and medium-sized businesses a range of advice during the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC’s) Business Safety Week, which runs from 11th – 17th September. The week aims to help businesses understand their fire safety responsibilities so they remain safe, legal, and compliant. Many fires in the workplace are preventable and some businesses never recover after a fire. Helping businesses to manage their fire risks and haza...

In 2017, Becky Dore’s mental health declined when she moved away from home to study for a specialist health care degree at university. After leaving university, Becky was in a ‘dark place’ and was unsure what steps to take. She knew she wanted to work within the community and support people but didn’t know where to start. She felt lost. Work experience opportunities Becky Dore, who lives in Sheffield, then found the Prince’s Trust Team Programme where she enjoyed...

Nullifire is happy to share a new set of Technical Drawing Details, a result of the team’s hard work and customer-focused approach.  These details are a direct response to the requests and needs of our valued customers, aimed at delivering precision, ease of use, and compliance in fire-stopping applications. three flagship products Nullifire's initial set of Technical Detail Drawings encompasses three flagship products that are vital in ensuring top-tier fire protection: 1) FP170...

Calls for building owners to speed up fire safety remediation work have been backed by the county’s fire service. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue supports a joint statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and regulatory bodies which warns building owners that they need to get on with remediation work or face enforcement action. Making buildings safe The DLUHC statement - issued jointly by the government, Building Safety Regulator, the Local Government Ass...

Four new fire engines are responding to emergencies in South Yorkshire for the first time, in the first stage of a multi-million pound investment by the county’s fire and rescue service. The £280,000 vehicles are greener, cleaner and more reliable than South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s existing fire engine fleet, which is nearing the end of its operational life. The first four fire engines are to be based at Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Central (Sheffield) fire station...

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue is celebrating after raising more than £1,400 from the Big SYFR Swim – smashing the £1,000 target. Staff from across the organization swam the equivalent of the perimeter of South Yorkshire (170 miles) to raise money for two incredible causes – The Fire Fighters Charity and The Royal Life Saving Society. Two fantastic charities From frontline firefighters to corporate staff, each pledged to swim anything from 100 meters to several mile...

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) has been recognized by the Ministry of Defence for its commitment to the armed forces community. SYFR has been named a Silver award-winning organization under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS), delivered locally by the Reserve Forces & Cadets Association for Yorkshire & Humber. three award levels The ERS consists of three award levels – bronze, silver, and gold. Each level indicates an organization’s commitment and invol...

Mighty Fire Breaker is pleased to announce that its Independent Advisory Board has been joined by Several Retired Fire Officials: Southern California Fire Chief Jeff Bowman, San Bernardino Fire Chief/Marshall Peter Brierty, and Northern California Fire Chief/Marshal Jim Thomson.  These decorated, Retired Fire Officials see the need to add new, second lines of defense in wildfire defense, and MFB's DIY wildfire defense systems to all homes in wildfire regions as well as endorsing the use of...

Six years on from the Grenfell Tower fire and there is still so much to be said. It is hard to believe just how many things went wrong. Not only on the night of the fire, but the decades before, and the time that followed. The misconduct in practice and errors of judgment from all parties turned what should have been a ‘normal flat fire’ into one of the deadliest modern-day residential fires this country has seen. After closely following the Grenfell Tower public inquiry, one theme...

Mighty Fire Breaker's Retail Store rollout started in Sonoma County in the towns of Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sonoma, and Ukiah, where the Tubbs Fire of 2017 killed 22 people, destroyed 5000 and caused billions of dollars in losses. This week, (MFB) delivered products to a store in El Dorado County, where the Caldor Wildfire of 2020 destroyed over 1,000 homes in Grizzly Flats. Also delivering to a store in Murphy, an old Gold Rush town that is close to where the Dixie Fire of 2021 destroyed most of...

Staff from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue will be swapping fire helmets for swimming caps next week, as they prepare to swim the equivalent of the perimeter of South Yorkshire (170 miles) to raise money for two incredible causes – The Fire Fighters Charity and The Royal Life Saving Society. Big SYFR Swim Challenge People from across the organization, from frontline firefighters to corporate staff, have pledged that they will swim anything from 100 meters to several miles to support th...

The fire service is calling for the widespread adoption of sprinklers by businesses, schools and care homes, as it marks a national awareness week. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has tackled 1,065 fires in non-domestic properties over the last three years. The most serious of these incidents can take fire engines several hours to tackle, as well as potentially putting the company involved out of business. Commercial premise fire But business fire safety officers say fire sprinklers are the...

Recently talked about what competency means in the context of fire safety in the construction industry, from a contractor/installer point of view. Established that there is more to competency than knowledge, skill, or experience and talked about ethics, the culture of copy and paste, and the importance of knowing one’s limitations. Competency is knowing what don’t know and being prepared to ask for help. This often works for those who find themselves in a situation where they unders...

Nullifire has developed a high-performance fire protection solution to meet the unique requirements of off-site construction. Nullifire FZ100 Fire Safe Zone has been engineered to provide best-in-class fire-stopping capabilities to existing and future service penetrations. Quick and easy to install, as well as lightweight and easy to cut, it offers a fully tested system to BS EN 1366-3, up to EI120, delivering Nullifire’s renowned safety performance while supporting the fast-track na...

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service's Chief Fire Officer has responded to the report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) on values and culture in the fire service nationally. HMICFRS report Chief Fire Officer - Chris Kirby, said: “The HMICFRS report on values and culture makes difficult reading for anyone working in the fire and rescue service. It shouldn’t need saying- but there is absolutely no place for the negative...

Pioneering contractor - GRAHAM has invested in dedicated fire awareness training for more than 100 of its employees, in partnership with Nullifire, a fire-stopping solutions, and intumescent coatings manufacturer, under parent brand - Tremco CPG UK Ltd.  in-depth training Designed and managed by Colin Green, Area Sales Manager for Fire Protection at Tremco CPG UK, the in-depth training has been developed specifically for GRAHAM to upskill its team with fire prevention and protection infor...

A South Yorkshire recruitment campaign aims to change perceptions of women in the fire service. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s ‘A Firefighter Is A Firefighter’ campaign includes a new hard-hitting video, which highlights the fact that all firefighters meet the same standards and do the same job regardless of their gender. Campaign to inspire women At the same time, the service will be publishing a fresh episode of its official podcast, Shout, featuring women from across...

Residents in Rossington, Stocksbridge, Askern, Penistone, Dearne, and Birley are being challenged to step up and join their local fire crew, as the county’s fire service launches another on-call firefighter recruitment drive. New vacancies have arisen at the stations in each of these areas with more staff needed to keep the fire engines’ wheels turning and respond to fires, floods, road traffic collisions, and other emergency incidents. Fire officers say there has never been a bette...

Firefighters across South Yorkshire are asking the county’s residents to not believe everything they read or hear when it comes to fire safety. The warning, issued by South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, comes amidst a ‘cost of living’ crisis that has seen potentially dangerous money-saving ‘hacks’ being shared online. Fire crews have also attended a number of fires locally, over the winter period, which have been started through unsafe heating practices. The service...

A young person from Barnsley taking part in a fire service development scheme has been praised by paramedics for coming to the aid of an older person. Harry Prew arrived late for a session at Barnsley fire station, as part of South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Prince’s Trust Team Program. It was only later that it was revealed he’d discovered an older man in a ditch. He called the emergency services-waiting with the man and made him comfortable, until the ambulance service ar...

The fire service’s governing Fire Authority has decided to increase its portion of Council Tax by £5 next year, at its budget setting meeting on Monday, 20 February. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue faces a multi-million-pound deficit in the coming years as a result of increased costs of goods, services, fuel, and energy-plus the impact of nationally negotiated wage increases for its staff. Fire Authority Members Householders in Band D currently pay £77.58 per year for thei...

The fire service’s governing Fire Authority will decide whether to increase its portion of Council Tax by £5 next year, at its budget setting meeting later this month. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue faces a multi-million-pound deficit in the coming years as a result of increased costs of goods, services, fuel, and energy - plus the impact of nationally negotiated wage increases for its staff. Fire and Rescue Authority Meeting Householders in Band D currently pay £77.58 pe...

A Sheffield apartment block has had a prohibition notice lifted, after work to address serious fire safety concerns was completed. Fire safety inspecting officers from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue served a prohibition notice on Wicker Riverside in December because previously identified issues with the building had not been resolved. Fire safety inspecting officers The notice had been due to come into force on 31 January- but work undertaken by the responsible persons to address the issue...

Nullifire's team will be attending the Fire Safety Event 2023 – the largest gathering of UK fire safety suppliers. The UK’s number one fire safety event will be held in the NEC, Birmingham from 25th to 27th April 2023, providing expertise and guidance across a wide range of areas relating to fire protection. Specifiers, contractors, fire safety engineers, consultants, and end users will find Nullifire at stand number - 3a/H15 near the ASFP pavilion and the Passive Fire Conference zo...

South Yorkshire’s fire service says it has already taken significant steps to improve its service, following the publication of a national inspection report. The report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) identified several areas for improvement- as well as many areas of good practice. areas of good practice Inspectors said the service is ‘good’ at looking after its people, but needs to improve under the ‘effect...

The planned prohibition of the use of an apartment block in Sheffield is still expected to proceed as planned, due to serious fire safety concerns. prohibition notice Fire safety inspecting officers from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue served a prohibition notice on Wicker Riverside on 5 December because previously identified issues with the building had not been resolved and interim measures which had been in place can no longer be considered interim. The notice comes into force on 31 Janu...

The blueprint behind the business strategy at MFB is to be the best in proactive, risk-reduction wildfire defense with MFB-31-CitroTech, an accredited chemistry that is listed in the EPA Safer Choice Program. By adding smoke detection monitoring, now offer an even greater value in risk reduction because property owners can be notified sooner of a pending threat. They can then activate the systems and program sooner, well before the wildfire arrives on the property being defended. Author's quot...

SYFRS is aware of the ongoing gas supply incident in parts of Stannington and Hillsborough. While agencies work together to resolve this issue, fire service staff will be visiting the area to provide safety advice to local people. Gas Supply Issue If users have lost gas supply, please: Be careful not to overload electrical sockets – SYFRS knows people may be using more electrical items to cook or heat their homes, but most extension leads and adapters can only take a maximum of 1...

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has responded to the Independent Cultural Review of the London Fire Brigade. Chief Fire Officer - Chris Kirby, said: “The report makes difficult reading for anyone working in the fire and rescue service. It shouldn’t need saying - but there is absolutely no place for the negative behavior and attitudes described in the report in any modern workplace, let alone the fire and rescue service." Independent Cultural Review of the London Fire Brigade Chr...