Fire Industry News for September 2021

New training for firefighters aims to fight the cancer threat to them from fires, by taking aim at the toxic substances that fires produce. UK firefighters surveyed as part of University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) research were four times more likely to have been diagnosed with cancer than the general population. It’s thought that firefighter’s exposure to those toxic substances could be playing a part in their increased risk of getting cancer and other diseases. Better cleaning...

Wildland fires are an increasing threat in the United Kingdom. They’re high risk, difficult to manage, and create a set of very particular circumstances for firefighters, who are battling the blaze. And with wildland call-outs measured in days, rather than hours, fire services need a kit that’s as tough as the terrain that they’re working on. Defender wildland firefighting suit FlamePro, a British manufacturing specialist of life-saving garments for firefighters, has unveiled...

During the latest redesign of the Rosenbauer Rescue Stairs not only the operation has been overhauled, but the CAN bus system has also been implemented from scratch. A reduction of Electronic Control Units (ECUs) was achieved by using controllers from TTControl which are certified for safety purposes. The risk and hazard analysis showed that there are safety requirements up to performance level d, as defined in ISO 13849. Simplified Architecture Based On Safety Certified Electronics With the...

A new handheld device can detect the presence of explosive methane gas from up to 100 feet away. For firefighters, the tool provides situational awareness, saves time, and ensures safety from a distance. Knowing the presence of methane gas enables a firefighter to deal with an emergency gas leak and to avoid a deadly explosion. Gas laser The Gas Laser from Teledyne Gas and Flame Detection can shoot a laser beam through a window, a gap in a door, or another common venting point to provide an in...

Volunteer firefighters who are also National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) members have one final chance to enter and win a personalized MSA Safety Incorporated’s MSA Cairns XF1 Fire Helmet. This is the last of three helmets that will be given out in 2021. MSA Cairns XF1 Fire Helmet The jet-style design of the Cairns XF1 Fire Helmet reduces snag hazards, provides a personalized fit, and houses its own integrated light module. Plus, the soft goods are removable, washable, and replaceable,...

In their daily lives, fire personnel must be brave, forward-thinking, and strategic when tackling fire emergencies. However, the most crucial part of a successful fire operation is the communication between the crew, the central command center, and the people in need of rescue when in mission-critical, and often life-threatening situations. Whether this location is a large-scale wildfire, a high-rise building or even a house, continuous connectivity can be the mitigating factor on success or fai...

Thermo Fisher is a biotechnology company that is the result of a 2006 merger between Thermo Electron and Fisher Scientific. Since the merger, the company has gone on to become a multinational corporation with offices all over the world. Recently, the Middletown, Virginia office had a new fire protection system installed. Brewer Fire, a contractor based out of Charleston, West Virginia was chosen to head the project. Brewer decided to utilize Potter’s PFC-6800 Fire Alarm Control Panel, and...

The Green Bank Observatory is located in Green Bank, West Virginia and is home to the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope. The area is an ideal location for the telescope because mountains surrounding the satellite act as a natural funnel, pushing radio signals towards the large dish. The observatory’s purpose is to act as surveillance for a potential meteor collision, to measure the distance between stars, and search for intelligent life forms in the universe. The expan...

Built in 1938, Spring Lake Heights Elementary School in Spring Lake Heights, New Jersey was ready for an upgrade. Three of the school’s existing classrooms were to be renovated, as well as the addition of two completely new classrooms. A plan was created to not only equip the addition with a new fire protection system, but to modernize the rest of the building’s outdated system and retrofit it into the newly installed system. Along with new monitoring equipment and peripheral devices...

Licking County, Ohio was formed in 1808, with its county seat located in Newark, which is 33 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio. At the center of town, sits the Licking County Courthouse. The courthouse was constructed in 1878, and remains one of the town’s most prized historical possessions. In recent years, it became evident that updates to the building’s fire security facilities were necessary. The previous system was an all-in-one fire and security system, which didn’t leav...

According to Henry Shuler, Owner and Consulting Engineer for Shuler Consulting Company, one of the biggest issues with the old station was its location, which was in a tiny city lot crammed into a corner between the road and a commercial business. In addition, the lift station was at limited capacity, as it only had four pumps. “When you have that much sewage going into a very small wet well, corrosion becomes an issue. Odor was also a problem,” said Shuler. “So beyond just th...

The Media City in Salford Quays is the UK’s first purpose-built media hub built on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal. Construction started in 2007 with the site owner, Peel Group as the developer and Bovis Lend Lease as the main contractor for the 200-acre site which was opened by the Queen in March 2012. The principal tenant, the BBC moved five London-based departments to the NW development – with as many as 1,600 jobs re-located from London, as well as several major BBC depar...

James Hall founded in 1863 in Southport, Lancashire is a wholesaler, manufacturer and distributor of goods to around 640 SPAR shops in the north of England. With over 150 years of experience in the food retail and wholesale industry, James Hall has acquired a range of businesses to help support their SPAR brand. James Hall owns multiple warehouses and distribution centers within the north of England. One being their primary purpose-built distribution center first constructed in 2010. The distri...

The London Aquatics Centre is located in Stratford, on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park complex and is designed by renowned architect, Zaha Hadrid. Constructed by Balfour Beatty in 2008 and completed in July 2011, well in time ready to feature in the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics events. London Aquatics Centre The London Aquatics Centre is home to a 50-meter competition swimming pool, a 25-meter competition diving pool and a 50-meter warm-up pool, with all of them featuring a movable fl...

To address the growing population and projected water demand over the next 30 Years, HCWA recently completed a master plan update that includes two booster pump stations – the Fairview booster pump station and the Southeastern booster pump station. Due to the elevation, part of the area near the Fairview booster pump station was being fed from another county. The water treatment plants are in the southern portion of the county, so it would take 30 to 40 miles of transmission to get to the...

Progress Energy’s Lee Plant, located in Goldsboro, N.C., originally enlisted nine vertical pumps within the plant as yard drain pumps – pumps that have motors that are located above the pump and a line shaft that extends down into the length of the sump – whereas the pump is actually at the bottom of the sump. The pumps were enlisted to remove excess water that accumulates from rainfall and storm drains, equipment wash down and general water overflow – all of which are p...

Increasingly, end users in the construction, industrial and wastewater markets are realizing the need for higher heads or to pump liquids greater distances, over challenging topography. Professional Engineers and municipal designers have previously had little choice but to overextend pump performance limits of conventional self-priming centrifugal trash pumps, potentially shortening the life of the pump and risking safety issues in the process. Thousands of hours of research and development and...

Located in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania serving a population of less than 20,000, the Newtown Township Municipal Authority’s sewer system needed three new pumping stations and rehabilitation for two existing stations. Two and a half years into the project, four stations are up and running, with the remaining station set to be live in summer 2021. The stations are Newtown Hunt, Goshen Road, Old Masters, Camelot and Springton Pointe. There was a significant community need for the...

Founded in 1925, the Western Carolina Regional Sewer Authority (WCRSA) is a special purpose district of South Carolina, located in northwestern South Carolina. The organization serves over 400,000 customers in Greenville County and parts of Anderson, Spartanburg and Laurens Counties, covering a total of 296 square miles. WCRSA maintains 300 miles of major sewer trunk lines and conducts operations through nine major wastewater treatment facilities located on three river basins; the Enoree, Reedy...

REV Fire Group, part of REV Group Inc., a foremost manufacturer of specialty vehicles and related aftermarket parts and services, announces it will introduce the first fully electric North American-style fire apparatus. Developed with technology partner Emergency One Group LTD – maker of the world’s first EV fire truck – this new electric fire truck packs 316 kW of proven automotive-grade batteries to deliver the longest electric pumping duration in the industry. This enables...

Loudoun County has established a voluntary database that provides emergency responders with important health information, in compliance with Virginia’s Marcus-David Peters Act, which was signed into law in December 2020. Virginia’s Marcus-David Peters Act The law aims to provide behavioral health responses, when an individual is experiencing a crisis, related to mental health, substance abuse or developmental disability, in the US state of Virginia. The bill requires that by July 1...

  Fleet service company BwFuhrparkService GmbH is procuring 76 forest fire trucks (FlKfz WBBk) from Rosenbauer on behalf of the German Armed Forces. Rosenbauer Germany was awarded the contract because it had the most cost-effective bid in the tender. Design and features The vehicles are part of the MT series. They are custom-designed according to the precise deployment needs of the fire crews and feature state-of-the-art equipment. They not only have sturdy structures and high-qualit...

Gorman-Rupp has designed a line of high efficiency, limited solids handling Super T Series® pumps that are available in standard materials of construction or fitted in Gorman-Rupp Hard Iron for abrasive environments. The 2”, 3”, and 4” Super T Series pumps are now available with a new impeller and wear plate designed to boost efficiency as much as 19% with a shutoff head increased 37% more than the previous standard models. The 2” Super T Series pumps will pass a 0.7...

Howe & Howe Inc. (Howe & Howe Technologies), a subsidiary of Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, has unveiled its latest innovations for the firefighting community, its next-generation Thermite EV2, an all-electric firefighting robot, as well as its new, hand-held controller. The Thermite EV2 is an all-electric firefighting robot, operated by a software-driven controller, to effectively target fires with modular design, including a multi-position nozzle and additional a...

Dräger will help protect thousands of firefighters, first responders, and fire industry professionals with American-made N95 disposable respirators during FDIC International. FDIC International opens August 2 to 7 in Indianapolis. Thousands of firefighters and others will attend the education classes and exposition for the largest annual fire industry show. Made by American workers in Pennsylvania, the Dräger X-plore 1750 will be distributed throughout FDIC at the Indiana Convention C...

The Potter PS40-EX Supervisory Pressure Actuated Switch is designed primarily to detect an increase and/or decrease from normal system pressure in automatic fire sprinkler systems located in hazardous locations. Typical applications are Dry pipe systems, pre-action air/nitrogen supervision, pressure tanks, air supplies, and water supplies. The PS40-EX switch is factory set for 40 PSI (2,8 BAR) normal system pressure. The switch marked with the word LOW is set to operate at a pressure decrease o...

The RD13 Riser (with NPT connectors) is constructed from Listed CPVC products suitable for fire sprinkler services subject to the limitations and installation requirements of Flameguard® CPVC pipe and Spears® CPVC fittings. The RD13 Riser incorporates a VSR-SG flow switch, gauge, and drain/test valve. The VSR-SG flow switch is equipped with a union connection to facilitate the installation and removal of the switch in confined spaces. Unique Features Includes flow switch with union...

As one of the largest school districts in the Pacific Northwest, Portland Public School District is comprised of 78 schools and is responsible for educating more than 49,000 students. A plan was recently enacted to provide updated fire protection systems to school buildings within the district. Many new public education complexes have been constructed across Portland, as well as additions made to existing structures. A unified comprehensive fire alarm system needed to be present in every buildi...

Founded in 1874, Polk County sits in the heart of Willamette Valley within the scenic coastal city of Dallas, Oregon. An epicenter for equality and justice, the Polk County Courthouse desperately needed a fire alarm and fire sprinkler system overhaul to ensure the safety of their property and people. The existing four-story building built in 1899 received a three-story annex addition in 1964 and the Polk County Jail Building in 1999. The 69,000 square foot property houses approximately 175 empl...

Smoke control is essential in redirecting hazardous smoke and fumes in the instance of a building fire. These systems save lives and assets which are otherwise at serious risk from smoke during a fire. Potter V6 Software Potter’s IPA Series fire alarm control panels are being updated with V6 firmware. Among several great enhancements to this industry-leading line, V6 unlocks support for smoke control features. Additionally, existing IPA panels that have been installed can be upgraded to...