COVID-19 - News

Results from a survey conducted by a manufacturer of fire safety technology, Geofire, found that 53% of fire safety professionals have seen an increase in fire doors being wedged open since the start of the pandemic. The survey, which was completed to gain an insight into how COVID-19 has impacted the fire safety industry over the last 12 months, highlighted key themes such as the impact of financial pressure following the pandemic. Fire safety maintenance 84% of the respondents identified th...

The Government has stated that outdoor areas at cafes, restaurants, bars, pubs, and social clubs will be allowed to reopen, including for takeaway alcohol, on April 12. Hardstaff Barriers, the manufacturer and supplier of roadside safety and hostile vehicle mitigation (HVM) barriers, is recommending that hospitality businesses install approved concrete or steel barriers to create designated ‘alfresco dining’ areas. The barrier systems not only provide clear outdoor seating areas and...

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) released the joint annual report entitled Emergency Management Performance Grant: An Evaluation of the Nation’s Return on Investment Amid Coronavirus. About EMPG The Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) allows state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to make key investments to build capacity and enhance the capability of states and localities to respond to...

Fire detection and alarm devices company, Argus Security, has appointed Giorgio Koursaris as its new General Manager, with responsibility for both Argus and its UK sister brand, Hyfire. He joins at a pivotal moment for the well-known brand, which is about to embark on a series of new product launches that promise to revolutionize the fire sector.  commercial and production operations Giorgio, who holds both Greek and Italian citizenship, will oversee both commercial and production operat...

Fire prevention remains essential even in the current economy. However, the design, installation, and maintenance of critical life safety systems have come under new price and process pressures. Costs must be optimized, while time-on-site and person-to-person contact minimized. Italy’s home-grown Argus wireless fire systems offer fire professionals the optimal solution in today’s environment. Advantages of the system Wireless fire detection and alarm systems offer key advantages o...

The AFAC National Resource Sharing Center (NRSC) was activated on Saturday 20 March 2021 to assist the New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) with coordinated interstate assistance with flood and severe weather operations. This has been the largest flood and storm deployment coordinated by NRSC, with a total of 342 interstate personnel deployed into NSW. Incident management personnel AFAC NRSC had a Deployment Manager and a Management Support Officer embedded within the NSW SES Sta...

With new fire safety legislations demanding a renewed focus on safety in all residential settings, Karen Trigg of Allegion UK explains why care home and sheltered housing associations must prioritise the maintenance of fire doors. The regulations and standards associated with fire safety and sheltered, assisted and social housing are, by necessity, robust. Yet, the responsibilities towards those standards, and subsequently, fire safety equipment such as fire doors, can often leave people vuln...

Even the most hazmat-phobic firefighter understands that chemical agents are added to odorless natural gas to make it obvious when there’s a leak. Beyond that baseline of basic knowledge, firefighter understanding of how odor agents work and how to detect the danger behind the smell can be all over the map.  Refresher courses for safety Whether it is teaching hazmat to new cadets, conducting annual refresher courses, or leading a team of firefighters into hazmat scenarios, having th...

When ISO announced on December 1st, 2017 that ISO/IEC 17025:2017, 'General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories', had been updated, the conformity assessment community was aware that this would be one of the largest scale transitions of an accreditation standard ever undertaken. ISO/IEC 17025 ISO/IEC 17025 is the most popular international reference standard ISO/IEC 17025 is the most popular international reference standard for ensuring the competence of tes...

Roy Wilsher steps down as NFCC Chair after four years, handing over to his successor, Mark Hardingham. Created in 2017, the NFCC is the professional voice of the fire and rescue service and builds on the legacy of the Chief Fire Officers Association. Prior to taking on the role of Chair, Roy Wilsher was Chief Fire Officer of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. He was in charge when the Buncefield oil depot exploded in 2005, this was one of the largest fires in Europe since the second wo...

Recently, BAFE published information discussing the roadmap for easing COVID-19 restrictions and that this should prompt reviews on fire safety.  Within this, BAFE reassured that fire safety service providers continue to operate as safely as possible following appropriate COVID-19 guidance to help clients meet their obligations. free rapid lateral flow tests The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has distributed important information that the Government is providing free rapid lateral f...

Kentec Electronics, a pioneering manufacturer of life-critical control systems, has launched the Ekho wireless fire detection range exclusively to its Kentec Installation Partners (KIP), providing a highly-sophisticated, reliable, convenient, and aesthetically pleasing alternative to wired systems. The launch comes as installers are looking to provide their customers with solutions to prevent the need for costly Waking Watch services, which are being used to mitigate fire safety dangers within...

Nittan are delighted to announce that Videcon Ltd. has now been appointed as a Nittan Elite Distribution Partner. Sadly, Nittan’s Northern Regional Sales Manager, Steve McCarley was unable to present the Nittan Elite wall plaque directly due to the current COVID-19 restrictions. So, Alan Fowlie, Fire Sales Director of Videcon, kindly provided the photographs and reports that he and Jonathan Ginnelly proudly took delivery of their Nittan Elite plaque and are honored to become Nittan Elite...

The BCI releases the 2021 BCI Horizon Scan Report, sponsored by BSI. Throughout the years, this report continues to demonstrate its value to business continuity and resilience professionals by providing trends on incidents faced by organizations over the past year; the top threats and their impacts to organizations according to professionals; the use of the ISO 22301 standard and the cost of disruptions to organizations. This year, the report also analyses the impact that COVID-19 has had on bu...

Emergency Reporting, the pioneer in cloud-based reporting and records management software (RMS) for fire, EMS, and other emergency response agencies, has acquired Medusa Medical Technologies. Medusa Medical Technologies provides electronic patient care solutions to emergency response and EMS agencies around the world. The company operates from its headquarters in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, with an additional office in the United Kingdom. Empowering first responders Medusa Medical Technolog...

The company had previously detailed steps to consider, helping reduce the risk of fire and theft on the premises during COVID-19. As businesses get ready for reoccupation, they have created a free recovery calendar detailing the points that the responsible person should consider during three key stages in the run-up to re-occupancy. This helps to ensure that all risk factors are managed correctly and at the right time for the peace and mind of those returning to the premises. Fire Risk Assess...

Roadmap to ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions should prompt reviews on building fire safety. Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined the Government roadmap “to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions”. Step two of this roadmap, to occur no earlier than 12th April, notes the return of mass non-essential businesses opening for customers. BAFE must stress once again that fire safety obligations continue as normal. What is important about this roadmap is that buildings opening soon contin...

As hospitals battle through the second major wave of the COVID-19 virus, concerns have been raised around the NHS’ on-going maintenance backlog and the impact on safety and infrastructure. In January 2021, figures suggested that the total backlog was the equivalent of the annual running cost of the entire NHS estate, which was around £9.7 billion in 2019/20. fire safety standards compliance Emergency hospital evacuations are inherently more complicated when compared to other publi...

Following the City of Orlando’s order related to the prohibition of alcohol sales where it is consumed on-premise, the Governor issued an executive order that mirrored the city's prohibition related to a bar, nightclub, and tavern establishments. Additionally, the Governor’s Executive Order, which takes effect at 5 p.m., March 17, 2020, provides specific regulations for restaurants. The City of Orlando, for consistency and to lessen confusion for businesses, will align with the Gove...

Figures released by Hill and Smith Holdings PLC, a group that includes UK road and security barrier companies Hardstaff Barriers and Asset VRS, show that the firms remained ‘robust’ in 2020 despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial results for last year show a ‘Robust performance, strong cash generation, and positive long-term prospects’ across the group. Furthermore, the group has also paid back the £3.6m it received from the UK Coronavirus...

Despite the challenges of 2020, business leaders' confidence in the resilience of their organizations has risen, according to BSI’s fourth annual Organizational Resilience Index report, which surveyed 500 senior leaders across the globe. Report Findings The index found that leaders remain cautiously optimistic, with more than half (57%) of businesses in the UK, US, and India expecting their financial performance to improve in 2021. The concept of Organizational Resilience refers to an o...

New community face coverings standard has benefitted from public comments, it has been updated to include new environmental considerations as well as enhanced guidance on labeling, cleaning, fitting, fastening, and breathing resistance. The second version of the standard, called Community Face Coverings – Specification, is freely available for use to help UK manufacturers, test houses, retailers, and consumers to ensure single-use and re-usable face coverings are safe and fit for purpose....

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment A/S has now been operating for a full year in market conditions dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenging situation, VIKING maintained a high level of activity and achieved satisfactory earnings in 2020. Turnover of nearly 2.6 billion DKK represents a decline of 185 million DKK year over year, yet it is still the second-highest figure ever recorded by the company. Profit before tax of 168.9 million DKK is also lower than the record result in 2019. V...

As the House of Representatives considers the American Rescue Plan as amended by the Senate, the nation’s state and local emergency managers applaud the inclusion of several items that will aid in the response and recovery to COVID-19 as well as other ongoing disasters. Grants allowance The $100 million included for Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) will allow for increased capacity at both the state and local levels. With these funds, emergency managers conduct coordinatin...

Amesbury Fire Chief Ken Berkenbush and West Newbury Health Agent Paul Sevigny, on behalf of the nine-community Lower Merrimack Valley Regional Collaborative, report on another successful COVID-19 vaccine clinic held this weekend, and the organizers and their municipal government leaders are extremely proud to announce that the clinic will continue, with approximately 3,000 more doses allocated to this local, volunteer-driven effort. The most recent session, a “second dose clinic” he...

Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue Service, Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service and are running a joint campaign aimed at promoting motorcycle safety across the Thames Valley. The ‘Ride Safe’ campaign will engage with local riders to promote key safety messages, including the importance of bike maintenance and wearing the correct riding kit. Riders will also be encouraged to revisit their riding skills as many may be returning to...

Despite uncertainty and disruption across regions and markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hempel demonstrated agility and clear priorities concerning the safety of employees, timely and high-quality support to customers, as well as financial robustness to protect future investments. With an EBITDA margin of 10.1%, including extraordinarily high investments in their supply chain in China, this was a satisfactory result. Hempel Delivers Strong Results “I am very satisfied with our achie...

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service is supporting a campaign led by the National Fire Chiefs Council encouraging people to step forward and explore the opportunities the Fire and Rescue Service can offer people who have a passion for working in and helping their local community by becoming on-call firefighters. The ‘Need More’ on-call fire campaign is in its third year and runs during the first week of March. It aims to highlight opportunities that are open to people from all wal...

A milestone has been reached in the project to build a new community fire station in Theale, United Kingdom. At the beginning of February 2021, construction work on Theale Community Fire Station was completed, at the highest point of the building, when the last beam was placed on the roof. This milestone is usually marked with a ‘Topping Out’ ceremony, which is a long-standing tradition that signifies the successful completion of the structural phase of a project. Theale Community...

ImageTrend, Inc. announces the release of the first annual Collaborate Report: EMS Incidents During a Modern Day Pandemic. ImageTrend Collaborate™ is a research and analysis program developed by ImageTrend that is dedicated to the enhancement of healthcare and public safety industries. Collaborate provides insights and a higher-level awareness through industry-leading research. Emergency Medical Services incidents This report spans themes including COVID-19, traffic-related, behavioral...