COVID-19 - News
There is a bombardment of information coming out regarding the coronavirus pandemic and the changes to the ‘new normal’ all are becoming accustomed to. BAFE has been keeping abreast of this information and hopes one finds news provided on the BAFE website useful. With coronavirus lockdown measures in place slowly beginning to ease BAFE strongly advises that fire safety measures are not overlooked or deferred further. Stephen Adams, Chief Executive – BAFE, has been discussing t...
On May 15, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which would provide approximately US$ 3 trillion in assistance, to help the nation deal with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bill includes a number of provisions to assist fire, EMS, and rescue departments, including: Provides US$ 500 million through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, for the purchase of personal protective equipm...
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) created a survey to better understand the experiences of volunteers and combination fire, EMS, and rescue departments in dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 and related social distancing measures. Fire/EMS survey The NVFC asked individuals to take a few minutes to complete the COVID-19 Impact on Fire/EMS Survey and is also encouraging re-taking the survey periodically (no more than once per week), so that the company can track changes in the respons...
The Scottish Government has published its route map for moving out of lockdown. This is their Publication of key phases of changing restrictions. Scotland’s route map News published alongside this document states, "The COVID-19: Framework for Decision Making - Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis–gives practical examples of what people, organizations and businesses can expect to see change over time.” It adds, “The route map gives an indication of t...
SSAIB has announced publishing its policy statement for COVID-19 Remote Auditing. The policy covers BAFE, British Approvals for Fire Equipment schemes with SSAIB remote auditing procedures in place. A BAFE statement added that they will endeavor to publish information from all BAFE Licensed Certification Bodies as this is made available. Information from SSAIB: The following strategy has been implemented to allow continuation of certification services by the SSAIB, during the exceptional circu...
Emergency vehicle manufacturer, Venari Group – based in Brighouse – has invested £400,000 in new machinery in an effort to advance its manufacturing quality, ability and capacity. Following a successful launch into the emergency services market in early 2020, Venari has bought the automated equipment in a bid for growth, amid the challenges brought on by COVID-19. The significant investment represents a CNC router – capable of precisely cutting sheets of metal from CAD...
Instead of the Fire Safety Event, which was meant to take place in late April 2020 (postponed until September 2020), Nineteen Group hosted an online webinar event (15/05/2020) to discuss current fire topics. Several notable fire safety specialists discussed different topics, but the overarching topic was how the coronavirus pandemic will affect fire safety and any additional changes it will require. COVID-19 safety measures Niall Rowan, CEO - ASFP, noted Dame Judith Hackitt’s comments t...
With the support of the Scottish Government, the Supplier Development Program has launched a survey on the effects of Supplier Relief. short survey Suppliers in Scotland, especially small, medium, and micro-sized businesses, can fill in a short survey to share their experience of supplier relief with public sector buyers during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis so far. Responses will be collated into a report which will be shared with the Scottish Government and local authorities throughout S...
Victaulic, the globally renowned manufacturer of mechanical pipe-joining systems, is now offering free virtual courses from its accredited and award-winning Victaulic University program, to construction professionals around the world. Growing demand for more versatile training options and shrinking access to traditional classes given the COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportune time for Victaulic to make its robust catalog of courses, many of which offer International Association for Continuing...
In lieu of the Fire Safety Event which was meant to take place late April this year (now postponed until September), Nineteen Group hosted an online webinar event to discuss current fire topics. A number of notable fire safety specialists discussed different topics, but the overarching topic was how the coronavirus pandemic will affect fire safety and any additional changes it will require. Niall Rowan, CEO - ASFP, noted Dame Judith Hackitt’s comments that the previously thought difficult...
Motorola Solutions announced the addition of three cloud-based offerings to its CommandCentral software suite: CommandCentral 9-1-1 Smart Transcription, CommandCentral 9-1-1 Citizen Input and PremierOne®️ Cloud CAD. These offerings provide emergency call handlers and the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) operators who dispatch 9-1-1 calls to police, fire and emergency medical services with the ability to streamline workflows and improve the monitoring and integrity of information in a secure go...
The Site Operating Procedures have been updated to incorporate a number of technical changes as a result of the recently published Government guidance on Working Safely during Coronavirus (COVID-19) – Construction and other Outdoor Work. Version 4 inclusions The changes in Site Operating Procedures – Version 4 are minimal and include: Removal of the requirement for face-to-face contact to be kept to 15 minutes or less. The section on PPE links to the latest Government guidance...
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is calling on Kent residents at home to tune into the first-ever online fire station open day on Thursday 28 May. Aimed at families of all ages, the virtual event has been organized in place of a number of the service’s annual ‘Family Open Days’, which were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. online open day The online open day will take place from 11 am on Thursday 28 May on the Kent Fire and Rescue Service Facebook page, start...
DuPont Personal Protection announced that face coverings made with DuPont Nomex may be used along with (FR) garments, such as those made of Nomex, in response to the protection needs of COVID-19. When used as face, nose and mouth coverings, properly designed masks, balaclavas, gaiters and hoods made with Nomex may help meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) social distancing guidance on wearing masks in worker environments that also require FR protection. Nomex is a trusted F...
Now that businesses are starting to operate again, there are some key fire safety matters for organizations to consider, in order ensure employees can return safety back to work. The Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue Service (RBFRS), Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS) and Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service (OFRS) are helping businesses return to work safely, in these extraordinary times. Adapting to new ways of working Businesses have had to adapt to new ways of working, over...
Messe Frankfurt UK has this month grown to incorporate the sales and marketing of the full international portfolio of the organizer’s 160 events into their team, based near Guildford, Surrey. Under the leadership of Simon Albert, the Messe Frankfurt UK subsidiary has been responsible for the organization of Automechanika Birmingham since its acquisition in 2018, and now adds the sales of Messe Frankfurt’s entire portfolio of shows as a string to its bow. UK exhibition industry In...
Almost 300 ambulance shifts were completed by Norfolk’s firefighters during their first month of supporting their blue light colleagues during the Covid-19 pandemic. The first group of 24 on-call firefighters who volunteered for the secondment carried out 278 shifts, equating to 3,336 hours of work, during the first four weeks after completing their training. They have now returned to their fire stations and been replaced with a further 25 on-call firefighters who started their ambulance...
Ian Moore, CEO of the FIA, has been working closely with the Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on behalf of the FIA members on several issues, more recently the work has focused mainly on the business issues created by COVID-19; such as working safely during COVID-19 in offices, construction industry recovery plans, key worker status, training while on furlough, etc. He states “BEIS has posted a lot of valuable guidance for businesses affe...
Firetrace Ltd announced that the company is operating business as usual, in spite of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. During these very uncertain times, the company added that they are still providing their services throughout UK and Ireland, while abiding to government guidelines on operations. safety of staff and Customers While continuing business as normal, the company reaffirmed that their main priority is the safety of suppliers, clients, customers and staff. In some cases, fire sup...
Ian Moore, CEO of the FIA, has been working closely with the Government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on behalf of the FIA members on a number of issues, more recently the work has focused mainly on the business issues created by COVID-19; such as working safely during COVID-19 in offices, construction industry recovery plans, key worker status, training while on furlough etc. He states “BEIS have posted a lot of valuable guidance for businesses...
Currently, in times of COVID-19 Coronavirus, the healthcare sector has maybe become the most vulnerable industry as it places the health systems of many countries to the test. The last thing hospitals want to be worried about now is their fire detection system. In the event of a fire alarm, some patients will need assistance to evacuate. For those in critical conditions or being in isolation due to a COVID-19 infection, evacuation can be extremely challenging or even impossible because of the u...
The Ontario government has taken additional steps to protect people and property during the wildland fire season, including an increase in base funding for emergency forest firefighting by $30.2 million, and ensuring safety measures are in place to protect Ontario's highly trained fire rangers from COVID-19. On May 16, 2020, Ontario is lifting the Restricted Fire Zone (RFZ) designation that was put in place last month across Ontario's fire region. The province will continue to assess fore...
Rosenbauer America is donating 24,000 KN95 face masks to first responders, as thanks in appreciation for their dedication throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The facemasks will be distributed to fire departments across the United States and Canada. KN95 face masks “Our communities rely on first responders answering calls for service. We need to protect their health and safety,” said John Slawson, Chairman and CEO of Rosenbauer America, adding “COVID-19 is personal and the virus...
Coopers fire have continued to closely monitor developments of the coronavirus pandemic and are making use of the UK government guidance and advice to ensure the workplace is a safe environment. The safety of the employees is the number one priority and understanding how important it is to work safely and support the workers’ health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The business has adopted strict rules on social distancing at the manufacturing facility in Waterlooville, UK. Ri...
Ian Moore, CEO of the FIA, has been working closely with the Government’s Department of International Trade (DIT) on behalf of the FIA members for some time now; and given BREXIT and now COVID-19, this is more important than ever. He states “DIT are doing their best to inform SME’s of their options in the current climate and they have just released a series of webinars that would be really useful to listen into – try to find the time as there is some really useful inform...
The document “Our Plan To Rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 Recovery Strategy” has been published. HM Government has released “Our Plan to Rebuild,” a document outlining the UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy. Section 4 outlines the “roadmap to lift restrictions step-by-step”. Regarding returning to work, Government guidelines state “All workers who cannot work from home should travel to work if thei...
HM Government have released ‘Our Plan to Rebuild’, a document outlining the UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy. Section 4 outlines the ‘roadmap to lift restrictions step-by-step’. Regarding returning to work, Government guidelines state ‘All workers who cannot work from home should travel to work if their workplace is open.’ Sectors of the economy that are allowed to be open should be open, for example this includes food production, construction...
With the window to invest time in training while on furlough extended until October 2020, over the next few months, it will be vital for individuals to continue to improve their skillset and keep boredom at bay, during an extended time being furloughed. From CPD sessions to online training, the Fire Industry Association (FIA) offers a broad portfolio of industry-renowned sessions and courses for individuals to invest their time in while being furloughed. Engaging in CPD sessions and online tra...
First responders and emergency workers risk their lives and wellbeing on the COVID-19 front lines every day to care for families, friends, and communities. To support these everyday heroes and shoulder some of their to-do lists at home, Cub Cadet is partnering with TaskEasy to offer them free lawn mowing. Free lawn mowing service Cub Cadet, a manufacturer of lawn care equipment, and TaskEasy, an on-demand lawn care service serving more than 12,000 U.S. cities, are offering a free month of lawn...
To help support the firefighters, EMS providers, and medical workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide protection and peace of mind to their families, Wiser Estate Plan is offering a Family Protection Plan free to front-line responders. This is a savings of up to $5,000 on the creation of a trust and healthcare/financial powers of attorney. This offer will save thousands of dollars in fees and help families avoid probate if something should happen to one of the front-line...
