Fire Insurance - News
In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Howard Passey, director of operations at the FPA, Dennis Davis, executive officer at the Fire Sector Federation, Adrian Dobson, secretary of the RIBA EAG, and Peter Caplehorn, CEO at the Construction Products Association look back at the key milestones and turning points in fire safety in the UK, as well as looking ahead to the next 75 years. Episode 10 of the podcast marks the 75th anniversary of the FPA and began with a look back at significant...
During the 51st General Assembly of Euralarm, the European association representing the fire safety and security industry, the members have chosen Jon Könz as new President of Euralarm. He succeeds Martin Harvey, who was President for the past three and half years. Before being elected President, Jon Könz was Chair of the Services Section of Euralarm. He is Head of Industry Affairs, at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. Euralarm’s 2021 General Assembly The 2021 General Assembly was...
The UK Government has apologized to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, and admitted to a string of failings in the years leading up to the disaster, dubbed one of the ‘major scandals of our time.’ The government’s Barrister told the Grenfell Tower Inquiry it was ‘deeply sorry for its past failures’, in regards to overseeing building safety. Jason Beer QC said shifted some of the onus onto local inspectors, saying they were responsible for the safety...
Firefighters across South Yorkshire are urging people to put smoke alarm testing at the top of their Christmas preparation list, as the big day draws closer. The plea comes following several examples in recent weeks, from right across the country, where working smoke alarms have saved lives, pets, and homes from serious harm. With everyone busy buying gifts, putting up decorations, and making plans, officers are hoping people will be able to find 60 seconds to test their alarms. They...
Thanks to member feedback, the new membership scheme offers FPA members additional benefits such as access to the Business Property and Protection Portal which produces a risk report for any business type in the UK, the Cladding Compliance Toolkit created by RISC Authority, which aims to help users understand the complex legislative fire safety requirements of external building cladding systems, and easier access to resources such as our popular Assembly Point Podcast. Launch of a CPD Record To...
The Minister of Transportation, Dr. Ángela María Orozco Gómez, adopted the Manual for the Design, Construction, Operation and Maintenance of Road Tunnels for Colombia through Resolution 20213040058015 of December 2, 2021. Scope of the manual The manual includes the general and necessary requirements for the management of planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of tunnels, which covers the general guidelines and guidelines to be implemented by public entit...
Verint Systems (Verint), the customer engagement company, has announced a strategic partnership with Theta Lake, a globally renowned provider of modern collaboration security and compliance solutions. The partnership provides financial and trading organizations, as well as other businesses, with extended capabilities to help avoid the legal, business, and reputational consequences of compliance breaches, misconduct, data loss, and security issues. Verint – Theta Lake partnership The par...
An update to all BAFE registered organizations and the wider fire safety industry. Recent weeks have seen a new Omicron variant of COVID-19 emerge and begin to spread across the UK. With this, the Government has re-introduced measures to mitigate this risk such as mask-wearing in shops and on all public transport. BAFE is confident by now that the fire safety industry fully understands its position as a life safety, and therefore necessary, provision of service required to continue (whe...
EEAST is pleased to announce that Dr. Simon Walsh has joined EEAST as Interim Medical Director. Having worked in several hospitals in the East of England during his training program, Simon was appointed as an Emergency Medicine Consultant and Paediatric Emergency Medicine specialist at the Royal London Hospital in 2004. Experience He started pre-hospital care in 2014, flying with London's Air Ambulance. After moving to live in Hertfordshire he joined Essex & Herts Air Ambulance...
AQUASYS welcomes its new partner Nile Systems from Egypt in Linz. At the kick-of-meeting in Linz, the partners are proud of projects that have already been successfully realised and the up-close experience of standing in the middle of the high-pressure water mist (HPWM) in the in-house demo room. Nile Systems focuses on the development, supply and installation of fire protection products in Egypt. The company is managed by professionals with more than 20 years of experience in this field. AQUA...
Advanced’s Technical Support Engineer, Mark Taylor, examines some of the solutions available to those tasked with protecting hotels from the threat of fire. Cooking equipment, careless smoking, and electrical malfunctions are three of the leading causes of fire in hotels. Aside from the serious threat to life and property, posed by genuine fires, failure to provide and maintain high-quality fire protection measures has other dire consequences as well. False alarms lead to disruptions...
UKAS is delighted to announce that following the passing of a Resolution at the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA) General Assembly on 25th November 2021, UKAS’s continued membership of EA has been assured. UKAS’s membership of EA, the association of national accreditation bodies for the European region, had been under review following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020. The EA and UKAS were keen that UKAS remained a member and the Articles of Association ha...
BAFE continues to stress the importance of verifying appropriate UKAS-accredited third-party certification with growing industry support. 'Don’t just Specify, Verify' campaign As the nation moves towards stronger responsibility and accountability for fire safety measures, the BAFE Fire Safety Register reiterates their message on the significance of UKAS-accredited third-party certification. BAFE’s 'Don’t just Specify, Verify' campaign launched in March 2020 identifies the im...
The Royal Warrant Holders Association (RWHA) is an organization established in 1840. Its purpose is to ensure the continued existence of the Royal Warrant, as a respected institution. Businesses established enough to hold the Royal Warrant title must follow the regulations set by The Lord Chamberlain. What is the RWHA Seminar? RWHA Sustainability Seminar was held in central London, in October 2021. With guest speakers, including those of which A&E Fire Security are also proud members, the...
Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association’s (CVVFA) Candice McDonald is featured in a new e-Book authored by CVVFA’s good friend, Chief Dennis Compton. Candice McDonald and 30 other exceptional women have been featured in the new e-Book for their vital roles in the fire service. Candice McDonald featured in new e-book Chief Dennis Compton chose to include Candice MacDonald in his e-book, describing her as a leader who balances her professional, family and volunteer respons...
Since mid-August, Rosenbauer has been on the road in Western and Central Europe with two vehicles of the "Revolutionary Technology" series (RT), demonstrating the reliability and robustness of the electric tank firefighting vehicle. A total of ten countries will be visited by mid-December and more than 25,000 kilometers will be covered, which is roughly equivalent to the mileage of this type of vehicle over its entire service life in urban use. "The RT is not a further development of a vehi...
Over 70 colleagues from the fire sector gathered at the Oriental Club in Stratford Place, London to celebrate the FPA's platinum jubilee. Guests included current and former government ministers, and staff from the NFCC, IFE, and the London Fire Brigade, among many others. More than merely a victory lap or a gathering of old friends, the event was also a poignant reminder of what can be achieved within the sector with a collective and unified voice, and a singular message. FPA C...
Fire services across Yorkshire are re-iterating their advice to road users on what to do when coming across blue light vehicles, with more cars now on the roads due to lockdown restrictions easing. Stay calm, pull over safely and give as much room as possible is the key message from the four brigades–South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, and Humberside. Drivers are also being urged not to perform emergency stops in the middle of a road. This, the services say, can end up slowi...
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is the pioneering nonprofit membership association representing the interests of volunteer firefighters, EMS providers, and rescue personnel. The NVFC values its members and strives to offer benefits and programs that address the critical needs of the fire, emergency medical, and rescue services. In order to continue providing the best services possible for the members, the NVFC is making some updates to its member dues rates and Virtual Classroom fee...
The adoption and implementation of hazard-resistant building codes is the most effective community mitigation measure against hazard risk. According to FEMA's Building Code Save Study, 65% of counties, cities, and towns across the United States of America (USA) currently have not adopted modern building codes. Getting community ready FEMA's new Building Science Resource Library, launched in October 2021, contains materials focused on creating disaster-resistant communities, including detailed...
Globally renowned Japanese life safety solutions provider, Hochiki, has launched in the Danish market, with its most powerful and sophisticated fire control and indication system yet, L@titude. Following Part 13 certification, which then paved the way for DBI approval, this market renowned system uses an interface that is available in multiple languages, simple to use and understand. L@titude life safety system The new L@titude life safety system combines the very latest hardware and software...
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection has announced the shortlist for its 2021 Passive Fire Protection Awards, with the winners due to be announced on 26 November at the Association’s Awards Lunch at the Edwardian Hotel in Manchester. The awards will be presented by broadcaster, naturalist, and marine biologist Monty Hall. The 2021 event will see awards presented in six categories, each recognizing excellence within the passive fire protection industry, at a company and...
The November 15 - 21, 2021 week is all about celebrating the heroes of road safety and Hardstaff Barriers is proud to be taking part in the celebrations. The Road Safety Week runs from November 15 to November 21, 2021 and is celebrating the work of people across the United Kingdom, who play a key role to make the roads a safer place for everyone. Road Safety Week Hardstaff Barriers value every single member of their hard-working team, who work around the clock to supply, manage and install th...
Six fire engines and 2,000 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) have started their journey across Europe to Ukraine. The de-commissioned fire engines have been donated to Fire Aid by Kent Fire Rescue Service (KFRS), together with a vast array of equipment, including PPE donated by fire and rescue services from across the country. KFRS Supports Fire Aid Mission In Ukraine KFRS Station Manager, Mike Pitney, said: “Last year, hundreds of Ukrainian firefighters worked for weeks...
The Government has confirmed that verification bodies for the UK ETS scheme do not need to be registered as a UK legal entity or have an office in the UK, but they shall need to hold the appropriate accreditation (ISO 14065) from the UK’s National Accreditation Body, i.e. UKAS. The UKAS assessment will take into account any relevant accreditation where this has been granted by a National Accreditation Body that is a signatory to the EA Multilateral Agreement (MLA) and, where such accredit...
As a direct result of the findings of the Hackitt Report and subsequent government focus on the recommendations for the wider fire safety environment, FIREX International, the UK’s fire industry tradeshow, has taken the decision to fully commit to supporting and promoting third-party approvals, independent accreditation, and competency for construction products and services. This will mean all exhibiting companies with relevant fire protection or prevention systems and materials will need...
UK Building Regulations regularly update the importance of fire safety compliance for building structures and require all buildings to have adequate fire protection measures in place, in order to protect both property and lives. Regular fire risk assessments Regular fire risk assessments and monitoring of the quality of buildings ensure that no corner of a building remains unprotected. Most types of buildings are well-equipped with fire extinguishers, alarms and other fire safety measures, so...
Events such as the Grenfell Tower disaster have had a profound impact on the way the construction industry reviews its building standards. Matt Ryan, the UK Country Manager at PlanRadar, explains how digital tools are providing the next step in fire safety inspection and compliance. The revelations uncovered by the ongoing Grenfell Inquiry show that, worryingly, UK housing is still falling short of the mark, when it comes to fire safety protocols. Recently, the London Fire Commissioner called f...
As Americans prepare for much-anticipated travel in the coming months, the safety of transportation and roadways is a concern for most travelers, according to a new survey facilitated by 3M. Nearly half—or 47 percent—of U.S. respondents plan to travel for a vacation or trip, within the next six months, and more than 3 out of 4 plan to travel by car. At the same time, 53 percent are concerned about the safety of transportation and roadways, when traveling outside their community. 3M...
The new UKAS publication GEN 6 - Reference to accreditation and multilateral recognition signatory status by UKAS accredited bodies, was issued on 1st November 2021. This applies to all types of Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs) and sets out UKAS policy on references to accreditation and MLA signatory status, in line with European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) mandatory document EA-3/01 M. UKAS publication LAB 1 Reference to Accreditation for Laboratories has been withdrawn as requirem...
