Fire Protection - News

In January 2018, the national regulator for workplace health and safety, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), investigated Regent House, which is located in Brentwood, Essex, after a concern was raised that people were sleeping on the site. In addition to health and safety concerns, it was found that S&S Quality Building Contractors Limited had breached several fire management regulations and had put workers – along with members of the public who were visiting show flats o...

At 01h27PM on Saturday afternoon, 5 November 2022, SACFS crews were alerted to a warehouse fire at a winery in Chandlers Hill near Clarendon, South Australia. The SACFS responded with 35 firefighters in nine fire appliances to fight a fire in a 3,000-square-meter warehouse on the winery. The fire caused in excess of $2 million in damage to the warehouse and its contents. The cause of the fire is unknown and fire-cause investigators have been requested to attend the scene. The SACFS was su...

At approximately 06:45 AM on Saturday morning, 5 November 2022, SACFS firefighters were alerted to a fire in a 10x15 meter shed on a commercial property outside of McLaren Flat, South Australia. Twenty SACFS firefighters responded to the incident on 7 fire trucks. The fire caused approximately $200,000 damage to the shed, as well as to a vehicle and a forklift. The cause of the fire is unknown and fire cause investigators will attend the scene on Saturday morning.

The service dispatched a number of firefighters after fire control received a call from the site confirming that multiple explosions were coming from inside a shipping container. On arrival, fire crews found that there were two shipping containers that required careful monitoring. Firefighters were forced to remain at a safe distance as the large explosions continued, and they set a 1 km cordon around the two containers, which was later reduced to 600 m. A police drone was used to assist with v...

Consequence cards will be handed out to youths in areas where there are high levels of attacks on emergency workers. The cards have been welcomed by Fire Chiefs at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS), who have seen a high level of attacks on crews in recent weeks. consequences of attacks Youth workers will be handing out the cards, which remind young people of the consequences they face from attacks on emergency service workers. Not only will they be arrested and charged with an o...

Avon Protection is showcasing its range of personal protective equipment at AUSA 2022, designed to keep front-line personnel safe from battlefield threats, be they ballistic, chemical, or biological. The U.S. Department of Defense is the largest operator of Avon Protection equipment, including CBRN protective wear and Avon Protection Ceradyne and Team Wendy® ballistic helmets. Products on display  The company’s full range of ballistic and bump helmet systems will be on displa...

From December 7th to December 8th, 2022, the ninth edition of the VdS-BrandSchutzTage will take place in Cologne, Germany. The fire protection solution provider - WAGNER will present its portfolio of products and systems for plant fire protection at its booth C-06, focusing in particular on fire protection for lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are versatile and an indispensable part of everyday life. However, they also place special demands on fire protection. As an example, in addit...

Teledyne FLIR has announced the launch of the FLIR Cx5, a new pocket-portable thermal camera for condition monitoring in hazardous environments. The FLIR Cx5 has a rugged ATEX-compliant case, which allows users of this camera to safely monitor electrical or mechanical assets in hot working zones. Potentially explosive environments, such as oil and gas plants or chemical plants, need to be protected from ignition sources. That’s why electronic devices used in these hot work environments ne...

The ninth edition of the VdS Fire Protection Days will take place in Cologne, Germany, from December 7th to 8th, 2022. The fire protection solution provider - WAGNER will be presenting its product and system portfolio for technical fire protection at its stand C-06, with a particular focus on fire protection for lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are versatile and have become an indispensable part of everyday life. But they also pose special requirements when it comes to fire protecti...

Most people in construction are familiar with Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards. It is the card (either physical or digital), that provides proof that individuals working on construction sites have the appropriate training and qualifications for the job they do on-site. CSCS licence However, not everyone is aware that CSCS cards are made up of an alliance of 38 different organizations representing not just the traditional construction trades but the many specialist o...

At 3:10 p.m. on Thursday, 3 November 2022, SACFS crews were alerted to a structure fire in Coote Place, Ceduna, South Australia. Upon arrival, the SACFS firefighters, responding in 6 fire trucks, found a caravan and an adjacent house on fire. Nobody was home at the time of the fire. The firefighters ensured that the fire did not spread to neighboring properties.  Fire damages The fire caused approximately $250,000 in damage to the caravan and the house. Fire Cause Investigators are to a...

Planning has already been underway since the summer: For the fourth time, the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing, and Ergonomics FKIE is organizing the European Robotics Hackathon (EnRicH) together with the Austrian Armaments and Defence Technology Agency (ARWT). EnRicH 2023 EnRicH will take place in June 2023. For about a week, teams from all over the world will come together near Vienna to check the current development status of their robotic systems in vario...

A residential structure fire was reported in the 42000 Block of Sonoma Drive, Big Bear Lake, at approximately 1:41 pm, on Tuesday, November 1, 2022. Upon arrival, fire crews observed smoke and flames to the exterior of the wood-framed living space above the garage. Crews quickly extinguished the fire within approximately 10 minutes. Fire crews remained on the scene for an hour to ensure completed extinguishment. The occupants of the home self-evacuated prior to the fire crew's arrival. Structu...

At 15:10 in the afternoon on Thursday, 3 November 2022, SACFS crews were alerted to a structure fire in Coote Place, Ceduna, South Australia. Fire Cause Investigators Upon arrival, the SACFS firefighters, responding in 6 fire trucks, found a caravan and an adjacent house on fire. Nobody was home at the time of the fire. The firefighters ensured that the fire did not spread to neighboring properties. The fire caused approximately $250,000 damage to the caravan and the house. Fire Cause Investi...

An update to the guidance issued by the Welsh Government about The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, has been published to permit the use of an Electrical Installation Certificate in lieu of an Electrical Installation Condition Report, when relating to a wholly newly built dwelling. The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 come into effect on 1st December 2022 for all new social and private rented tenancies and a year later f...

Launched on 24 October 2022, a new consultation is seeking responses for a new suite of technical National Occupational Standards (NOS) for those working with fire and smoke control dampers. Spearheaded by Building Services Engineering (BSE) Skills, in partnership with the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA), the draft NOS documents are directed towards those individuals working with fire dampers and smoke control dampers across the UK. Developing occupational standards Described...

In the article for UKAS’s 2021/2022 Annual Report, Emanuele Riva, Chair of the International Accreditation Forum, shares his perspective on the importance of collaboration and IAF and ILAC’s decision to come together as a joint entity. To paraphrase the philosopher Plato: "Each problem has three solutions: my solution, your solution and the right one."  For centuries this has been the basis of collaboratively increasing collective knowledge, where democratic and peaceful debate...

Running from 7th to 11th November 2022, World Quality Week offers the chance to celebrate and highlight the vital role that quality plays in all aspects of people's daily lives. The theme for the event is ‘Quality Conscience’; something which either gaining accreditation or using accredited services both indicates and helps to develop. Accreditation Working in tandem with standards and measurement, UKAS accreditation is one of the pillars that the UK’s national quality infra...

Danny Kesler, who works as a security guard at Asda House in Leeds, was on duty in the early hours of Sunday morning when he noticed a man walking alongside the River Aire, near the rear of the building on Great Wilson Street. He witnessed him fall into the river and immediately ran from the security CCTV desk to the riverside. Using a length of cable he had managed to find, he threw this down to the man, shouting to him to grab on. The man gripped this cable along with the side wall at the ban...

Each year the government is seeing an increase in the number of attacks on fire service crews–with figures the highest they have been in over ten years. This year there were 983 attacks-an increase of 5% from the previous year when there were 934 incidents, and a big jump from two years ago when there were 899 attacks. The figures from the Fire and Rescue Workforce and Pensions Statistics are gathered from the Home Office’s Incident Recording System and cover the financial year runn...

During the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, individual firefighters were praised for bravery; however, the London Fire Brigade, as an institution, was criticized for ‘serious shortcomings’ and ‘systemic’ failures in its handling of the Grenfell Tower fire. At Quelfire, they wholly believe in early engagement in firestopping and continuously promote that for fire safety to be a priority, all parties need to be involved and firestopping needs to be considered for buildings as early...

The number one reason to install a fire alarm is to make the building safe for your employees, customers, and tenants. A combination of smoke and heat detectors, sounders, and visual indication provide automatic detection and alert building occupants of a fire, giving them ample time to evacuate in an orderly fashion. While sounders and visual indication don’t actively put out fires, they alert the people in the property who can contact the fire services. Monitoring fire alarm systems aut...

An Emergency Voice Communication (EVC) system provides two-way communication between the emergency services, principally the fire service, and those people inside a building who need to be evacuated but are unable to immediately leave. The reason for this could be because they are handicapped, suffering from an injury that impairs their movement, pregnant, or are in a building that requires a phased evacuation. In the event of a fire, people in this position should know to make their way to an...

When a fire breaks out, it is important to know how to combat it. People need to act fast in order to protect themselves, others, and the surroundings, and understanding what properties make up a fire is a great way to know how to tackle a blaze, when it breaks out. The fire triangle does exactly that, helping people understand how fires break out, how they’re sustained and, most importantly, how they can be put out. In this article, Hoyles Fire and Safety will explain what the fire...

The safety of a building is something that simply mustn’t be overlooked. Ensuring that everyone within the facility is safe at all times should be a top priority for all organizations. Fire poses a real threat to buildings of all shapes and sizes. Data from the UK government shows that more than 167,000 fires in England were attended to by the fire and rescue services in 2017/18, 74,000 of which were primary fires. This resulted in 334 fire-related fatalities. It’s therefore absolu...

Whether it is a new business starting out or one that’s been established for a while, if there is a need of a quick recap on fire risk assessment responsibilities, One may read on. The article will be covering: who is responsible for fire risk assessments? the responsibilities associated with ensuring fire risk assessments are carried out, the importance of carrying out fire risk assessments, the consequences of failing to carry out a fire risk assessment, and who is responsible for ensur...

For many employers, a fire breaking out on their premises is a nightmare scenario. Unfortunately for some, it can become a reality. The best way to prevent this from happening and to keep your property safe is to understand the most common fire risks for your workplace. This article will outline how common certain types of fire are in the workplace, and how one can prevent them from occurring.   Electrical equipment According to Fireward, electrical fires account for 25% of workplace bl...

Every business needs working fire alarms to draw people’s attention to a possible emergency situation, together with a comprehensive and well-understood evacuation procedure so that its staff and any visitors know exactly what they need to do in the event of a fire on the premises. The primary function of any fire safety procedure is, of course, to give everyone the very best chance of exiting the building safely in the event of a fire. However, it can be just as important to have a desi...

Electrical fires are among the most common types of domestic fire, with approximately 20,000 happening in UK homes every year. Of these, most are caused by electrical items (89%), with the rest being as a result of faults in electrical installations (i.e. the wiring, fusebox, lighting circuit, etc.) or through misuse of those installations. Among the most common electrical fires are those caused by cooking appliances, laundry appliances, lighting, portable heaters, and televisions. Knowing how...

No sprinklers were fitted at Grenfell, partly because at the time there was no legal requirement for them – for residential buildings, sprinkler systems were only a necessity for those at least 30 meters high and built after 2007. Although over twice that height, Grenfell Tower was constructed between 1972 and 1974. The law was updated in November 2020, so that all blocks of flats that are new or have undergone significant conversions, and are at least 11 meters high, now need to be fitte...