Fire Safety Risk Assessment - Case Studies

The Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE)™ in Lafayette, LA is a state-of-the-art 3D immersive visualization resource center featuring one of the world’s first six-sided, digital virtual reality cubes, as well as the world’s largest digital 3-D theatre. This leading-edge visualization environment is powered by one of the largest shared memory resources in the world, a 4.1TB of RAM high-performance computing system. The LITE facility, a State entity governed by a B...

On December 2018, the Stuart Fire Department was called to a single-vehicle MVA just west of Menlo. The vehicle was a 2001 Chevy Silverado X 2. The vehicle had hit a guard rail and cleared a creek and landed on its top entrapping both patients. Stuart Fire had cribbed around the vehicle and were using rescue jacks to help with the lifting to provide an opening to extricate the patients. There still was no large enough opening to get the patients out the window. Amkus spreaders The rescuers th...

In April, 2009, a financial institution located in downtown Chicago was protected from the possibility of a large fire. Earlier that evening, an electrical component in the self-contained air conditioning unit had overheated and caught fire. The AC unit was located in close proximity to highly sensitive equipment in a computer room. Fortunately, the computer room was protected with a Fike clean agent suppression system, using the gaseous chemical suppressant, DuPont™ FM-200® — d...

In 2005, the Central Jackson County Fire Protection District (CJCFPD) updated the dispatching system at its Adams Dairy Parkway location in Blue Springs, Missouri. The updates included creating a state-of-the-art 911 call center complete with a sophisticated computer, CAD network and emergency response equipment. Mindful of the necessity to protect the high-value, new equipment and its important service to the community, CJCFPD called on long-term partner, Fike Corporation, and their local dist...

A U.S.-based division of a cosmetic manufacturer employs high-value data center technology to maintain their day-to-day operations. Protecting this high-value asset equipment from fire is essential and had been accomplished with a Halon fire extinguishing system. However, it is now known that Halon is damaging the ozone and adding to the global warming problem. In response, the European Community issued regulation 2037/2000, making the removal of Halon mandatory by 2003. The European-based corp...

The vital role that infra-red transit heat sensors can play in protecting waste management sites from the threat of fire has been illustrated by an incident at a dry mixed recycling (DMR) plant. The nature of waste recycling means that the range of materials being processed is varied. In this case a 18v lithium ion battery was shredded, with the resulting damage causing the battery to arc. With no protection fitted to the shredder outfeed, the battery was carried into a dosing bunker where it c...

Kevin Swann, Managing Director of Kentec, a renowned life safety control systems manufacturer, discusses fire safety in waste management and recycling plants, using a recent installation at Grundon’s new Bulk recycling facility in Banbury as an example of how fire systems can be used to protect large and complex facilities. Fire safety in the recycling and waste management sector is critical. Waste is often readily combustible and once started, fires can be extremely hard to extinguish, s...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, has announced that it has delivered a custom Pierce Ascendant 107’ Heavy-Duty Aerial Ladder to the City of Cambridge Fire Department in Massachusetts. The new apparatus was sold by New England’s exclusive Pierce dealer, Minuteman Fire and Rescue (Minuteman Trucks, Inc.). Features include a custom Arrow XT chassis, 107' of vertical and 100' of horizontal reach, 16’ stabilizer spread, and 1,500 gpm waterway flow capacity....

WAGNER Rail GmbH, based in Haar near Munich, has installed a fire protection solution in a people mover in Russia for the first time: at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. Ensuring passenger safety Since May 2018, the so-called Cable Liner has been running fully automatically on a route of around two kilometers, connecting the northern and southern terminal complexes. It is the first Cable Liner to run underground in a tunnel. To make the journey as safe as possible for passengers, the producer,...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, has announced that it has secured an order of 11 custom apparatus for Greenwood County Fire Service in South Carolina. The order is made up of custom apparatus including five Saber FR pumpers, four Pierce dry-side tankers, an Ascendant 107’ aerial ladder, and a Pierce 100’ heavy-duty rear mount aerial tower. This monumental apparatus order for Greenwood County Fire Service has been placed in partnership with South Carolina&rs...

The Storm Lake Fire Department in Storm Lake, Iowa has expanded its fleet’s ability to respond to the variety of incoming calls it receives, after purchasing two custom-built Toyne apparatus. The department received delivery of a pumper tanker and a rapid attack in mid-November of 2018. These new trucks were a welcome sight to the ever-alert Storm Lake Fire Department, which responded to over 170 calls in 2017. Tanker Characteristics Storm Lake’s new pumper tanker is mounted on a S...

A powerful network of C-TEC’s ZFP addressable fire panels is safeguarding Sunbury Manor School in Middlesex. Programmed with sophisticated cause and effects to suit the school’s special requirements, the 4-loop touch-screen control panels connect to a series of detection devices including 250 of C-TEC’s EN54-23 certified visual alarm devices to provide top quality fire protection at the 1025-pupil capacity school. Emergency Lockdown Policy The system also has a lockdown facil...

The South Holland Fire Department, located south of Chicago, Illinois, employs 24 full-time and 19 paid-on-call firefighters. These employees staff two stations 24 hours a day and respond to nearly 4,500 calls annually. The department protects approximately 22,000 residents with a response area comprised of over 8,000 homes, industrial facilities and commercial businesses. Just a few miles to the west, the Midlothian Fire Department, located in the village of Midlothian, Illinois, maintains two...

In Eskişehir, located in the northwest of Turkey, the newly opened "Odunpazari Modern Museum" is devoted to modern and contemporary art from Turkey and the world. The modern design of the museum is based on the history of the location in the province of Odunpazari; this is made visible by the horizontal wooden planks in the exterior and interior. A local partner of AQUASYS integrated a high-pressure water mist system into this architecturally complex new creation. The minimal water requirement...

Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation company, has delivered five Pierce Enforcer pumpers and an Ascendant 107’ Aerial Ladder to the City of Mobile, Alabama’s Mobile Fire-Rescue Department (MFRD). The delivery represents the first Pierce apparatus to be put into service for the department. Enforcer pumpers Mark Sealy, Fire Chief, the City of Mobile Fire-Rescue Department (MFRD), said “As our fleet began to age, we understood the critical need to put apparatus into...

The Bonnieville Fire Department in Bonnieville, Kentucky recently added a new Toyne Pumper to its fleet, expanding its firefighting power. The department welcomed its first Toyne fire truck, in late November. Pumper Features Toyne manufactured Bonnieville’s custom pumper on a Freightliner M2 106, four-door chassis. The apparatus uses a Cummins ISL9 350 horsepower engine and is driven by an Allison 3000 EVS transmission. Designed for firefighting versatility, this Toyne Pumper boasts a Ha...

One of the world’s most famous hotel-chains, DoubleTree by Hilton, part of Hilton Worldwide, has selected a high-performance fire system from industry renowned fire systems provider, Advanced at their eight-story, 366-rooms hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. The challenge was to replace an existing system, integrate speakers to all guest rooms and ensure that all audio messages and strobes were fully synchronized across the hotel, in the event of a fire situation, without the need for costly...

For a volunteer fire department in Ried, leaving gloves, shoes, and boots to air dry is now a thing of the past, thanks to the drying panels from Wintersteiger AG, which have been in use since the beginning of November 2020. Regional Fire Inspector and Fire Chief, Josef Leherbauer is delighted with the successful solution. He said, “To save energy, we chose one small and one large dryer that can be used as required. Both are equipped with different nozzles for gloves and boots. As the dry...

KME Fire Apparatus, an industry renowned manufacturer of fire apparatus, announces the delivery of ten (10) KME Custom Pumpers and seven (7) 101’ Tractor Drawn Aerials to Orange County Fire Authority. The new trucks will join over 100 KME apparatus currently in service at the Orange County Fire Authority in California. The custom pumpers and TDA’s are built on KME’s Severe ServiceTM cab. With a 10” raised roof, the Severe ServiceTM chassis was engineered in conjunction w...

The Elsberry Fire Protection District in Elsberry, Missouri has added additional firefighting power to its fleet with the arrival of two new Toyne apparatus. The pumper and pumper tanker will allow the department to expand its firefighting capabilities. The Elsberry Fire Protection District covers 110 square miles in eastern Missouri. Pumper features Toyne built Elsberry’s pumper tanker and pumper on Spartan Metro Star chassis. Containing the power of Cummins ISL9 450 horsepower engines...

To reduce the fire risk, and comply with regional regulations, a Mpumalanga macadamia-nut processing company called on risk consulting specialist ASP Fire during the planning of its processing plant to implement a turnkey solution. This involved designing compartmentalization, safety distances, access routes, and the installation of the fire-detection system itself. “Macadamia nuts have a high fat content of 70%,” says ASP Fire CEO Michael van Niekerk, which poses a high fire risk i...

Global safety equipment manufacturer MSA Safety announces the deployment of 750 state-of-the-art G1 self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and integrated thermal imaging cameras to the Memphis (Tennessee) Fire Department (MFD). The contract was awarded to MSA in July and the deployment represents a significant shift in the department’s SCBA technology. It also makes Memphis the largest department in the U.S. to equip every firefighter with integrated thermal imaging technology. Respir...

There are many sources of wood as a biomass energy source. Larger pieces can be harvested directly or come as stumps and branches from forest clearing. While smaller chips and sawdust can come from many different industrial processes. Since it is very bulky, wood biomass is normally sourced locally to reduce transportation costs. What is the biggest risk? Biomass in bulk is a dangerous material that can ignite and burn spontaneously, and fine wood dust – which is often generated during t...

Fairview Fire and Rescue in Monroe, North Carolina has increased its fleet’s firefighting power with the purchase of a new Toyne Pumper Tanker. Fairview received the high-capacity apparatus in mid-September. This addition will boost the fire defense of this robust department, which covers a nearly 35-square-mile district in North Carolina. Pumper Characteristics The new pumper tanker, built on a Peterbilt 367, 6x4 drive chassis, is powered by a Cummins ISX 600 horsepower engine and...

In December 2012, power and automation technology group ABB won the order to supply a turnkey PV power plant to the Soutpan Solar Park project in Polokwane, which included design, engineering, installation, and commissioning. The park would generate 31 MW and would be among the first utility-scale photovoltaic power plants to be built in phase one of the government’s long-term renewable energy program, which aimed to reduce pollution and diversify South Africa’s energy mix. C3 Shar...

Commfire just completed their latest project in the upgrading of the fire alarm system to future-proof it for the next 10 years. They have to replace the original fire alarm control panel due to age-related issues where the system kept crashing, the usual reboot process (switch off and back on again) would not resolve the problem The fire alarm control panel was replaced with the latest touch screen technology using the Teledate One fire alarm control panel and Apollo protocol (smoke detectors,...

On September 2, 2018, the world watched as flames engulfed the National Museum of Brazil and 90 percent of its artifacts from around the world. Recovery efforts are still underway, but almost certainly lost were the museum’s massive butterfly and arthropod collections numbering in the millions, a 3,500-year-old Chilean mummy, an 811,500-year-old skull said to be the oldest in existence from the Americas, several dinosaur skeletons, a 2,700-year-old sarcophagus among hundreds of other anci...

Dickinson Rural Fire Department is now home to a fifth Toyne apparatus, after receiving a new pumper in mid-August. The department, located in Dickinson, North Dakota, has been a longtime Toyne customer, and its latest apparatus will help bolster its firefighting efforts in and around the city. Features of Pumper Toyne mounted the pumper on a Freightliner 108SD 4x4 chassis with a two-door cab, adding in the power of a Cummins ISL 380 horsepower engine. Driven by an Allison 3000 EVS transm...

Three-and-a-half years on from a destructive fire, which engulfed a plastics manufacturer’s factory with no sprinkler system, in Lancashire, United Kingdom, the lasting effect is undeniable, as the £50 million turn-over business has gone into administration cost cuts, with the loss of 200 jobs. Total Polyfilm site fire The fire at the Total Polyfilm site, located in Bamber Bridge, on May 10, 2016, took 60 firefighters to control and resulted in the total loss of the factory. Nearby...

The fire-stopping expertise of Quelfire combined with the installation skills of RA Fire Protection has created a safe, compliant residential development in Skipton. Belle Vue Mills in Skipton, North Yorkshire, is a refurbishment project that will create 39 high-quality apartments. The main contractor at Belle Vue Mills was Triton Construction, which has its head office in Liversedge, West Yorkshire, and a North West regional office in Warrington. Project challenges There were several challen...