Fire Safety Risk Assessment - News

Avon Fire & Rescue Service (AFRS) is changing how it responds to Automatic Fire Alarm signals to reduce its response to unnecessary false alarms. From the 1st April 2020, the new procedure will be introduced and will mean the automatic response to some alarms will be removed. This change follows the implementation of the Service Plan (2019-2022) to ensure that the AF&RS is better able to match resource to risk and ensure public safety. In 2018/19 alone, AF&RS attended over 5,700 cal...

Bronto announced that THT Polička s.r.o. has been named as a Bronto Skylift distributor in Czech Republic. The exclusive distribution agreement includes the sales of Bronto Skylift high-rise rescue and firefighting products as well as supporting services and is limited to the area of Czech Republic. Bronto Skylift’s previous distributor in Czech Republic, D.I.K. consulting will be helping with the transition and remains as a service contact until the new collaboration is fully effective....

Following an exhaustive search, the International Fire Suppression Alliance (IFSA) has announced that Paul Sincaglia, P.E. will become the organization’s first full-time Managing Director, effective from March 1, 2020. A fire protection engineering graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Paul brings a broad range of experience to the IFSA. Fire safety industry veteran Most recently, he has served as Director of Industrial, Fire and Life Safety for Osborn Engineering in Cleveland, Oh...

Following the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus in China, FAFS is working with their Supply Chain Partners to ensure minimum disruption for customers, and continuation of their supply routes.  As a fire life safety and security service provider and key member of the Marlowe Fire & Security Group of companies, FAFS has access to an extensive and diverse supply chain, governed by and incorporated into their Business Continuity Strategy.   FAFS Business Continuity Strategy ensures...

An exciting new strategic partnership between LHD Group and Vimpex is announced, bringing together one of Europe's leading PPE personal protective apparel manufacturers and one of UK's leading specialist supplier of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) & Rescue Equipment to form a new powerful alliance that will deliver the highest levels of quality, service and protection to the UK's fire fighting services. Head-To-Toe protective apparel solutions Vimpex Managing Director James Jones says,...

At Textron Systems, their engineers push themselves daily to rapidly evolve current technologies and meet their customers’ future needs. As part of their team, they are innovators, thinkers, and doers, creating the solutions their customers count on to accomplish their missions. Throughout Engineering Week, Textron highlights engineers from across their family of brands, including Textron Systems, Howe & Howe, TRU Simulation + Training, and Lycoming. Join them as they celebrate the gr...

There’s never been a better time to build. Materials, construction techniques and fire safety have reached a pinnacle unthought of in times past. Architecture and design continue to push into brave new frontiers - with masterpieces like the Louvre Abu Dhabi becoming a more regular addition to the world. So, with all the advances in the art and science of construction, is one now able to make a fireproof building? The short answer is no. There’s no way to make a building completely f...

The redevelopment of Avonmouth fire station on St Andrew’s Road will help improve response, operational efficiency and prevention work for both staff and our community. This development will provide a cost-effective, modern and fit for purpose facility that allows AF&RS to match resource to risk and make our Communities Safer and Service Stronger. The new station, which is being built by contractors Knights Brown, will feature five new appliance bays, office and accommodation faciliti...

Fire on board! This is a grave danger for any ship, but especially so when a ship is ostensibly safely docked in the harbor, where 'normal' firefighters are on duty and have to cope with the special challenges on board a ship. Firefighters’ safety Since 2005, 44 potentially disastrous incidents have occurred in German ports alone, including 15 fires and 13 spills of hazardous materials. EFAS, a joint project coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processi...

Chainsaw safety boots are designed to handle some of the most intense conditions possible. The goal of these boots is twofold: Protect feet from the elements and the risks one faces on the job Support feet to ensure one can keep working without any limitations Though not all products are the same, there are some key aspects you can expect in the best products Key Features in HAIX Chainsaw Boots When buying chainsaw safety boots, there are a variety of products on the market. The best wi...

The Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) and Masimo will honor the San Antonio (TX) Fire Department (SAFD) and the Chesterfield County (VA) Fire and Emergency Medical Services with the Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award. The award presentations will take place on April 30th at the 32nd Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner in Washington, DC. EMS awards program First presented in 2011, the Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award has recognized fire departments fr...

Rethinking fire toxicity – inaugural conference featuring speakers from across the globe – focus on long-term effects of firefighter health. As part of the review of Building Regulations (Approved Document B), and in response to emerging evidence on long-term firefighter health issues, the government is investigating whether the effects of fire toxicity should be a legal requirement when choosing materials for high risk buildings. To assist in this research, the Fire Protection Asso...

With functional testing of fire systems a legal requirement, Detectortesters’ solutions are used in some amazing buildings and high profiles sites. They don’t often get to hear the detail of these but when they do they’re usually very special – as demonstrated when they joined Premier Fire & Security for a recent site visit. As long term users of Solo and Testifire, Detectortesters met up with Chris Chance from Premier Fire Security, based in Romsey, Hampshire, to ex...

Streamlight, Inc., a provider of high-performance lighting, launched the Waypoint 300, a rechargeable high lumen, pistol grip spotlight with enhanced down-range lighting capability. Featuring 270,000 candela, a 1,039-meter beam distance, and 1,000 lumens on high, the Waypoint 300’s powerful long-range targeting beam is portable and runs for 3.75 to 87 hours on high, medium, low, respectively. handheld mobile searchlight "The Waypoint 300 not only features extreme brightness, but also inc...

If the user’s 9 to 5 (or midnight - 8 a.m., for that matter) is in any field that employs work trucks, they surely have a sense of how limited space can be, and how vital it is to have the truck outfitted with dependable equipment. Whether the truck is used in the utilities, fueling or construction industry, it most likely needs to be equipped with a hose reel. Hannay Reels offers a variety of durable, dependable reels for a variety of work truck applications. With everything from flexibl...

MSA Safety Incorporated the global provider in the development, manufacture and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures, announced that Nish Vartanian, President and CEO, and Kenneth Krause, Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer, will host the company’s fourth quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, February 20, 2020. Investors and interested parties will have the opportunity to listen to the conference call live via the Internet. A replay of th...

When an expansive warehouse in Quakenbrück caught fire on January 15, 2020, a special new addition to the local fire department was able to make quite the first impression. Equipped with drones, which helped coordinate the mission from the outside, and, more importantly, a special new firefighting robot, the fire department ultimately got the blaze under control. Incidentally, the robot in question - the "Alpha Rover Rescue" - completed what was its maiden callout on home turf, as it was de...

Mr. Ed Comeau has been recognized by the International Fire Safety Training Association (IFSTA) and the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) as the recipient of the 2020 Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education. Campus fire safety For over 20 years, Comeau has been the leading advocate in the nation for campus fire safety. The genesis of his efforts began in 1999 when he published the first edition of Campus Firewatch, an electronic newsletter that has ra...

The proliferation of false fire alarms places a huge burden on the Fire & Rescue Service. Understanding false fire alarm causes and taking steps to prevent them can help reduce false dispatches. The threat of fire is known to all; there is no need to overstate the devastating impact of fire on people, wildlife, businesses and buildings. Only recently, Sydney and its surrounding areas have been devastated by raging bushfires, while in the UK, there was a 14% increase of fire incidents attend...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of man-made chemical compounds found in a wide range of consumer products, such as nonstick products, polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products. Two PFAS compounds, perfluorooctane acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), may be present in firefighting aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) solutions. Certain PFAS can accumulate and stay in the human body for long periods of time. Long-term exposure to PFAS/PFOA/PFOS, in h...

Good outcomes in communities before, during, and after a wildfire event are dependent upon a holistic look at the risk and effective, ongoing community engagement by firefighters, residents, and all partners in an area. Whole Community approach Good communication allows all participants to feel that their perspectives are heard and valued and increases their willingness to participate in promoting wildfire safety. This is the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Whole Community approach. Use...

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is the first fire service in North America to purchase a pre-series vehicle based on the Concept Fire Truck (CFT). The electric fire truck from Rosenbauer will be delivered before the end of the year and put into practice as part of a comprehensive test operation in 2021. In addition to its driving characteristics and safety features, the truck made an impression with its ergonomics and high functionality during the initial demonstrations last December. A...

IFEDA, the Independent Fire Engineering & Distributors Association, is delighted to announce the introduction of a new course, Understanding a Fire Risk Assessment. The Fire Safety Order 2005 requires that the Responsible Person in a business must have a fire risk assessment in place. British Standard 5306 parts 3 and 8 stipulate that a fire extinguisher servicing technician must confirm the presence of, and check the contents of, a company’s fire risk assessment. This course has been...

The HAIX team has grown faster than ever before. A total of almost 1,700 employees ensure that heroes around the world are equipped with high-quality shoes "Made in Europe". Tradition and high-tech - do they go together? Yes, they fit like a glove! Or like HAIX shoes on the feet of heroes. It all started very small. Over 70 years ago, company founder Xaver Haimerl added the X of his first name to the first three letters of his last name and began to manufacture hiking and work boots in the Bava...

For anyone starting a new restaurant, navigating the complex maze of fire protection regulations can seem like a daunting task. In this post, Koorsen Fire & Security will provide an overview of the basic requirements that anyone needs to be aware of along with the relevant codes in which they can be found. To simplify the topic, on the basis of the requirements for restaurants, they will be grouped into two main categories, life safety and fire protection. Life safety requirements apply to...

Halma, the global group of life-saving technology companies, has acquired Sensit Technologies, LLC (“Sensit”), a gas leak detection company based in Indiana, USA. Sensit’s technologies are closely aligned to Halma’s purpose of growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Sensit manufactures products that enable natural gas utilities to detect leaks in their pipes, reducing climate change effects by minimizing emissions of methane, protecting worker...

The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs’ is honored to announce that Whistler Fire Chief John McKearney has been appointed as the President of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), effective immediately. He will serve the remainder of past CAFC President, Chief Ken Block’s term. Chief Block stepped down in order to accept the role of Fire Commissioner in the state of Victoria, Australia. “I’m honored to have been appointed by my colleagues and to serve in this...

When performing decontamination, maintenance, inspection and cleaning work, handling oil or filling and transferring materials, there is often a risk that skin may come into contact with solid or liquid chemicals. Only a full-body protective suit can prevent this. Dräger has expanded its portfolio with the new splash protective suits SPC 4400 and 4800 made from innovative-coated CPM and CLF material, offering users the best protection possible in different conditions. All suits offer prote...

In a post-Grenfell world there is clearly, and rightly so, a focus on the fire safety of high-rise buildings – especially in the residential sector. Yet this focus has answered as many questions as it has made new ones, particularly for the construction and fire industries. As reported in December of 2019 by the Fire Industry Association (FIA), a new cross-industry valuation process called the External Wall Fire Review (EWFR) was implemented by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors...

Fire chiefs say hundreds of high-risk homes will be safer for decades to come due to more than £1 million spent on fire sprinkler projects in the last five years. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue spent the money fitting fire sprinklers in around 650 flats across the county in a bid to prompt owners of accommodation for mostly vulnerable residents to consider fire sprinklers as a long-term measure to keep their tenants safe. funding beneficiary More than 20 separate projects were awarde...