Fire Safety Risk Assessment - News
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection has published three new Advisory Notes offering guidance on the fire protection of structural steel. 2021 version Addressing specific concerns identified by the industry, the ASFP's Advisory Note 19 sets out its position on the use of critical steel temperatures above 650°C. In an update to the previous edition from July 2020, the 2021 version notes: 'It is vital to ensure that the appropriate limiting temperature is used in the spe...
Steve Emery shares his thoughts on what conservation professionals should put into fire strategies for historic buildings. In the latest edition of the Built Environment Journal published by RICS, the issue of fire safety in historic buildings is explored by the University of Oxford’s fire officer. Fire risk assessment He takes the view of the conservation professional and how they need to look at historic buildings through a fire safety lens to avoid the experience of high-profile fire...
BSI Group (BSI), in its role as the UK National Standards Body, has published a new set of requirements for the implementation of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in development projects, including individual house-builds, large-scale developments and estate management. The loss of biodiversity as a result of human activity is having increasingly severe impacts. As a result, governments, businesses and organizations of all types are acting, not only to protect biodiversity, but to ensure it thrives....
For the second year, DripDrop Hydration (DripDrop ORS), a renowned rehydration therapy company, and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), the global association representing the volunteer fire, EMS (Emergency Medical Services), and rescue services, have teamed up to provide dehydration relief to volunteer firefighters. Oral rehydration solution (ORS) DripDrop is providing 200,000 sticks of their oral rehydration solution (ORS) to volunteer fire departments across the U.S. The donation co...
HURST Jaws of Life has been nominated for the NC Chamber’s Coolest Thing Made in N” competition, a contest that allows the public to both nominate and vote for their favorite North Carolina-manufactured product. “We’re proud to call Shelby, North Carolina, home, and we’re honored to have HURST Jaws of Life recognized as one of the ‘coolest things’ made in North Carolina,” said Britt Hawkins, Manager, Marketing Services, for the rescue tool whose n...
The Scottish Government has launched a new campaign to raise awareness of new fire safety laws that mean all homes must have interlinked smoke alarms from February 2022. The Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group was established after the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 to review Scotland’s existing building and fire safety regulatory frameworks. Their work has resulted in several changes in Scotland including this new approach to smoke alarms. New regulations New regulations un...
Jo Bird and company are one of the very limited numbers of UK companies who have signed up to a pledge to halve the company’s CO2 emissions by 2030. Being heavily involved in the offshore wind sector may have been one of the reasons for being shortlisted by SWMAS and it has been audited by Ashley Webber at Balanced energy to measure CO2 levels with suggestions as to how this could be reduced to help achieve this ambitious goal. This was a very detailed report looking at estimating the le...
Fire and rescue services across the UK worked with partners to respond to the impact of COVID-19. Making a difference provides a series of short case studies to show the range of activities that services did over the last 18 months; it recognizes that the pandemic is not over and services continue to help communities in many different ways. Phil Garrigan is the NFCC lead for the COVID-19 response. He said: “The pandemic was unlike anything else we have...
Safety reporting body - CROSS-UK published a report earlier this month highlighting the fire risks from poorly maintained green walls, as changes to fire safety law mean that the external walls will become part of fire risk assessments. Green walls have been a popular way of making urban areas more attractive, contribute to biodiversity and help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Close-down procedures This new report from CROSS-UK discusses how building close-down procedures that...
The Virginia Professional Fire Fighters Association (VPFF) endorsed Terry McAuliffe in his bid to return to the governor’s mansion, thanking him for his support for firefighters and paramedics and vowing to join him on the campaign trail. McAuliffe is running in a tight race for governor against Republican Glenn Youngkin to replace Governor Ralph Northam, whose term ends in 2022. Northam replaced McAuliffe after his first four-year term in 2018. “Thank you for all that you did for...
Henri downgraded from a tropical storm to depression once it made landfall on August 22. While there are reports of flooded streets, power outages, and fallen trees, there have been no reports of damage to IAFF member homes. As the storm continues to weaken, a comprehensive IAFF Disaster Relief operation is not expected. As the storm moved inland, flooding, wind damage, and power outages have been reported in parts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. According to local power compan...
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has approved the first UK GDPR certification scheme criteria. Recently UKAS accredited Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) has developed criteria for two schemes relating to age assurance and children’s online privacy. This is a great example of UKAS working with regulators to bring important improvements in safety and child protection in innovative emerging sectors.
At approximately 9:27 pm, on Thursday, 19th August 2021, Joint Fire Control received the first call to a fire at a privately owned commercial garage, located in Gwaun Cae-Gurwen, a village and community in the borough of Neath Port Talbot, in South West Wales and mobilized crews from Amman Valley, Pontardawe, Ammanford, Morriston, Tumble and Llanelli, in Wales, United Kingdom (UK), to the incident spot. Due to the contents within the single-story garage, which consisted of numerous vehicles, ti...
South Yorkshire’s firefighters have responded to less deliberate fires so far this summer than in recent years, according to figures released by the county’s fire service. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue (SYFR) says it has attended 997 deliberate fire incidents across May, June, and July this year–a seven percent reduction compared to the 1,073 attended during the same period last year. Against the average for May, June, and July across the last three years–which...
Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc., a subsidiary of REV Group® and a manufacturer of custom-built, heavy-duty fire apparatus, announces the addition of Patriot Fire USA to its nationwide dealer network. Patriot Fire USA is now the Ferrara dealer for Maryland, serving customers throughout the state. About Patriot Fire USA Located in Grasonville, Maryland, Patriot Fire USA recently opened a new facility that will provide quality service from a highly experienced team. Additionally, the facil...
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2021 Annual Fire Service Achievement Awards. NVFC’s awards recipients Theodore Schroll Jr. will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by ADT, Robert James will receive the Chief James P. Seavey Sr. Health and Wellness Leadership Award, co-sponsored by VFIS and Ward Diesel Filter Systems, Paige Davis will receive the Junior Firefighter of the Year Award, sponsored by California Casualty, and t...
Firefighters have begun responding to 999 calls from South Yorkshire’s newest fire station for the first time. The new two storey, three-bay Barnsley fire station was completed earlier this month and went operational on 17 August. The energy-efficient building on Broadway, Kingstone replaces the 60-year-old fire station on the same site which had reached the end of its operational life. Firefighters had been housed in a temporary facility off-site while the year-long construction of...
Women in Fire Safety is seeking nominations for its inaugural awards recognizing excellence in the fire safety industry. The Women in Fire Safety Awards honor the outstanding achievements and contributions of all women within the fire safety community. Founded by Chloe Vickery and Kate Blake, the awards strive to address the historical gender imbalance and champion a more progressive industry. More progressive industry They said: “We hope to encourage the next generation to see fire saf...
Bosch Security Systems has announced the release of new Aviotec firmware version 7.81 that comprises AI algorithms, which can now detect fire and smoke in changing weather and light conditions. Aviotec firmware version 7.81 The AI algorithms have been developed further in the Aviotec firmware version 7.81, in order to ensure reliability for sheltered outdoor areas. The fire risk in these areas and nearby buildings can now be reduced with intelligent, fast and reliable detection. In the past,...
Two South Yorkshire firefighters are among a 20-strong team bidding to cycle the length of the UK to raise mental health awareness and thousands for charity. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Mark Peart and Paul Simmonite are joining firefighting colleagues from Suffolk for the 10-day, 1,000-mile ride from Lands End to John O’Groats in September. The team is aiming to raise £50,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity, which supports the mental, physical, and social needs of a...
The IAFF’s political action efforts in Canada have led to two major advances in firefighter safety. On August 11, the Canadian government announced an action plan to reduce the harm that chemical flame retardants pose to the nation’s firefighters. On the same day, the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes finalized a new language for the 2020 edition of the National Building Code that finally recognizes the unique roles firefighters play during residential structure fires a...
First responders will soon have a new way to deploy industry-pioneering Opticom™ Emergency Vehicle Preemption (EVP) technology; helping them to save lives and provide better outcomes to the communities they serve. Police, fire, and EMS vehicles that use the new Whelen Cloud Platform can soon enable cloud-based, centralized Opticom™ EVP, due to a partnership between Whelen Engineering and Global Traffic Technologies, LLC (GTT), the global market pioneer in traffic signal priorit...
FireEye, Inc., the intelligence-led security solutions company, has introduced FireEye XDR, a unified platform, designed to help security operations teams to strengthen threat detection, accelerate response capabilities and simplify investigations. FireEye XDR platform The FireEye XDR platform provides native security protections for endpoint, network, email, and the Cloud, with a focus on improving organizations’ capabilities, for controlling incidents from detection to response. FireE...
A draft of PAS 8673 is available for public comment and contains competence requirements for the new role of Building Safety Manager. This PAS is based on the recommendations and core competence criteria set out in BSI Flex 8670. It supports the introduction of the Building Safety Manager that is contained in the Building Safety Bill currently going through Parliament. PAS 8673 The BSI has facilitated the development of PAS 8673 and it is sponsored by MHCLG. Brian Atkin is cited as the techni...
FireQual, the specialist Awarding Body for the fire protection industry has qualifications that act as eligibility criteria for the FESS (Fire, Emergency and Security Systems) Systems Operative Card in Fire as part of the ECS Card Scheme. Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) The Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS), administered by the Joint Industry Board for the Electrotechnical Industry, is a CSCS Partner Scheme covering the electrotechnical sector and includes more than 175,0...
Apollo is dedicated to keeping people safe from fire and that’s why it offers free ongoing advice to building managers, housing associations, and others on choosing appropriate fire protection for buildings with fire safety concerns such as flammable cladding or compartmentation. Apollo works closely with its partners across the country who are doing a tremendous job at installing fire detection and alarm systems into the affected buildings. Apollo’s partner Pacific Fire and Securit...
WEROCK Technologies GmbH, innovative manufacturer of rugged tablets, notebooks and handhelds, presents the Rocktab U210, a powerful, ultra-compact, yet fully rugged tablet, which is designed specifically for the requirements of fire and rescue services. The new Ultra Series model comes with market-renowned features and is available to order now. Whether it's up-to-date information on the situation and location of an operation, map material, hydrant plans or retrieving rescue maps, the right com...
Apollo is dedicated to keeping people safe from fire and that’s why it offers free ongoing advice to building managers, housing associations, and others on choosing appropriate fire protection for buildings with fire safety concerns such as flammable cladding or compartmentation. Apollo works closely with its partners across the country who are doing a tremendous job at installing fire detection and alarm systems into the affected buildings. Apollo’s partner Pacific Fire and Securit...
Holding accreditation provides many benefits to a wide range of organizations. In addition to demonstrating technical competence to the local market, it can also provide confidence to overseas markets through multilateral agreements (MLAs) whereby the reports and certificates issued by bodies accredited by signatories of these accreditation agreements receive global recognition. This benefit is essential to UKAS customers operating on the global market, so it is vital that UKAS retains its EA,...
The value of the contract currently published on Contracts Finder is between £9 and 12 million over five years. The council is looking to install new fire sprinkler systems (and associated works) in 30 of its two and three-storey supported housing blocks as well as 102 blocks of general needs residential accommodation. The closing date for suppliers to respond is 10 September 2021. Retrofit sprinkler systems This comes after the council worked with Hampshire and Isle of W...
