Fire Safety Standards - News

The International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Association of State Fire Marshals, and National Volunteer Fire Council urge governors and state health officials to make career and volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics a top priority level for COVID-19 vaccines. They are vital parts of the national public health system and should be treated at the same priority as other frontline healthcare workers and hospital staff. The nation’s...

Each year, unintentional poisoning from carbon monoxide (CO) - a colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that can be lethal to humans and pets - kills at least 430 people in the U.S. and sends about 50,000 people in the U.S. to the hospital. As part of Carrier's Healthy Homes Program, and to make people more aware of the dangers of CO poisoning and how to prevent it in both their two- and four-legged family members, Kidde is recognizing CO Awareness Week from November 1-7, 2020. Residential smoke a...

VIKING Life-Saving Equipment is driving more investment into its marine fire service business. The inauguration of VIKING’s Foam Lab Odense, which specializes in the testing of a vessel’s reserves of firefighting foam, intensifies the company’s focus on marine fire service, a segment earmarked for significant growth in the coming years. Marine Firefighting Equipment “Our ambition is to cover all aspects of marine firefighting equipment, and our new state-of-the-art lab...

Bristol Uniforms, a globally renowned designer and manufacturer of protective clothing for emergency services across the globe, has launched a brand new, state-of-the-art PPE design for structural firefighting, offering advanced protection to combat the new and emerging risks faced by modern day firefighters. EOS, PPE for structural fighting EOS, named after the Greek goddess of the dawn, builds on the success of Bristol’s XFlex and UK Collaborative Framework ranges, retaining the popula...

The FIA has unveiled its participation as a founding member in a new, industry-wide initiative designed to attract and develop a new generation of fire protection engineers.  Zitko Talent Zitko Talent is an alliance of major manufacturers, installation companies and educators Zitko Talent is an alliance of major manufacturers, installation companies and educators, who will be providing an intensive 12-month program of salaried work experience, training, and development. The program is s...

FlamePro, a British manufacturer of life-saving garments for firefighters, is celebrating a string of recent appointments within the firm, following recent business success. The specialist FR PPE provider has recently welcomed four new recruits over recent months; Vicki Jackson has joined as Internal Sales Executive, while Lorraine Costello, Zoe Colbeck, and Ellie Smith have all joined FlamePro’s NPD and design team. Enjoying significant growth The new recruits joined shortly before and...

In the recently published Fire and rescue incident statistics (England) it is documented that in the year ending June 2020 “FRSs attended 231,510 fire false alarms, a one percent increase with the previous year (229,961), a seven percent increase compared with five years ago (215,857) and a 19 percent decrease compared with ten years ago (285,368).” While the information published does note that “the number of fire false alarms attended by fire and rescue servic...

A father of three is urging Kent residents to test their smoke alarms once a week, after a fire that left him and his daughter fearing for their lives, destroyed the family home. David Sercombe and his 22-year-old daughter Bronte, were the only ones home on the morning of 18 November, when a fire broke out in the stairwell leading to the basement of the property off Sandling Lane, in Saltwood, Hythe.  Their smoke alarms didn’t sound, and instead, a builder made David aware of smoke...

Have user ever considered how the facilities’ commercial cleaner works to not only clean but prevent cross-contamination in the workplace? In a post-COVID world many commercial buildings, offices, facilities healthcare and medical businesses are asking for greater certainty for, not only their own workplace health and safety, but that of their employees and clients. So how does color coding for cleaning work to provide greater certainty in commercial cleaning? Australian Cleaning Standar...

The Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) has warned against the improper handling of candles given the upcoming Advent season.  “Unfortunately, the number of fires increases significantly every year around Christmas,” said vfdb President, Dirk Aschenbrenner in Dortmund, citing figures from the General Association of the German Insurance Industry. In 2019 alone there were 29,000 fires, around 9,000 more than in a comparable month in spring or autumn....

Rapidrop is pleased to announce that they have successfully attained accreditation to the Made in Britain (MiB) organization. Made in Britain (MiB) Made in Britain brings together the British manufacturing community, united with the use of the registered collective mark. The mark is protected and can only be used by members of the Made in Britain organization. The Made in Britain membership organization aims to prove, wherever possible, that products made in Britain by MiB members are of the...

Regular building maintenance has and always will be a fundamental part of a facilities manager role. Work can sometimes feel continuous, ensuring everything from ventilation to water systems is in good working order and all while making sure health and safety standards are maintained along the way. Each building has a set of unique needs that must be addressed, and, for that, maintenance is key. Yet, facility managers must also recognize the importance of ‘essential maintenance.’ Fo...

BAFE and BSI are pleased to announce that the first registration and Third Party Certification has been achieved for the new wet and dry riser service and maintenance scheme. A crucial service for high-rise buildings and the tall building environment to ensure these remain effective in the event of an emergency. Evidence Of Competency The Scheme, known as BAFE SP105 Service & Maintenance of Dry and Wet Riser/Falling Installations, offers evidence of competency for organizations who delive...

Innovators in fire technology, Geofire, launches the Deaf Alert, a safety device for the deaf and hard of hearing. The Deaf Alert is a digital, vibrating pillow alarm that uses ‘listening’ technology to activate on the specific sound of a home smoke alarm. Geofire has manufactured fire safety products in the UK since 1972. The Deaf Alert will join the Agrippa acoustic product line which includes the battery powered fire door holder and closer. Working smoke alarm The acoustic tech...

A team of fire safety inspectors is embarking on an ambitious project to inspect all high-rise residential buildings across South Yorkshire, over 18 meters or with six or more storeys, by the end of next year. This comes as part of a Government-driven ‘Building Risk Review’ program that seeks to ‘significantly increase’ the pace of high-rise residential inspection activity across the country. Made up of staff from South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s (SYFR) bus...

BAFE are an official supporting partner of the BSI virtual event. BSI will be hosting a one-day free virtual event that will be looking at “the rapidly growing fire safety market and answers key questions around what’s changing, the likely impacts, emerging trends, and how knowledge can be shared between the fire and construction sectors to help meet the new challenges.” The event has been created for multiple people with roles directly linked to fire safety within an organiza...

It will all be over by Christmas, at least that’s what everyone thought (and hoped) when COVID-19 first hit back in the spring season. However, adapting to life and work in a COVID-19 world has proved a longer and harder road than many ever anticipated. For many unlucky COVID-19 sufferers too, the effects of the virus have been long-term. Whether symptoms are very mild, or more problematic, for most people, COVID-19 infection is a brief, acute illness. However, it is now medically recogni...

In the run-up to the festive period, the HSE is working with local authorities to inspect businesses in the transport and logistics industry to ensure they are managing the risk of coronavirus. With the current lockdown restrictions, the demand for online shopping is already high and is expected to increase over the next few weeks. This will also increase demand in the supply chain for the sector. HSE inspectors and local authority officers will be visiting warehouses and distribution centers...

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has promised tougher regulations will improve building safety, after expressing his shock at last week’s revelations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, Construction News has reported. According to the industry specialist, last week former Celotex Product Manager Jonathan Roper admitted that the firm’s sale of its insulation product alongside sales material that failed to mention it had only passed safety tests when placed alongside non-combustible magn...

Global safety equipment manufacturer, MSA Safety Incorporated has announced that its next-generation Advantage 290 LS Air-Purifying Respirator (APR) is the first of its kind, designed without an exhalation valve, to receive approval from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Advantage 290 LS APR An elastomeric half-mask device, the Advantage 290 LS Respirator covers a wearer’s nose and mouth and utilizes twin filters to provide respiratory protection. The U....

Grassroots political organization Firefighters & EMS Fund worked directly with Neighbors for a Safer Kirkland to support Proposition 1, which would provide funding for new and renovated fire stations, 20 new fire/EMT positions, and the purchase of more PPE and other safety gear. Firefighters & EMS Fund got involved ahead of the election on November 3rd, and worked together with local organizations and leaders to contact and activate local voters. Mark Jung, campaign co-chair as well as...

The Government must improve on the details if it is to demonstrate that its new building safety proposals will drive much-needed reform in the sector. The findings come in a report published by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee following pre-legislative scrutiny of the draft Building Safety Bill. The proposed legislation sets out the framework the Government intends to adopt to implement a new building safety regime and to remedy the flaws in the existing system ident...

When working on the job users want a mask they can rely on. Something that isn’t intrusive and is comfortable enough for them to do work all day. Introducing the JSP Force8 Half Mask. Fully compliant with: EN140 (Face piece) EN14387:2004 (Filter performance) EN143:200 (Filter performance) Features of mask And the low resistance exhalation valve offers easy breathing with a stable mask configuration This face mask comes with 2 Press2Check filters which can be used on average...

As the Thanksgiving holidays are approaching, everyone will be looking forward to a full dinner plate with the favorite meal. Whether one is with family or sharing the meal with their immediate household, it is always important to remember fire safety in the kitchen. The cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and fire injuries and that Thanksgiving is the day for home fires involving cooking equipment, Kistler O’Brien Fire Protection wants customers to be well prepared as th...

Firefighters, climate campaigners and scientists have urged Chancellor Rishi Sunak to invest in the fire and rescue service to protect the public and vital infrastructure from the devastating effects of climate change – or risk ruining the chance of a green recovery. In a letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Spending Review on 25 November, the Fire Brigades Union and climate groups including Green New Deal UK, Greenpeace UK, Friends of the Earth, and the Campaign Against Climate Change (...

The FIA has unveiled its participation as a founding member in a new, industry-wide initiative designed to attract and develop a new generation of fire protection engineers. Zitko Talent is an alliance of leading manufacturers, installation companies and educators who will be providing an intensive 12-month program of salaried work experience, training and development. The program is suitable for a wide audience, from college leavers and career changers to engineers wishing to cross-train from...

The fire service’s recovery from flooding which hit South Yorkshire last autumn has been recognized with a major international award. South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue was awarded ‘Most Effective Recovery’ at the Business Continuity Institute’s Global Awards. The award-presented to the service’s Resilience, Planning, and Contingencies team at a virtual ceremony- recognizes organizations that have effectively managed major incidents. The fire service rescued more th...

Chief Robert Valentine and Groveland Firefighters Association President Dave Evans are pleased to announce that members of the Groveland Fire Department delivered turkeys to dozens of residents in a modified version of its annual Turkey Night. Firefighters Traditional Event Traditionally, the Groveland Firefighters Association raffles off 40 turkeys at its annual Turkey Night the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Though the event had to be canceled this year due to safety concerns amid COVID-19, m...

The Harris County Fire Marshal's Office partnered with Harris County Precinct 4 Office of Commissioner R. Jack Cagle, H-E-B, and H-E-B Tomball Market #574 to encourage turkey frying safety. "HCFMO encourages everyone to keep an eye on what you fry," said Harris County Fire Marshal Laurie L. Christensen. "Frying a turkey might be a family tradition, but it can be very dangerous. One misstep can cause a dangerous fire to occur." “Thanksgiving is a day for counting our blessings and apprecia...

The Lafayette City Police Department and an interagency task force joined a survey firm to deal with extensive damage caused by California wildfires that were raging in August and September. One of these, "the CZU lightning complex fire" caused a massive evacuation before destroying 86,509 acres (35,009 ha) and nearly 1500 structures across four communities and two state parks. To assess the worst-hit areas of this particular fire, a WingtraOne drone was used to collect aerial data used to gene...