Fire Safety Testing - News

A court in Preston fined the former owner of the Plaza Beach Hotel in Blackpool £15,000 for multiple breaches of the Fire Safety Order that saw it treated as an unofficial HMO. Findings Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service first visited the hotel in September 2017 and prohibited its use after finding: Several members of staff sleeping in the basement with inadequate fire detection, Fire separation throughout the hotel was inadequate, Fire doors would not close, Combustible materials...

Dr. Alexander Charlish is the first Fraunhofer scientist to be awarded the prestigious IEEE Radar Research Prize. He is the first Fraunhofer researcher and the second German ever to receive the prestigious IEEE Fred Nathanson Memorial Radar Award. Dr. Alexander Charlish, a scientist and team pioneer at Fraunhofer FKIE, received the international award for his outstanding work in the field of radar resource management and cognitive radar. Since 1985, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics E...

West Midlands Fire Service starts a 12-month trial of aerial drones to provide valuable footage to help with responding to fires and for fire investigations. The drones will be used to take video footage and high-resolution still images above incidents. Drones Drones can provide improve situational awareness for those in charge of incidents, helping decision-making and operational response. The six drones that WMFS will be using over the next year are M2ED drones that have a 30-minute flight...

Essex Fire Chief pledges £70,000 to the local council to ensure most vulnerable benefit from sprinklers as part of match funding approach to dealing with fire risk across the county. sprinklers Seven housing estates in the Felmores area of Basildon will be retrofitted with sprinklers. Previously, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service provided £50,000 to Basildon Council to fit sprinklers in a high-rise residential block. This announcement coincides with the NFCC’s National Sp...

On October 26, 2019, a worker and his wife were both fatally injured due to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposure at a waterflood station in Odessa, Texas—one of six fatal H2S accidents in the United States in the last two years. On May 4, 2021, the US Chemical and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) published its final report of the incident with guidance on how future incidents can be prevented with appropriate safety measures. This blog post describes what happened, why H2S safety is a critical...

Following a decision of its Board, Euralarm has welcomed its newest member Viking, a dependable partner in fire protection with almost 100 years of experience. The company will join the Extinguishing Section of Euralarm. The Extinguishing Section represents the active fire extinguishing sector and covers existing, new, and emerging technologies, covering automatic extinguishing systems using gas, water, foam, powder and aerosols, oxygen reduction systems, portable equipment, and other manual me...

Fire organizations have come together for the first time to create a Core Code of Ethics based on the Nolan Principles that puts supporting communities first. The National Fire Chiefs Council, Local Government Association, and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners have jointly published a Core Code of Ethics that sits alongside a new Fire Standard. This is in response to one of the recommendations made by Sir Tom Winsor in his State of Fire and Rescue reports. The Fire Minister, Lo...

Coatings manufacturer Hempel launched Hempafire Pro 400, a new passive fire protection coating that maintains the stability of steel structures in the event of a fire for up to 120 minutes and has been optimized for maximum efficiency in the loadings for a 90-minute duration. Passive fire protection coatings Passive fire protection (PFP) coatings insulate steel during a fire, which extends the steel’s load-bearing capacity and gives valuable extra time for evacuation and emer...

For property owners looking to further protect their home or business or for anyone with an intruder alarm system, one of the easiest and quickest things that they can do is to upgrade the existing system. They may decide to upgrade the system by replacing the old system completely or by adding different elements to the existing system, in order to update it. The need to upgrade the security system There are many reasons why someone may want to upgrade their current fire or security system. F...

Assurance Services International (ASI) and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intention of bringing together UKAS accreditation and ASI assurance for future collaboration in the field of sustainability. ASI formalized an agreement with the German National Accreditation Body (NAB), Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle (DAkkS) earlier this year. UKAS and ASI partnership UKAS has established a framework for cooperation between ASI a...

Portsmouth City Council is investing £9.5 million over the next five years in retrofitting sprinklers in high-rise blocks as part of a £22 million package of fire safety measures. The announcement comes at the start of the NFCC’s Sprinkler Safety Week and is supported by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service working in partnership with the city. retrofit program The retrofit program was due to start but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The council carr...

Manchester Fire Chief sets out priorities for the next four years with a pledge to improve and regulate the built environment, in order to protect people, property, and the economy. This is the first Fire Plan for Greater Manchester since responsibility for the fire and rescue service moved to the Mayor, Andy Burnham. The Plan addresses the impact of major incidents such as the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 and the 2019 Cube fire in Bolton. Fire Plan Commenting on the launch of the Plan, Ch...

Mayflex has become a strategic partner to Zitko Talent: the new industry training initiative designed to fast-track entry-level field engineers into Fire & Security. The 12-month program offers trainees paid employment from day one, combined with around 300 hours of certified product training and theoretical study towards a level 3 industry qualification. The product training is tailored to the trainee’s workplace. Full range of courses Zitko Talent and working with fellow partners...

Johnson Controls, the global pioneer for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, unveils new 8-inch (20-cm) color touchscreen displays for the company’s Autocall 4100ES and 4010ES fire alarm control units. The new color ES Touch Screen Display (ES TSD) improves fire panel performance by giving users more information, more intuitive functionality, easier multi-language accessibility, and improved esthetics. new color ES Touch Screen Display (ES TSD) Each ES TSD can display eight color-...

The UK Government has published draft legislation that will see planners include fire safety information and consult on it with the Health and Safety Executive, as part of a new gateway-based approach to building safety. This development is in response to Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Safety, where she identified a lack of fire safety considerations at the planning stage for high-rise residential buildings. Gateway review points The government consulted on propose...

During the National Sprinkler Week, Fire Chiefs will be highlighting how different approaches to sprinklers across the United Kingdom (UK) means that not all new schools will be protected. The FPA is supporting the campaign that runs from Monday, 17th - 23rd May. It will raise awareness of the benefits of sprinkler systems in keeping people and buildings safe from fire. sprinklers installation One area the NFCC is concerned about is new build schools. In Scotland and Wales, sprinklers are req...

The new Be Certain, Be Certified awareness campaign offers free guidance and resources to highlight the importance of third-party certification of fire doors in improving fire safety standards across the UK. third-party certification Third-party certification of fire doors provides independent evidence of the performance of a fire door and ensures that its performance data was not a one-off result. The campaign also gives expert insight into the third-party certification of fire doo...

“Farrow & Ball is an iconic, luxury, decorative paint and wallpaper company. It is used by consumers, designers, and cultural institutions around the world – all of who have a passion for rich colors in eco-friendly paint. I am very proud to welcome our new colleagues to the Hempel family. Together we will ensure that Farrow & Ball continues its strong growth journey,” says Hempel Group President & CEO Lars Petersson.  Hempel is taking the next, large step to...

National Safe Boating Week runs from 24 to 30 May. At the Fire Protection Association, they thought this would be a great opportunity to share knowledge, information, and testing standards when it comes to preventing boat fires. Watermist systems are an effective way to protect ships from fire. These systems have an important job and therefore must be properly maintained and tested and can help with that. Royal Navy Defence standards Receiving an accreditation underpins the importance of expe...

The demand for warehouse space is up due to online shopping, but insurer - Zurich says that warehouse sprinkler laws are outdated and should be changed. Recent research by Zurich reveals that the number of warehouses gutted by fire increased by 42 percent. Using Home Office statistics, Zurich found that in 2019/20 the number of warehouse fires stayed steady but the number gutted by fire rose considerably. insurance claims The cost of insurance claims has increased across the market. Zurich cl...

A fire broke out at New Providence Wharf, a high-rise residential building in East London, where cladding was due to be removed. London Fire Brigade firefighters tackled a blaze in a 19-story building where parts of the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors were alight. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus carried out multiple rescues and two men were taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. cladding remediation The London Ambulance Service said they had treated a number of people ...

A new guide provides assistance and recommendations on how to best specify cable containment systems to improve electrical safety in buildings in the event of a fire. Free to download, the new guide explains how to create a cable pathway through a building, while navigating the current standards landscape. electrical installation standards Creating Cable Pathways is published by Legrand UK & Ireland and takes on board changes to IET Wiring Regulations. It is in line with Dame Judith Hacki...

One of the most crucial responsibilities of a rental landlord is to follow the fire safety requirements, ensurithe ng safety of the tenants and property. Users may have to show evidence of fitting the correct alarms and that any furniture that is provided is safe. In this guide APE will outline the things users must do, as a landlord, to provide fire safety to the tenants.  It is illegal to not have a smoke alarm? The smoke and carbon monoxide alarm (England) regulations act 2015 require...

In the dry heat of the high desert, the California and Nevada Air National Guard, the U.S. Forest Service, CAL FIRE, and multiple other fire-fighting agencies across the United States are performing their annual certification training for the aerial fire-fighting mission with MAFFS (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System), from May 4 – May 7, 2021. The success of this training is built on the trusted partnerships between the fire-fighting agencies, having forged their tactical expertise su...

Gunning London, the Chartered Building Company that specializes in internal and external refurbishments, has launched a new division, Gunning Fire, to meet the increasing need for professionally installed fire door and fire stopping solutions. Gunning Fire division Having achieved independent UKAS accredited certification from Bluesky in April 2021, the division will offer fire door installation, fire door maintenance, fire stopping (compartmentalization), and cladding refurbishment, delivered...

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned company for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings and architect of OpenBlue connected solutions, has unveiled its new ANSUL LVS Non-Fluorinated Liquid Suppression Agent. The new agent is manufactured without the use of per-fluorinated chemicals and is performance tested to ensure maximum effectiveness. It is now available worldwide. LVS Non-Fluorinated Agent LVS Non-Fluorinated Agent works by rapidly knocking down flames, then blanketing the fuel and...

Firefighters across South Yorkshire are asking the public to help them crack down on deliberate fires across the county, by reporting incident details to a dedicated new fire line. In response to the 3900 deliberate fire incidents they were called to in last year, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue has joined up with an arm of the national charity, Crimestoppers. Report information on Deliberate fire-setting Once reported, the details will be anonymized and used as part of fire and police inve...

A hybrid event tackling future challenges facing the fire sector and beyond. Building on the success of last year, which saw more than 400 delegates attend virtually, this year’s FIRE Conference returns on the 9 November at the Queen Elizabeth II Center, London and will allow delegates to attend face to face or online.  The joint initiative between the IFE, NFCC, and FPA is heralded as the center point for sector leaders and stakeholders to come together in a collaborative...

Following a competitive recruitment process, the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST) has appointed Tom Abell as its new permanent Chief Executive. Tom Abell, who was earlier serving as the Deputy Chief Executive at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, will formally take up his new role as Chief Executive at EEAST in the autumn. Announcing the appointment, East of England Ambulance Service’s Chair Nicola Scrivings, said “Tom brings significant experience in the NHS and jus...

After an intense campaign, Austin, TX Local 975 has won the ability to call on an impartial arbiter to settle future disputes that may arise while negotiating with the city, after the passage of Proposition A. Proposition A, which passed by an impressive 81% to 19% margin on May 1, sends a clear message from Austin voters to city leaders. “Our community showed up and voted in support of their firefighters,” says Local 975 President Bob Nicks. Fairer resolution process “We ar...