Mergers & Acquisitions - News
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...
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...
Having the ability to effectively inspect, diagnose, and document trouble spots are crucial for property managers, facilities maintenance staff, building inspectors, contractors, electricians, service technicians, plumbers, and even homeowners. It requires the aid of effective tools, including thermal imaging, to quickly recognize and resolve those trouble spots. That’s why FLIR has introduced its latest entry-level Cx-Series camera, the FLIR C3-X™, a compact thermal camera packed w...
A residential structure fire was reported on Maple Lane between Eucalyptus Lane and Manzanita Lane in Sugarloaf at approximately 6:43 pm, on Monday, November 9, 2020. Upon arrival, fire crews observed a residential structure with heavy smoke and flames showing. Crews immediately went into defensive attack mode to the fully involved structure to provide protection to the adjacent structures. No occupants were in the home at the time of the incident. Big Bear Fire Crew carry out fire suppression...
Vestas rewards Hempel with the Sustainability Award 2020 for supporting them on their journey to become CO2 neutral by 2030. innovative solutions After a long‑term collaboration, Vestas and Hempel have recently extended their relationship to a strategic partnership focusing on developing innovative solutions for the surface protection of wind turbines. As a part of the partnership, Hempel has identified multiple initiatives that can reduce both CO2 and waste at the Vestas site in Pueblo...
Chris Watts of Eaton Lighting offers guidance for BAFE on behalf of the BAFE SP203 Monitoring Group. BAFE SP203-4 is for the design, installation, commissioning, and maintenance of emergency lighting systems. Any period of shutdown generates potential problems and opportunities for testing and servicing of emergency lighting systems. The current lockdowns have an added dimension as it applies to sites that are not normally unoccupied and people responsible for the operation of the system should...
Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) has become the first UK fire service to receive professional recognition for its extensive incident debrief process. As part of its commitment to continuously learn and improve, the service has made significant and pioneering changes to its formal debrief process, making it more thorough and inclusive of all departments involved in an incident from the first 999 calls both operational and non-operational personnel. CPD recognition In light of the improvemen...
The fire safety market in the UK is a peculiar one. While the trade at large is among the most advanced in the world in terms of the firefighting solutions on offer, the biggest challenge for the customers is that this trade is a scattered one. There is no brand in the genre that offers a holistic fire safety product line, ranging from extinguishers to suppression systems and everything in between, and a customer is left to deal with multiple suppliers for their fire safety requirements. revol...
An update from Director of Schemes, Chris Auger, outlining issues raised by the new lockdown measures to be introduced on November 05, 2020. Due to the recent second wave of the COVID-19 coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown announced by the Prime Minister on Saturday 31st October 2020, BAFE has had to review the situation regarding refresher certificates and technician assessments. different levels of restriction Although the announcement only applied to England, there are also different...
Contractors working on the build of Theale Community Fire Station have made good progress during recent months, with the new station starting to take shape. The installation of the steel superstructure took place at the end of September 2020, following extensive work to prepare the station’s foundations. Plans to build Theale Community Fire Station got underway in January 2020. It is the latest in a series of investments by the Fire Authority, following the refurbishment of the Hungerford...
On the 16th of October, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, answered the following question from Andrew Dismore (Labor): What dangers do you believe that buildings under 18 m with dangerous cladding pose to residents? The Mayor of London answered: “Several recent damaging fires in buildings below 18 meters have demonstrated the danger that unsafe cladding presents to residents. I have always been clear that fire risk does not adhere to strict height thresholds." Fire safety requirements in...
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has published Version 6 of the Site Operating Procedures document. Information from Construction Leadership Council (20/10/2020): Site Operating Procedures Update – Version 6 is now available The Site Operating Procedures have been updated to reflect recent changes in Government guidance. While there are no significant changes to social distancing requirements on sites, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has taken the opportunity to streaml...
Big Bear Fire Department has some 'Hot Tips for Cold Weather' to ensure safe winter heating. With the change in seasons in Big Bear Valley comes the need to warm homes and businesses. Stay warm and safe during the winter months by following some simple tips. Conventional Heating Have a professional check and service the heating system each year. Always keep combustibles away from heat sources. Check the manufacturer’s specifications for clearance distances. Portable Heaters Always use...
A draft of PAS 8672 is now available for public comment and contains competence requirements for the Principal Contractor, a role set out in the Building Safety Bill. The Principal Contractor is one of three roles with oversight of building safety at each stage of the building’s lifecycle. The Principal Contractor will be responsible for planning, managing, and monitoring the building work, and coordinating matters relating to the building work to ensure compliance with all relevant requi...
Former Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) Director of Operations - Sean Bone-Knell and current Head of Procurement at KFRS, Tina Butler, have been recognized in the 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours list. Sean Bone-Knell, who retired from KFRS in March 2020, after 33 years of service, has been awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal – a prestigious medal given to members of the fire services in the UK and Commonwealth for distinguished services or gallantry. Steering national pol...
A blueprint to improve competence for those working on higher-risk buildings and drive culture change has been set out by a cross-industry group representing more than 150 organizations in the fire and built environment industries. Setting the Bar is the second and final report of the Competence Steering Group (CSG) and is an update of its Interim Report, Raising the Bar, published in August 2019. The work was initiated by the recommendations in Dame Judith Hackitt’s review Building a Saf...
Bacharach, a globally renowned provider of HVAC-R gas instrumentation, has announced the appointment of Matthew Toone as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Matthew Toone joins Bacharach from Emerson, where he served as Vice President of Sales, Service and Solutions for Emerson’s Cold Chain Platform. New CEO appointed The company said Matthew Toone will be responsible for the further integration of the Parasense and Neutronics brands, and setting the company’s s...
From the structural situation to the hazards to possible reactions for care management and staff: the Joint Committee on Fire Prevention Education and Fire Safety Education of the German Fire Brigades Association (DFV) and the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection (vfdb) has worked up the topic of 'Behavior in case of fire in care facilities' with a technical recommendation. "Offered is an easy-to-read guide that provides the necessary background information to be able to make...
New COVID-19 restrictions have been introduced by the Government, announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. While this does not directly affect fire safety work, BAFE would fully support the advice that the stronger requirements for face coverings should be implemented consistently within the fire safety industry. This is especially important with technicians working on-site at care facilities and other buildings where vulnerable people may be exposed to the virus. Controlling COVID-19...
West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRS) have given the go ahead to relocate the fire station in Hightown Road, in Cleckheaton, to WYFRS Headquarters in Birkenshaw, United Kingdom. The decision was made at the Full Authority meeting held on September 18, 2020 and will see an investment of £1.3 million to build a new facility, which will be closer to the more high risk areas, where fires and other emergencies tend to occur often. New Fire station The new station will also provide...
Nicki Vaca has been promoted to the position of Business Optimization Manager for HURST Jaws of Life, a unit of IDEX Fire & Safety, drawing on her two decades of experience and senior leadership roles with the industry’s major global manufacturer of rescue tools. Most recently, she held the position of Manager of Operations at HURST Jaws of Life’s Shelby, North Carolina headquarters. Nicki Vaca has also held key roles in operations, IT, facilities and planning, and customer care...
Global Fire Equipment (GFE) appoints Vikrant Patil as Regional Director for India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, in order to help drive further growth in this key market. Fire detection equipment manufacturer, Global Fire Equipment (GFE), has set its sights on further growth in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka with the appointment of Vikrant Patil as Regional Director to help deliver the company’s ambitious growth plans for this key market. Long-term commercial partnerships In this newly cre...
Global Fire Group, which includes Global Fire Equipment (GFE), a global manufacturer of fire detection equipment, and Createch, specialists in emergency lighting equipment, have announced the appointment of Paul Pope as Group Business Development Director Worldwide. Paul will be responsible for overseeing the group’s international growth strategy, marketing and product management. International growth strategy Founded in Denmark in 1994 by João Paulo Ajami, Global Fire already ha...
A reminder to Schools that fire safety provisions and systems should be reviewed and maintained on a regular basis. IFSEC Global has reported that “according to new research from insurer, Zurich Municipal, schools in England are “nearly twice as likely” to suffer from a fire as other types of commercial buildings.” Life safety systems The data, from 28,800 schools in England alone, noted reasons including poor fire detection and the regular presence of cooking equipmen...
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government has published new guidance regarding “the end of recognition of the CE mark in GB and affix the UK marking using a UK-recognized ‘approved body’ by 1 January 2022.” Impact of BAFE Schemes The guidance states “Businesses are being encouraged now to be ready for the full implementation of the new UK regime, as soon as possible after 1 January 2021. Businesses will be able to use the UK mark from 1 Ja...
BAFE and FireQual Ltd are pleased to announce that they have appointed Nic Preston as the FireQual Qualifications Manager from 1st September 2020. Nic Preston Nic Preston has over 14 years of experience in the training and development sector with a proven ability in quality assurance demonstrated in several roles influencing training environments within the UK. His most recent roles have been developing and implementing growth strategies as Chief Executive of SFEDI Awards, the Awarding Organi...
The FIA is pleased to announce that following extensive and detailed discussions with BAFE, the independent register of Third Party Certificated fire safety service providers, BAFE will be acquiring the operation of the FIA AO. BAFE will be establishing FireQual Ltd as an OFQUAL-approved Awarding Body to run the existing Fire Detection and Alarm qualification examinations and to develop new qualifications across the fire sector that will support the call for greater competence and avail...
The parent company of DRIFIRE®, National Safety Apparel continues to expand their USA-based safety and military clothing brands with the acquisition of Virginia Beach-based Wild Things. The acquisition of Wild Things adds another market leader to National Safety Apparel’s “House of Brands” The acquisition of Wild Things adds another market leader to National Safety Apparel’s already established “House of Brands”. Wild Things is a premium cold weather mi...
Eurotech is delighted to announce the appointment of James Aherne and Joshua Minter, both of whom have joined the company in the capacity of Regional Sales Managers. James Aherne joins Eurotech from a Commissioning Engineer background, based in Ireland and will be looking after the company’s existing customer accounts, in both Ireland and North West England, in the United Kingdom. Vast knowledge of Eurotech’s fire systems James Aherne’s expertise will enable him to assist t...
A structure fire was reported at the Golden Bear Lodge on Big Bear Boulevard in Big Bear Lake at approximately 2:02 a.m., on Saturday, August 8, 2020. Upon arrival, fire crews observed a two-story structure to be fully involved. Amidst firefighting efforts to the first structure, crews noticed the structure next door showing heat damage and small flames. Fire suppression activity All occupants of the cabins were evacuated prior to arrival. Big Bear Fire Department units commenced fire...
