Public Education - News

One of the most treacherous types of fire associated with open flames typically occurs in kitchens when cooking fats or oils are heated above their burning point and catch fire. What makes such fires so dangerous is that attempts to extinguish them with water can lead to fat explosions. Despite increasing media coverage of this risk, there is still a considerable need for information and training on fires of this kind - an opinion shared by the owner-run company BALS Brandschutz- und Sicherheit...

The Fire Safety Bill had a successful second reading in the House of Commons. The Minister of State (The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP) discussed the tragic Grenfell fire and that the Government is resolute in its commitment to ensure that (events of this kind) are never repeated. “The Queen’s Speech committed the Government to bringing forward two Bills on fire and building safety. The first is this short, technical, Home Office-led Fire Safety Bill, which will amend the Regulat...

April 30th is the day the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) was supposed to host the 32nd Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner, an event to have been attended by 1,500 fire and emergency services leaders across the country to pay tribute to the dedication and commitment of our nation’s firefighters and emergency services personnel. Back in the latter part of 2019, CFSI considered different themes for the 2020 program and selected “Recognizing Our Nation&rsqu...

HURST Jaws of Life, an industry renowned global manufacturer of rescue tools, has earned the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) 1936 2020 compliant status for HURST’s two highest-performing product lines, eDRAULIC watertight extrication tools (EWXT) and eDRAULIC 2.0 (E2) battery-powered tools. The third-party test results also include HURST Jaws of Life earning high ratings in the NFPA’s new F Bar Cut testing for cutter performance, against the design and metal type...

Steve Hirsch, Chair of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), has been named as an advisor to the Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award (STACVA) program. This new national award, scheduled to launch June 1, will honor extraordinary public service volunteers in small localities (under 5,000) nationwide and help shine a spotlight on a growing national problem: a decline in the availability of citizens to fill important public safety and service roles. Advisory team members will help desig...

May 5 is #GivingTuesday, and National Volunteer Fire Council ask that people consider a donation to the NVFC’s Volunteer Firefighter Support Fund. This fund provides a stipend to help eligible volunteer firefighters and EMS providers who have been impacted by a large-scale disaster, home fire, or have suffered loss of wages due to COVID-19. The fund relies entirely on donations, and 100 percent of donations go to help responders in need.

Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) Fire Chief, Bryan Collins, announced at a media briefing, plans to provide the Spokane Valley Fire Department with a Firefighter Wellness App to support their mental health and well-being. The wellness tool will be an App installed on phones to help Spokane Valley Firefighters with their personal health and wellness needs. Many Firefighters experience PTSD after years of service in traumatic situations. “Our firefighters face tremendous mental and phy...

ImageTrend, Inc. is pleased to announce an offering to connect its License Management solution with the National EMS Coordinated Database, for the electronic exchange of licensing information, by June 2020. A National EMS-ID number will be generated to link EMS personnel records across multiple state licensing systems and the National EMS Coordinated Database. ImageTrend License Management Leveraging the automated licensing workflow capability, new and updated EMS personnel data can be report...

A Peterborough-based fire station has donated more than £1,000 to a local hospice. Staff at Dogsthorpe Fire Station raised the money through their sports and social club. After seeing a social media post from Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice highlighting the need for support, White Watch agreed with the rest of the station to arrange a donation. Donations  Firefighter Matthew Johnson from White Watch presented the donation of £1,250 to the hospice. Matthew Johnson said, “...

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) created a survey to better understand the experiences of volunteer and combination fire, EMS, and rescue departments dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 and related social distancing measures. NVFC asks that all take a few minutes to complete the survey, and that to re-take the survey each week so that NVFC can track changes over time. Based on survey and other feedback from NVFC members, answer choices related to responder mental health, morale, fun...

The NVFC created a survey to better understand the experiences of volunteer and combination fire, EMS, and rescue departments dealing with the outbreak of COVID-19 and related social distancing measures. NVFC encourages all to take the survey weekly so they can track changing needs and challenges. First Responders Children The First Responders Children’s Foundation is providing financial support to first responder families who are enduring financial hardship due to the coronavirus outbr...

Firefighters are helping two young girls to spread a little positivity across their community by flying their homemade flag. Crews at Tunbridge Wells Fire Station were presented with the colorful rainbow flag by sisters Kitti, 12, and Iris, 10. The duo, with the help of their dad Rupert, came up with the ‘together apart’ message, with the use of three linked rainbows.  Purpose Rupert said, “We created a flag to encourage social distancing and to celebrate how we can all...

Production has started again at a Norfolk factory making vital fire safety equipment for ambulances, hospitals, police, the Ministry of Defence, and the rail network across the UK. A skeleton staff of 12 workers has been drafted to Britannia Fire at Ashwellthorpe after a three-week covid-19 shutdown to meet the demand for extinguishers and fire suppression systems from the MOD, NHS, fire and rescue services, and Network Rail. extinguishers and fire systems Staff at the UK’s only composi...

National Drowning Prevention Week has started, which will see Avon Fire and Rescue Service (AF&RS) focus on helping people stay safe around water in line with the Government’s guidance and restrictions that remain in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The dedicated week of action runs from April 20 to April 26 and is led by the National Fire Chiefs’ Council (NFCC) and supported by fire and rescue services all over the UK. During the week messages will be shared on AF&R...

Fire Sector Federation provides an update on the work undertaken to reform building safety regulations. The early April announcements of the results of the Building Safety Proposals consultation linked to the two published outcomes, Response and Economic Impact BSP Response BSP Impact offer considerable insight into the government's intent to: improve the current system; advance remediation of unsafe cladding, and update Approved Document B. New building safety system More recently in an...

Infographics fire and rescue clients adapt to undertaking expanded duties as part of the Coronavirus response, Infographics has extended an invitation to seek support with new ways of managing, monitoring, and reporting on COVID-19-related tasks and absence. Infographics responded quickly to a number of client assistance requests and are offering complimentary client advice and assistance with the following areas: Managing resources, working code configuration, and dynamic views for COVID-19...

Chief executive Alex Carmichael is keen to reiterate that SSAIB is fully operational and continues to provide certification for over 1,800 registered firms and new firms looking to join during the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Due to the restrictions imposed by Government - relating to travel and social distancing – the UKAS-accredited certification body for the fire and security industries has embraced new technology to provide remote audits for certification, surveillance and r...

Fire Safety Matters Magazine has launched a new podcast for the fire safety industry. Fire Safety Matters (FSM) launched their inaugural podcast episode featuring the new BAFE campaign.    The Don’t Just Specify, Verify! campaign focuses on the important verification stage of Third Party Certification when sourcing a competent provider to help meet fire safety obligations.    Verification is extremely important, as BAFE Registration or any Third Party Certification...

BAFE announces that the Furlough scheme cut-off date has been extended to 19 March, 2020. Thousands of more employees will able to receive support through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), after the eligibility date was extended to 19 March 2020, the government announced recently.

The Construction Industry Council are providing two opportunities that may be of benefit. The first is a Webinar on Employment and Jobs during the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis focusing on the self-employed and freelance workers, which will take place today (15/04/2020) at 2pm. The webinar will last for one hour and is being led by Charles Homan of UHY Hacker Young. Zoom webinar 15 April 2020 02:00 PM on the topic of: Help for the self-employed in the age of Coronavirus. The second is t...

Big Bear Fire Department announces that it will suspend its popular chipping program for the 2020 season. This grant-funded program has been highly successful in helping residents create defensible space around their structures.  denied grant letters The Fire Department actively researches and applies for hazardous fuel reduction grants to keep the chipping program and the hazardous tree removal program going. The Department recently received denial letters for the three grants appl...

BAFE, British Approvals for Fire Equipment has announced that it welcomes the statement from the UK Home Office, regarding the Key Worker status for all fire industry employees, providing essential services, as published by the FIA, Fire Industry Association. The BAFE statement added that the organization was grateful for the FIA initiative to clarify this. Key Worker Status directly to FIA The Minister of State for Security, the Rt. Hon James Brokenshire, MP in the UK Parliament, has written...

Infographics running one-to-one demos online for Fire and Rescue Services throughout the summer, featuring FireWatch integrated Fire & Rescue management suite. The resource planning and management solution connect teams, tasks, and data to provide the complete picture of your operations. The Cloud access model, new Mobile Phone App, and Web Client enable to manage operations and self-serve from anywhere, anytime, all in one integrated location and user experience. Features Flexible clo...

Kent firefighters are supporting their blue light colleagues in the fight against COVID-19 by lending their services to the wider community. Crews and staff at Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) are working alongside South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb) to help meet the growing demand for medical response across the county, as a result of the worldwide pandemic.  Firefighters will undergo training before being deployed to drive ambulances, while other KFRS employees have been...

G4S announces the release of the G4S facility disinfection solution that helps provide a healthier and safer environment for staff and visitors. G4S facility disinfection solution G4S offers a complete range of sanitization and disinfection services for workplace, vehicles and commercial spaces. Regular sanitization of the facility between shifts; as directed in the government guidelines, can help reduce the risk of infections, thus helping to reduce employee sick days. Some key features of...

The Gorman-Rupp Company (Gorman-Rupp) has announced a change in the format of its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (‘Annual Meeting’), from in-person to virtual-only meeting. Due to the emerging public health impact of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and to support the health and well-being of the company’s shareholders, employees, and their families, Gorman-Rupp will hold its annual meeting in a virtual meeting format only, via webcast. 2020 Annual Meeting of Sharehol...

Around 200 delegates from the building and design industries in the United Kingdom region and beyond attended a one-day business seminar themed - “Sprinklers Save Lives” on providing a fire resilient environment for everyone. It was held at The Burgess Hall in St Ives, United Kingdom.  “Sprinklers Save Lives” seminar Organized by BAFSA (British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association Ltd.) in collaboration with, and hosted by, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service, t...

The BAFSA Executive have now written to its members and outlined immediate action as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. BAFSA (British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association Ltd.) announced in a statement that they will continue to work within the current Government guidelines (both national and devolved) throughout this COVID19 pandemic outbreak. They have provided links below to HM Government advice, Scottish Government advice, Welsh Government advice and Northern Ireland Government advice we...

Cabinet Office moves to further protect suppliers after COVID-19 (Coronavirus). A new Procurement Policy Note (PPN) has been published by the Cabinet Office to further protect suppliers during and after the Coronavirus outbreak. BAFE welcomes this initiative to protect the vital provision of fire safety services during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak. Many companies are suffering the financial consequences of being unable to carry out routine work. However, they recognize that when more no...

Rentokil, whose North American headquarters are located in Wyomissing, calls itself “The experts in pest control.” Traditionally, pests referred to bugs and rodents, possibly other unwanted animals. Now, the term includes infectious diseases such as COVID-19. As many Berks County businesses attempt to shift production to life-sustaining products that protect people from coronavirus, others are offering to help fight the disease on the ground. For Rentokil, that meant adding commerci...