Smart Home - News

Building on the themes explored in its ‘Managing Fire Risk in the Fifth Façade’ session, ROCKWOOL is set to present a panel discussion on ‘Designing Compliance in the Fifth Façade’ at London Build Online (15th – 24th March 2021), the UK’s largest virtual event for the construction industry. The session, which will take place on 18th March 2021 (9:30 am), brings together experts from across the industry for a detailed discussion of compliance cri...

Coatings supplier - Hempel has provided coatings to protect the Orbital O2 tidal energy turbine – the world’s most powerful tidal turbine. Hempel’s ambition is to become the major global coatings solution provider for the global renewable energy segment. O2 is set to operate at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in the Orkney Islands in the UK. Around the islands of Orkney, tidal currents can reach over four meters per second, making them some of the strongest in the wor...

With new fire safety legislations demanding a renewed focus on safety in all residential settings, Karen Trigg of Allegion UK explains why care home and sheltered housing associations must prioritize the maintenance of fire doors. The regulations and standards associated with fire safety and sheltered, assisted and social housing are, by necessity, robust. Yet, the responsibilities towards those standards, and subsequently, fire safety equipment such as fire doors, can often leave people vulner...

Essex wood treatment firm, Prime Biomass Ltd created a huge fire safety risk to the local community by storing more than double the agreed limit of wood waste. A jury at the Old Bailey returned unanimous guilty verdicts against two directors of an illegal waste wood operation in Essex. One director was ordered to pay £50,000 in fines, compensation and legal costs while the other faces a five-year ban as a company director. A third director was acquitted by a majority verdict. five-week t...

Airbus SE is announcing the following changes to the Executive Committee, led by Chief Executive Officer, Guillaume Faury, following approval from the Board of Directors. These changes come at a new juncture for both commercial aviation and defense activities, with the decarbonization of the aviation sector becoming a central ambition for the industry, and strategic European defense programs entering their development phase. The following changes will be effective from 1st July 2021: After...

Marking a year of challenges and change, IFSEC Global reviews a year of fire safety and publishes its list of the top influencers in fire safety. The Fire Safety Annual Report covers a wide range of fire safety topics and looks at how the fire safety industry has responded to Covid-19. In his foreword to the report, Ian Moore, Chief Executive of the Fire Industry Association said: “It has been an unpredictable and a somewhat turbulent year for us all. Broadly speaking, our year...

Verint Systems (Verint), the globally renowned customer engagement company, has announced that Vericast, a renowned marketing solutions company, together with its Harland Clarke contact center solutions, has selected the Verint Customer Engagement Cloud Platform to enhance the agent and customer experience at its contact centers. “We selected Verint due to the integrated nature of their solution and the holistic view they bring to customer, client and agent engagement,” said Barbara...

Johnson Controls, the globally renowned company for smart, healthy and sustainable building solutions and architect of OpenBlue connected solutions, has announced the launch of Chemguard NFF 3x3 UL201 Foam Concentrate. NFF technology This new, patent-pending Non-Fluorinated Foam (NFF) technology provides fast and effective fire suppression on most Class B hydrocarbon and polar solvent fuel fires. With a longer drain time than most AR-AFFFs, this foam blanket also delivers excellent post-exting...

Euralarm, the globally renowned fire and security solutions organization, has announced support for a resolution of the European Parliament that asks for quick solutions from the European Commission to improve the standardization of construction products, while also pushing for a transition to a sustainable and more circular economy. Resolution on standardization MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) have recently called in the resolution, adopted with 686 votes in favor (4 votes against a...

Fire Equipment Inc. (FEI), New England’s renowned full-service life safety company, has announced the launch of FEI Connect, which provides customers with reliable monitoring service for their fire protection systems 24/7. FEI Connect “FEI Connect is a critical component for any commercial business’ overall fire protection system,” said Brian Murphy, President at Fire Equipment Inc., adding “Our monitoring service can identify a fire or problem early, which can me...

The Fire Standards Board for England is seeking views by 9 April on a new overarching standard for Fire Protection. Having recently published the first fire standards focused on operations, the Board is now consulting on two draft standards for protection and prevention. The Fire Standards Board commissioned the development of the Fire Protection Fire Standard through the National Fire Chiefs Council’s Protection Policy and Reform Unit (PPRU). A working group, with representation from ser...

Recently, BAFE published information discussing the roadmap for easing COVID-19 restrictions and that this should prompt reviews on fire safety.  Within this, BAFE reassured that fire safety service providers continue to operate as safely as possible following appropriate COVID-19 guidance to help clients meet their obligations. free rapid lateral flow tests The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has distributed important information that the Government is providing free rapid lateral f...

With warmer and dryer weather setting in, the Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service wishes to remind the public that lighting grass fires is not only illegal, but also a danger to its firefighters, following an incident that resulted in a firefighter sustaining a musculoskeletal injury. At 08:08 pm, on Tuesday, 30th March 2021, Joint Fire Control received the first call of a grass fire on Mynydd Cadle Common, in Penlan, Swansea, Wales and crews from Morriston and Swansea Central were deplo...

“We are very excited to move into our Hempel Campus, which is a modern, international workplace and architecturally attractive. It is based on our vision of how we want to work together in teams and cross-functionally. Our new facilities reflect our culture and give us the perfect work environment enabling us to deliver on our ambitious strategy and growth targets,” explains Pernille Fritz Vilhelmsen, Hempel's Chief  People & Culture Officer. The new R&D facility will b...

A residential structure fire was reported on Yosemite Drive in Moonridge at approximately 2:35 am, on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Upon arrival, fire crews observed a two-story, single-family home well involved on the side of the house near the chimney stack. Through a swift fire attack, fire personnel were able to quickly extinguish the fire. Two occupants were able to self-evacuate with no injuries. Due to close proximity of the structure fire, the shed was a complete loss. The structure fire...

Globally renowned life-safety systems manufacturer, C-TEC, is heading up a live London Build Online panel discussion. Managing Home fire risks Featuring a host of top industry experts, innovators, and influencers, ‘Raising the grade: the evolution of fire protection in residential dwellings - how new fire detection and alarm system technology can better protect people and property’ webinar will take place on Thursday, 18th March 2021, at 1.30 pm and focus on the following key topic...

Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC) is providing the opportunity to Canadian fire departments to apply for $500 stipend, in order to help educate their communities about the benefits of residential fire sprinklers. Fire departments are welcome to combine projects, for example, use the $500 to buy a TV monitor, produce an educational pull-up banner, or boost Facebook posts. Other examples include: Build or refurbish a fire and sprinkler side-by-side burn demonstration. This may includ...

European-based fire detection manufacturer, Global Fire Equipment (GFE), has appointed Sudeep Dalvi as Technical Support Engineer to cater to the company’s growing customer base in the Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka, South East Asia, and the Middle East. Sudeep will be responsible for providing advanced technical support for GFE’s partners’ installation and service teams, developing and delivering technical training, as well as writing technical specifications for GFE’s...

Although glass is a 97% recyclable material, end-of-life glass used in construction has often ended up in landfill rather than being recycled.  As the industry takes a more environmentally conscious approach, recycling and repurposing materials have become a major objective. Optima will look at what the industry is doing to utilize glass waste and why it is so important.   What is a circular economy?  The dwindling of non-renewable resources is nothing new, humans hav...

Despite uncertainty and disruption across regions and markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hempel demonstrated agility and clear priorities concerning the safety of employees, timely and high-quality support to customers, as well as financial robustness to protect future investments. With an EBITDA margin of 10.1%, including extraordinarily high investments in their supply chain in China, this was a satisfactory result. Hempel Delivers Strong Results “I am very satisfied with our achie...

In March 2021, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) is asking residents to test their smoke alarms regularly and make it a part of their weekly routine, in support of the National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) month-long campaign. Smoke alarms are important for everyone’s safety and they can give those few extra seconds for people in distress to escape, in the event of a fire. Importance of smoke alarms in homes Statistics show that smoke alarms alerted households to...

The ISEE & CEFE Powered by INTERSCHUTZ, co-hosted by Beijing Safever Science & Technology Innovation Center, China National Machinery Industry International Co., Ltd. (SINOMACHINT), and Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd. will be held at Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center on December 8 – 10, 2021. The exhibition area is expected to be 30,000 square meters, with an estimated 400 exhibitors and 20,000 trade visits. ISEE & CEFE Powered by INTERSCHUTZ This exp...

At 11:04 pm on Wednesday, February 24, 2021, the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) received reports of a house fire on Amity Road, in Reading, United Kingdom. Crews and officers from the Wokingham Road, Dee Road and Caversham Road Fire Stations, which come under the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service, were sent to the scene. Fire survival guidance Thames Valley Fire Control Service gave the occupants crucial fire survival guidance over the phone Thames Valley Fire Control...

A common question that people have, when it comes to fire safety and fire protection systems, is ‘what’s the difference between fire alarms and smoke detectors?’ This guide highlights both types of equipment, explaining the differences, why fire alarm systems are required for commercial premises, and how smoke detectors play their part in fire protection. For any person or establishment needing a new fire alarm system for the premises, contact the TVF (UK) Limited team to get...

The report puts forward an argument against 'the threat of industrial action', referencing the two strikes that have occurred in the past twenty years over disputes for better working conditions and pay, before a plea to all policymakers to consider removing firefighters’ right to strike entirely.  Tensions are already high in the sector, with one in every five firefighters having been cut from the fire and rescue service since 2010. The report also criticizes the pace of change with...

Devastation from Winter Storm Uri continues in Texas. In Harris County, the state’s most populous county and home to Houston, hundreds of cases of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning have been reported and thousands remain without power. In response, Kidde, in partnership with KTRK ABC-13 Houston, is donating 750 CO alarms and 250 smoke alarms to the Houston Fire Department as part of the Operation Save A Life program, a public service initiative designed to educate consumers on the d...

Marioff announced Germany’s tallest residential building, located in Frankfurt am Main’s Europaviertel district, is now protected by its HI-FOG® water mist fire protection system.  Soaring at a height of 180 meters, the Grand Tower boasts more than 400 apartments, including several penthouses, and is an impressive part of the Frankfurt am Main skyline. Marioff, a leading developer of water mist fire protection technology, is a part of Carrier Global Corpor...

CLC launches 'industry mega-poll to track the impact of PI insurance crisis'. Companies from across the industry are being asked to take part in the biggest-ever review of construction’s growing professional indemnity insurance crisis. In recent years, firms from across the industry have reported sharp increases in premiums for PI insurance, while also seeing stricter curbs on the levels of cover. Some firms have reported four-fold increases in policy costs, while others have said that th...

Kistler O’Brien Fire Protection is excited to welcome a new offering to its robust Fire Safety Training program, its first-ever Live Virtual Fire Training, a convenient and productive way for business owners to achieve peace of mind! As many know, in the last year, working remotely has become a necessity for businesses everywhere. Whether it is a portion of an organization or the entire staff, having the ability to continue operations remotely has made a significant change for many busine...

Upon BAFE’s acquisition of the Fire Industry Association (FIA) Awarding Organization last year, FireQual was established and has been diligently working on developing this platform to offer qualifications for individuals working in the fire safety industry. FireQual’s development FireQual is pleased to announce that approval has now been achieved from both Northern Ireland’s (CCEAR) and Scotland’s (SQAA) regulatory bodies to offer qualifications covering fire safety w...