|
|
|
|
Video of the Month
|
|
|
| Clean Agent Systems Explained |
|
|
|
 FM200 Suppression System Supplier Accused of Fraud (Philippines) |
|
9/24/17
By Vince F. Nonato, Reporter
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Commission on Audit has ordered the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to return P17.15 million in funds spent on a fire suppression system in 2002 and blacklist the supplier for alleged "fraudulent and wrongful acts."
In a recently-released Aug. 18 decision, COA sustained the Nov. 28, 2008 notice of disallowance on the installation of the FM-200 Fire Suppression System, citing Builders International First Defense, Inc.'s submission of allegedly falsified documents at the procurement stage.
COA also directed the Prosecution and Litigation Office to forward the case to the Office of the Ombudsman for possible criminal or administrative charges against the persons held liable under the ND.
Click
here to read the full article.
|
| Did We Really Save the Ozone Layer? |
|
By Steve Goreham
Originally published in Communities Digital News.
Another year has passed and that stubborn Ozone Hole over Antarctica refuses to go away. Data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows that the Ozone Hole for the fall maximum season grew 22 percent from 2014 to 2015, and remained large in 2016. World consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances has been reduced to zero over the last three decades, but the Ozone Hole is as large as ever. Did humans really save the ozone layer?
In 1974, Dr. Mario Molina and Dr. Sherwood Rowland of the University of California published a paper asserting that chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) pollution from industry was destroying the ozone layer in Earth's stratosphere. CFCs were gases used in hair spray, refrigerators, and insulating foams. The ozone layer is a layer of atmosphere located between 6 and 25 miles above the Earth's surface.
Read the full story
here.
|
| Is it Time to Start Destroying Halon? |
July 2017
American Carbon Registry
Similar to CFCs and HCFCs, halon fire suppressants are controlled under the Montreal Protocol. Halons contain bromine, which destroys stratospheric ozone at a rate many times higher than chlorine. Because of their high ozone depleting potentials, halons were phased out of production in the U.S. as of January 1, 1994, prior to CFCs. As of January 1, 2010, halon production in developing countries ended.
Halon 1211 is contained in older portable "streaming" fire extinguishers, and halon 1301 is contained in older "total flooding" systems ranging in size from large computer rooms, bank vaults, libraries, oil and gas extraction facilities and submarines, to the engine nacelle on jets (HTOC, 2014). There are several alternative non-ODS fire suppression agents now in wide use, many with significantly lower GWPs (e.g., water mist, CO2, nitrogen, fluoroketone) compared to halons, while others have comparable GWPs (HFC-227ea, HFC-236fa).
Finish reading this story
here.
|
|
|
|
| Tyco, City Accused of Monopoly - Federal Judge Denies Claim |
9/13/17
By David Hutton
Cook County Record
CHICAGO -- A federal judge has, for now, denied a request from business alarm company Alarm Detection Systems Inc. (ADS) and several other security firms for a temporary injunction in a case accusing the village of Schaumburg, Tyco Integrated Security LLC and Northwest Central Dispatch System of essentially conspiring to create an alarm monitoring monopoly in the northwest suburban village.
Illinois Alarm Service Inc., D.M.C. Security Services Inc., Nitech Fire and Securities Inc., SMG Security Systems Inc. and Acadian Monitoring Services LLC were also listed as plaintiffs in the complaint.
Click
here to read the rest of this story.
|
| Aramco Ignored Warnings Before Fire - 10 Die in Ex-Pat Apartment Blaze |
|
|
 |
|
Firefighters rest after tackling the fire at the Radium residential compound. Photo: Associated Press
|
|
9/28/17
By Justin Scheck and Bradley Hope
The Wall Street Journal
As dawn broke on Aug. 30, 2015, Nighat Razi's neighbors were already screaming. Smoke was spreading through her building in an apartment complex for employees of Saudi Arabia's state oil company.
A smoldering electrical transformer had ignited car tires in the underground garage, and explosions rumbled through the complex.
"We were hearing 'Boom! Boom! Boom!' " said Senthilmurugan Balasubramanian, an Indian engineer.
Click
here to read the rest of this article.
|
| Did UTC Overpay for Rockwell? |
9/25/17
Seeking Alpha
Earlier this month industrial conglomerate United Technologies announced a $33 billion acquisition of aerospace interior and systems maker Rockwell Collins. This is a big acquisition done at a big premium of 30%, and will ultimately pay 23 times adjusted 2017 earnings.
United Tech certainly paid full price for this acquisition, and several authors on Seeking Alpha have already voiced their skepticism about the deal. I don't blame anyone for being skeptical of this huge acquisition, especially at the valuation United Tech paid for it. United Tech has been part of my 'big list of buys' and a stock I picked specifically for the Trump presidency due to its defense and aerospace exposure, as well as a cyclical exposure to the domestic economy.
Click
here to finish reading this article.
|
Exposed Gas Line Causes Marine AAV Fire; No Deaths; Was Halon System Overwhelmed?
|
|
|
|
| Marines with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, dismount amphibious assault vehicles. (Sgt. Melissa Wenger/U.S. Marine Corps) |
|
9/15/17
By Thomas Gibbons-Neff
The Washington Post
The fire that engulfed a Marine armored vehicle, injuring 14 Marines and one sailor during a training exercise in California, appears to have been caused by an exposed gas line, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the investigation said.
The Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicle, or AAV, was carrying a squad of infantrymen and had pulled off the road in what is known as a "herringbone" formation during a combat qualification exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. During the maneuver, the roughly 30-ton vehicle appeared to have run over a gas line, severing it with its treads, and the line then somehow ignited. Fox News first reported that a ruptured gas line may have triggered the fire.
Click
here to read the entire story.
|
Halon System Activation Scares Off Robbers
|
|
|
|
|
The Cumberland Farms in Plaistow. (WBZ-TV)
|
|
9/18/17
CBS Boston
PLAISTOW, New Hampshire (CBS) -- Police are looking for a man and woman who robbed a Cumberland Farms store and pistol-whipped a clerk.
Plaistow Police said the pair entered the store on Plaistow Road around 6:10 a.m. armed with handguns and demanded money.
Police said the robbers were a white man and woman wearing dark clothing with hooded sweatshirts, dark bandanas over their faces, and sneakers. They were described as being average in height, thin, and young in age.
The clerk called 911-and turned on the gas station's fire suppression system, releasing Halon and possibly scaring the robbers off.
Read the full article
here.
|
GelTech Solutions Launches Lithium Battery Suppression Kit
|
8/31/17
By Marketwired
Sys-Con Media
JUPITER, FL -- GelTech Solutions, Inc., an innovator in the use of environmentally-friendly polymers for fire suppression and protection, announced the launch of its FireIce Lithium Battery Active Suppression Kit which automatically detects elevated temperatures releasing FireIce ST, a special blend of FireIce, to the affected battery module, to cool and suppress the batteries and prevent the system from reaching runaway which could cause an explosion. The kit is designed to deliver FireIce ST product only to the battery compartment where it is needed, leaving other compartments untouched.
Read the rest of the story by clicking
here.
|
| Data Center Air Flow Containment Design and Fire Suppression Systems |
|
|
|
|
By implementing an effective airflow containment strategy, it is possible to see optimized cooling system efficiency, improved Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and additional equipment capacity, all without having to expand a facility's footprint. (Photo: Simplex)
|
|
6/8/17
By Voices of the Industry
Data Center Frontier
Data center containment systems can provide great benefits over traditional open data center designs. By implementing an effective airflow containment strategy, it is possible to see optimized cooling system efficiency, improved Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and additional equipment capacity, all without having to expand a facility's footprint.
Like any successful system, airflow containment design must consider many different factors to ensure a solution that achieves the required cooling, while remaining flexible for expansion or changes and integrates well with the current infrastructure.eating and launching the eVance Services program.
Read the rest of this story
here.
|
| Wind Turbine Fire Ignites Massive Wyoming Brush Fire |
|
|
|
| A wind turbine that caught fire and sparked a wild fire northeast of Evanston, Wyoming. Image courtesy Uinta County Fire and Ambulance |
|
9/10/17
By Mark Green
FOX 13 Salt Lake City
EVANSTON, Wyo. -- The Cowboy Fire is burning on an estimated 1,592 acres northeast of Evanston, and as of Sunday the blaze is 50% contained.
Fire and ambulance personnel in Uinta County, Wyoming say the fire began Saturday afternoon after a wind turbine caught fire and the flames spread to the sage brush.
Check out the whole story
here.
|
Johnson Controls' Molinaroli and His Golden Parachute
|
9/18/17
By Arthur Thomas
BizTimes
When Alex Molinaroli left Johnson Controls International plc 18 months ahead of schedule, he became eligible for cash severance and bonus payments of more than three times what he would have gotten had he stuck around.
The terms of the merger between Johnson Controls Inc. and Tyco International plc called for Molinaroli to stay on as chairman and chief executive officer for 18 months after the merger. He would then be executive chairman for 12 months before retiring.
That timeline would have made him eligible for an estimated "golden parachute" of almost $39 million, but he agreed to receive $20 million as part of an amended employment agreement.
Finish reading this article
here.
|
CI Capital Partners Acquires Summit Companies
|
 9/5/17
By PR Newswire
Markets Insider
ST. PAUL, Minn. and NEW YORK -- CI Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, and Summit Companies, a leading fire and life safety service and installation company, announced that an affiliate of CI Capital has acquired a majority interest in Summit from Chicago-based private equity firm Prospect Partners, LLC. The management team of Summit will continue to lead the company and is retaining a significant equity ownership in the company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Click
here to read the rest of the article.
|
| Honeywell Names New Security, Fire Execs |
 9/13/17
By Paul Ragusa
Security Systems News
Honeywell announced that it has appointed Richard (Rich) Lattanzi as the president of Honeywell's global security business and Dino Koutrouki as the president of Honeywell's global fire business.
In their new leadership roles, Lattanzi and Koutrouki will drive greater customer focus, the press release read, and both will continue to report to Michael Flink, president of Honeywell Security and Fire.
Finish reading this story
here.
|
Johnson Controls Shuffles Jobs out of Cork, Ireland
|
 9/4/17
By Pádraig Hoare and Eoin English
Irish Examiner
American car battery and building infrastructure giant Johnson Controls has confirmed a number of jobs are to be transferred out of its global headquarters, the landmark One Albert Quay building in Cork.
The company denied speculation over 100 roles could be in the firing line, saying a "small number" of roles were to be transferred.
It is thought the jobs, in financial planning and analysis, could end up in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava. There are around 300 employed at One Albert Quay.
Click
here to read more about this.
|
ABCO (Cleveland, Ohio) Acquires Trico Security
|
|
|
|
|
ABCO Fire Protection, based in Cleveland, has acquired Trico Security of Broadview Heights, Ohio, for undisclosed terms.
|
|
9/5/17
By SSI Staff
Security Sales & Integration
ABCO has acquired Trico Security, which specializes in access control and IP video surveillance systems.
CLEVELAND -- ABCO Fire Protection, based here, has acquired all assets of Trico Security, a commercial security integrator located in Broadview Heights, Ohio. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Founded in 1968, Trico Security services northeast Ohio, specializing in access control and IP video systems for national and international corporations. The integrator is a good fit for ABCO's focus on larger, multisite companies that want quality installation and outstanding service, says ABCO President Steve DeJohn.
Click
here to see the full article.
|
| Will Robots and AI Run Data Centers of the Future? |
|
|
|
| CERN data center, 2017 |
|
9/19/17
By Andrew Donoghue
Data Center Knowledge
A new generation of data centers will be optimized for extreme efficiency, not for human access or comfort.
The idea of a "lights-out" data center is not new, but it is evolving. Operators such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise and AOL have been long-term proponents of remote monitoring and management to reduce, or entirely replace, the need for dedicated on-site staff. The most well-known current advocate is probably colocation provider EdgeConneX that has integrated a lights-out approach into the fabric of its business.
Read the fully story
here.
|
| Storing Flammable Liquids - NFPA 30 Made Simple |
|
7/6/17
By Sarah Noel Block
The Moran Group
On November 22, 2006, a malevolent explosion turned the town of Danvers, MA upside down. The explosion started in a chemical manufacturing plant, destroying it. The subsequent fires had far-reaching effects; it destroyed twenty-four homes, six business, and dozens of boats at a nearby marina. At least ten residents were hospitalized as a direct result of the explosion, and over 300 residents in the nearby neighborhood were evacuated. This disaster spurred the residents of Danvers, MA to establish community groups' Safe Area for Everyone (SAFE) and re-established the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) determined that the explosion was fueled by escaped vapor from a 2,000-gallon tank of highly flammable liquid. The ensuing fire blazed for seventeen hours.
Read the rest of this article
here.
|
| Most Popular Stories from August 2017 |
|
|
|
| |
|
If you have any questions, comments, would like to be featured in a future Halon Herald, or would like to be added to our mailing list for this newsletter, please contact Kari Buser at
|
|
|
