12/8/17

NBC5

VERGENNES, Vt. -- Five people were injured after an explosion at UTC Aerospace Systems in Vergennes.

One person was treated at the scene, four people were transported to Porter Medical Center. One person was later transferred to UVM Medical Center.

Porter Medical Center does think the three people they are treating will be released.

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12/1/17

By John Sammon
PennRecord

HARRISBURG -- The Superior Court of Pennsylvania on Nov. 17 affirmed a trial court decision granting a preliminary injunction to Tyco International Management Co. LLC and Tyco Fire Products LP in a dispute with a former employee whom Tyco officials accused of violating employment contracts after taking a job with a competing company.

In backing the trial court's granting of the preliminary injunction, the high court said the agreements signed by former employee Ralph M. Fuchs were valid and enforceable and that the appellant had breached his obligations by going to work for Reliable. The court added that the time period of one and two years prohibiting Fuchs from competing with Tyco as an employee of Reliable was also reasonable.

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Hawaiian Airlines said the plane (file image) "experienced a left engine issue on final approach" at the airport. The FAA is still investigating the incident. GC Images

11/8/17

By Valerie Edwards
Dailymail.com

The frightening moment an Airbus A330 engine burst into flames after it landed at a Seattle airport was caught on video.

In the video, the Hawaiian Airlines ferry flight was seen taxiing on the tarmac at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport when the engine caught on fire.

Stunned passengers in a nearby terminal captured the incident on video and posted it on Twitter.

Click here to read more about this and see the video.

 

12/4/17

By Matthew Patane
The Gazette

Rockwell Collins and United Technologies Corp. likely will decide by the end of March where to base Rockwell's corporate successor.

Farmington, Conn.-based UTC announced in September it plans to acquire Rockwell for $30 billion, including debt. Under the deal, Rockwell would combine with a UTC division, UTC Aerospace Systems, and form Collins Aerospace Systems.

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11/17/17

FacilitiesNet

A corroded metal fire sprinkler pipe burst this summer, causing an estimated $10 million damage to the main public library in Phoenix and closing the building until next summer.

Phoenix officials learned the hard way recently that it's not sufficient to merely inspect fire sprinkler systems; any problems found during those inspections must be fixed.

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Darius Adamczyk, chief executive officer of Honeywell International Inc. Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

11/16/17

By Thomas Black
Bloomberg Technology

Honeywell International Inc.'s new chief executive officer is determined to take the company where predecessor Dave Cote couldn't: a premium valuation from Wall Street.

Almost eight months into the job, Darius Adamczyk, Cote's hand-picked successor, is taking action to address what investors say are the reasons Honeywell has been unable to crack a select group of industrial companies that command higher share prices relative to earnings.

To get there, Adamczyk must clear several hurdles. Honeywell's sales growth has lagged behind its peers, and it has an uneven record on returning profits to shareholders and converting cash into earnings. Adamczyk, 51, who spoke only a few words of English when he came to the U.S. from Poland at age 11, says he is working on all three.

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12/12/17

By Don Haney
KFGO

FARGO -- Fire in a basement chemistry lab at Dunbar Hall at North Dakota State University may have started in a ventilated enclosure called a "fume hood" where harmful volatile chemicals can be used or kept.

Mike Borr, NDSU Director of the Police and Safety, says most of the hoods are metal but the one in question was polypropylene and appears to be the source of the fuel for the fire.

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11/20/17

By Tiffany Kary
Bloomberg Technology

Chemicals once used by 3M Co. for Scotchgard, fire retardants and other products have shown links to cancers and premature births, Minnesota's State Attorney General said in a request to update a $5 billion lawsuit against the company.

Minnesota, which initially sued in state court for natural-resource damages in 2010, is now seeking punitive damages as well, it said in court filings on Nov. 17. Elevated levels of cancers, leukemia, premature births and lower fertility have been found in the suburbs east of St. Paul, Minnesota where 3M dumped the chemicals for more than 40 years, the state said. 3M also concealed health risks from regulators and distorted science on the chemicals, according to the filing.

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The replica First World War tank for which Ipswich-based Firetrace supplied a fire suppression system. Picture: Firetrace

11/20/17

By Duncan Brodie
Ipswich Star

A Suffolk fire safety company has played a vital role in a project to create a replica First World War tank for a television program.

Firetrace, which designs and builds fire suppression systems which detect and quell fires in their early stages, was contacted by the producers of documentary Guy Martin's WW1 Tank, which was screened on Channel 4.

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10/31/17

By Phil Martin, Digital Editor
Asia Pacific Fire

Facilities with automatic storage and retrieval systems will be taller, tighter, and more densely packed

Robots make warehouses more efficient but also may introduce new fire risks. It's a worry that has prompted commercial and industrial property insurer FM Global to give new advice to clients using automatic storage and retrieval systems (ASRS).

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How to Protect Your Warehouse from Fire Risks

11/8/17

By Weston Baker Jr.
IndustryWeek

How to arrange your warehouse to suppress flames and save money

A robotic material handling unit (i.e., a robot) zips through a global toy manufacturer's six-story distribution center. As the unit retrieves an open-top plastic container filled with freshly molded toy planes from an automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS), sparks from a frayed electrical cable on the robot fly everywhere, igniting both the toy planes and the plastic container in which they are stored.

Due to the high concentration of combustibles, flames quickly spread through the rack, involving more plastic and cardboard containers filled with toys that kids dream about.

Finish reading this article here.

11/29/17

Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: A tow tug at Changi Airport caught fire as it was towing a Singapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 777-200 passenger plane to a departure gate.

Responding to queries from Channel NewsAsia, an SIA spokesperson confirmed that there were no passengers on board the aircraft when the incident happened.

One member of the towing crew who was in the cockpit at the time of the incident was evacuated through an emergency slide, the spokesperson added.

Read the full story and see the video by clicking here.

 

11/3/17

By Jacob Carozza, Globe Correspondent
The Boston Globe

A dust explosion inside manufacturing equipment caused a fire and seriously injured a worker at a Leominster factory, fire officials said.

The worker, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital for treatment, State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskey and Leominster fire Chief Robert A. Sideleau II said in a statement.

The explosion happened around 7:20 a.m. at Spectro Coating Corporation on Scott Drive. The company makes sound-canceling carpet for motor vehicles, according to the statement.

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Image courtesy MGN Online

11/22/17

By Associated Press
KMVT 11

POCATELLO, Idaho -- Fire sprinklers inside a southeastern Idaho nursing home did not activate when a blaze erupted, authorities said.

The State Fire Marshal's Office and the Pocatello Fire Department are investigating the cause of the fire that destroyed the Safe Haven Care Center, the Idaho State Journal reported.

All of the 49 patients were evacuated and several were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said. The fire likely started in the attic of the facility and was possibly sparked by a malfunctioning light fixture, authorities said.

The facility was equipped with sprinklers but none activated during the blaze. Investigators are checking if the facility was granted an exemption that allowed the system to be inactive for the attic, said Travis Smith, assistant chief of operations of the Pocatello Fire Department.

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Steve Himelstein - Photographer

11/15/17

By Matt Panure
Hot Rod Network

There are few things scarier than a nasty wreck that ends up with flames spouting from a race car. With that concern for safety, more and more tracks and series have been mandating fire suppression systems for their competitors.

Of course, with those mandates come some extra questions. Our friend Dan List at SPA Technique helped us answer some of the pressing inquiries on fire suppression systems.  Hopefully these will help you in your selection when it comes time.

Read the rest of this story here.

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Cairns, Queensland Australia Source: John Carnemolla/Thinkstock

11/23/17

By Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox
DataCenter Dynamics

Bringing down systems across the city of Cairns

A faulty battery in the IT room of a health center in the Australian city of Cairns set off a small fire, causing two hospitals and several of the city's health service systems to fail.

As reported by the Cairns Post, emergency services were called in around 10am to address the fire, which is believed to have been caused by a short circuit in a battery cabinet in the server room that supports IT systems for the Cairns and Hinterland hospitals, as well as the wider health service.

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11/14/2017

By Robots for Roboticists
Ronohub

Lithium battery safety is an important issue as there are more and more reports of fires and explosions. Fires have been reported in everything from cell phones to airplanes to robots.

I am not a fire expert. This post is based on things I have heard and some basic research. Contact your local fire department for advice specific to your situation. I had very little success contacting my local fire department about this, hopefully you will have more luck.

Preventing Problems

1. Use a proper charger for your battery type and voltage. This will help prevent overcharging. In many cases lithium-ion batteries catch fire when the chargers keep dumping charge into the batteries after the maximum voltage has been reached.

Read the rest of the tips and this article here.

 

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