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 What's Behind the Increase in Li-Ion Battery Fires? |
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| The Efest Soda battery charger for an electronic cigarette caught fire on a JetBlue flight, causing it to make an emergency landing. Photo: Grand Rapid Falls Airport |
6/7/17
By Allen St. John
Consumer Reports
The FAA reports that, on average, one of these fires occurs every 10 days. Here's what passengers need to know.
An alarming increase in the number of smoke and fire incidents on airlines from passengers' malfunctioning lithium-ion batteries is causing concern among safety and aviation experts as summer travel season approaches.
"It's one of the few rising risks in aviation," says John Cox, a veteran pilot and an airline safety consultant with special expertise on lithium-ion batteries in aviation.
So far this year the Federal Aviation Administration has reported at least 18 incidents involving lithium-ion batteries on airplanes and in airports, and there were 31 incidents in 2016. That compares with 16 incidents in 2015, nine in 2014, and eight in 2013.
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here to read the rest of this article.
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| NFPA Announces New Board Members |
6/6/17
By National Fire Protection Association
FireFighterNation
Three new members elected during annual conference
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) elected Jim Sullivan, Jeff Cash and Roger Montembeault to its board of directors today at the association's annual Conference & Expo in Boston. The three-year term for each member takes effect upon the close of the conference. Two board members, Russ Leavitt and Eric Rosenbaum, were re-elected to a second term. Kwame Cooper, a retiring member of the board, was previously elected to serve as the assistant treasurer.
Read the entire article
here.
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VESDA Receives 2017 DiNenno Award
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Phillip J. Dinenno
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6/5/17
By Maciej Heyman
Military Technologies
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) announced that Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDA) is the technical achievement to receive this year's Philip J. DiNenno Prize. The award and $50,000 in prize money were presented today at NFPA's Conference & Expo in Boston to David Packham, John Petersen, and Martin Cole. VESDA technology and its pre-eminent role in the global introduction of aspirated smoke detection or ASD has led to a major impact on public safety. Ample commendation is also given to deceased co-inventor and passionate advocate Len Gibson.
The prestigious DiNenno Prize recognizes groundbreaking innovations that have had a significant impact in the building, fire and electrical safety fields. The prize is named for the late Philip J. DiNenno, the greatly respected former CEO of Hughes Associates, in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to fire safety.
Finish reading this article
here.
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Smoke Triggers Halon System
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| Spirit Lake firefighters made their way in and out of the east entry at the Pure Fishing factory along Highway 9. Employees had to evacuate the plant after smoke triggered the automatic extinguishing system. They were sent home for that day at about 2 p.m. Photo by Russ Mitchell |
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6/8/17
By Russ Mitchell, Managing Editor
Dickinson County News
Employees at Pure Fishing in Spirit Lake saw an early end to their shift after smoke triggered an automatic fire extinguishing system.
The Spirit Lake Fire Department was paged at 1:04 p.m. to the plant along Highway 9. A smoky computer room in the southeast part of the factory caused a Halon system to discharge the fire-suppressing chemical. The entire building had to be evacuated.
"You can't breathe the Halon so we were all in there with SCBAs (Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus) on," Spirit Lake Fire Chief Patrick Daly said.
To read the rest of this story, click
here.
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ABS Certifies Fire Safety on Older Ships
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5/31/17
Port Technology
American class body ABS has created a new notation that encourages owners to boost firefighting capability on older containerships.
It is the first class guidance to be developed that can improve the fire-fighting capabilities of existing containerships.
Orders of larger containerships in recent years pose a greater hazard to cargo and crew due to the risk of a larger volume of cargo carried on deck catching fire, said ABS.
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here to read the rest of the article.
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Suppression System Discharge Causes Sub Evacuation
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Six Navy workers were taken to hospital after the incident at Faslane Photo: PA-Press Association
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5/17/17
By Graeme Murray
The Scottish Sun
Six Royal Navy personnel were taken to hospital after accidentally inhaling gas at a base in Argyll and Bute.
A routine exercise was being carried out when a fire suppression system on a ship was triggered at Faslane.
It released gas, believed to be nitrogen, which six people inhaled.
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here to read the entire story.
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Suppression System Malfunction at Gas Station
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The aftermath after a fire suppression system went off at a Cumberland Farms in Rehoboth (WBZ-TV)
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6/12/17
CBS Boston
REHOBOTH -- A 911 call about "'white smoke' coming from the gas pumps" led members of the Rebohoth Fire Department to a Cumberland Farms on Monday afternoon.
When they got there, officials discovered the Winthrop Street gas station's fire suppression system had gone off around 12:45 p.m.
Read the rest of the story by clicking
here.
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| Cambridge Security Seals Wins Court Battle |
6/8/17
PRWeb
According to Court Documents, Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Affirm Damages Theory
New York City, New York -- Cambridge Security Seals has won the latest round of its litigation with TydenBrooks. In a decision handed down on Monday June 5th, 2017, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit refused to affirm the disputed judgment against Cambridge Security Seals in E.J. Brooks v. Cambridge Security Seals, 16-207-cv(L). According to court documents, the three-judge panel unanimously agreed that TydenBrooks' judgment is based on a theory of damages that is not recognized under New York law, and sent the matter to the New York Court of Appeals, which will decide whether the judgment must be vacated in its entirety.
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here to read the rest of this story.
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| UTC Focused on Smaller Purchases |
 5/24/17
McClatchy
Security InfoWatch
Greg Hayes, chief executive officer of United Technologies Corp., said that major acquisitions are not likely, telling analysts that the conglomerate is more interested in smaller corporate purchases.
He also said UTC, based in Farmington, will not break up. However, the company's portfolio is routinely reviewed for possible change, he said.
"We are going to do M and A this year," Hayes said at a Florida meeting of investor analysts, referring to mergers and acquisitions. "I think we've got some things in the pipeline. Nothing huge in the pipeline."
Read the full article
here.
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| Local Government Put "Sustainability" Ahead of Safety |
 6/22/17
By Christian Britschgi
Reason.com
What caused the Grenfell Tower fire? An independent public inquiry into the blaze, which killed at least 79 people in London earlier this month, is slowly getting started, so we won't have a complete answer to that for a while. But one major culprit is already coming into view: a local government pushing "green energy" renovations at the expense of safety.
Preliminary analysis of why the fire spread so rapidly points to the flammable aluminum composite cladding that was installed during a recent renovation project. The renovation was undertaken by the Kensington-Chelsea Tenant Management Organization (KCTMO), the non-profit that managed the tower for the Kensington-Chelsea Borough Council. (The council does not merely contract with the KCTMO but selects a portion of its board.)
Finish reading this story
here.
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Sentencing of Ex-UTC Scientist for Theft of Military Research
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6/22/17
By Edmund H. Mahony, Contact Reporter
Hartford Courant
A Chinese scientist was sentenced to the two and one half years he has been held since his arrest for stealing military research from United Technologies, his former employer, and delivering the material to China.
Yu Long, a 39-year old citizen of the People's Republic of China, was employed as a senior engineer/scientist at the United Technologies Research Center from 2008 to 2014. He previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to engage in the theft of trade secrets for the benefit of a foreign government and the illegal export and attempted export of defense articles.
Click
here to read more about this.
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| Netia (Poland/Data Center) Goes with Tyco System |
6/15/16
Telecompaper
Polish operator Netia has completed the first stage of the upgrade of its data center in Warsaw. It has become the first collocation center with a state-of-the-art 'silent nozzle' extinguisher system. The operator has invested dozens of millions of zlotys in constructing and upgrading the center's infrastructure, including a fire system of the latest generation, said Adam Kowalczyk, Senior Product Manager at Netia.
Traditional fire systems cause a huge noise, associated with discharging gas, of 135 decibels, similar to a jet plane starting. This can cause permanent damage to a collocation device, such as hard disks, which are highly sensitive and may include critical data.
Click
here to see the full article.
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| CEP Forensic Acquires LRI (Canada) |
6/6/17
By CEP
Canadian Underwriter
Toronto -- LRI executives and CEP Forensic Inc. are pleased to announce the acquisition of LRI Engineering Inc. (LRI). The LRI executives consist of Eric Esselink (Chief Executive Officer), Jon Winton (Chief Operations Officer) and Michael Devine (Chief Financial Officer).
Based in Toronto, and also operating an Ottawa office, LRI is a Canadian-owned engineering firm specializing in Building and Fire Code consulting, fire protection engineering, and emergency planning. Services are provided from building design conception through occupancy and include fire protection programs, drawing reviews, fire alarm and suppression system design, emergency response planning and training, fire drills, and liaison with regulatory authorities. LRI works closely with many of the country's largest property owners as well as the most prestigious architectural firms.
Read the fully story
here.
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| WS Darley Acquires Fireboy |
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From left: Peter Darley, Larry Akins and Paul Darley at the closing on June 6, 2017. (Photo: W.S. Darley & Co.)
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6/9/17
By Eric Haun
MarineLink
W.S. Darley & Co. informs it has purchased the assets of Fireboy, Xintex and Aetna Engineering based in Grand Rapids, Mich., forming the new company Fireboy-Xintex, LLC.
W.S. Darley & Co., headquartered in Itasca, Ill., has served the world's fire and emergency services industry since 1908. The company has manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations are in Chippewa Falls, Wisc. and Janesville, Iowa.
Founded in 1973, Fireboy is a developer of marine pre-engineered and custom engineered fire safety and suppression equipment. Xintex is a producer of gas and fire detection equipment. Aetna engineering specializes in digital instruments like tachometers. The company also has manufacturing operations in Poole, England.
Read the rest of this story
here.
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| Survitec Acqiires Wilhelmsen (Ireland/Norway) |
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Dunmurry and London-based Survitec Group has doubled its global marine business with a Norwegian acquisition. Pictured are Steve Unger, group treasurer, Survitec Group, Chris Bates, chief financial officer, Survitec Group and Graeme MacLaughlin, relationship director, Barclays
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6/12/17
By Gareth McKeown
The Irish News
A Belfast-based marine survival firm has doubled its global business with the acquisition of a Norwegian company.
Headquartered in Dunmurry, Survitec Group, a market-leader in marine life-saving equipment and solutions, has acquired the safety businesses of Norway-based firm, Wilhelmsen in a deal believed to be one of the largest and most complex deals achieved in Northern Ireland within recent years.
Wilhelmsen operations include a successful life raft rental and fire suppression equipment and servicing business centered out of Norway, but located across the globe.
Click
here to finish reading this article.
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| 3M, Tyco, UTC Want Foam Suit Tossed |
6/7/17
By Brian Amaral
Law360
Boston -- Chemical companies including 3M, United Technologies and Tyco Fire Products LP asked a federal judge in Massachusetts to dismiss a county's lawsuit over their firefighting foam products, arguing that the county's contamination allegations are premature and far too vague.
The companies told U.S. District Judge Denise Casper that Barnstable County can't even say which firefighting foam was used, or when, or how the county was harmed when chemicals from some or all of the foams allegedly contaminated the groundwater at a firefighter training facility. That fails under two Supreme Court cases, Iqbal and Twombly, that are often cited together to bat back lawsuits that don't allege a particular harm, a lawyer from United Technologies said.
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here to continue reading this article.
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Local Business Puts Safety First - Advanced Fire and Safety - Nebraska
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| Dave Sock, left, founded Advanced Fire & Safety, a business now owned by his son, Don Sock, who is also pictured. The business installs and maintains fire suppression and kitchen exhaust systems. (Julie Blum, The Columbus Telegram) |
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6/17/17
By Julie Blum
The Columbus Telegram
COLUMBUS -- A business that started from the back of a pickup has grown to serve a customer base across Nebraska and western Iowa.
Advanced Fire & Safety began when Dave Sock, a former truck driver, bought a power washer with a friend in 1994 to clean kitchen exhaust systems. The two traveled from business to business to do the work.
Eventually, Dave did the washing on his own and began to provide more services as his clientele grew. He started selling fire extinguishers and installing and maintaining fire suppression and kitchen exhaust systems.
Read the rest of this story
here.
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Keeping Up with Rob Driscoll (Koorsen)
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 6/9/17
By Spencer Ives
Security Systems News
Rob Driscoll was recently promoted at Koorsen Fire & Security to the role of director, business integration. Driscoll, who is now entering his 13th year with the company, will now be focused on acquisitions, national account work and contract negotiations. "We're primarily a fire protection company," he said. "Security, however, has been ... the fastest segment of growth probably over the last 10 years or so." Security Systems News caught up with Driscoll in early April to ask him five questions.
Are you married, do you have kids?
I am married and my wife and I each have two girls. They're pretty much adult children at this point; the youngest just turned 24.
Do you have any pets?
I do. We have three horses and a cat. [The horses are] Arab or Arab-crosses.
Read the entire article
here.
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| Fire Suppression and Data Center Downtime |
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By Bart Goeman, Business Development Manager EMEA, 3M
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5/30/17
By Guest Contributor
Data Economy
Fire protection is critical to data centres, with data centre managers and owners needing to protect valuable assets, as well as protect human life. The potential risk of fire is very real, with hundreds of thousands of tightly-packed, heat-generating devices, miles of cable and wire and combustible plastics typically found in many data centre environments.
The real challenge, however, is that the incorrect choice of fire protection system for a specific application can damage the very equipment and people it is designed to protect. Fire protection systems are primed to react, whether to a real fire or to a (rare) false alarm.
Read the entire article
here.
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| Most Popular Stories from May 2017 |
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