Iain Hoey – Page 814 – International Fire & Safety Journal

Johnson Controls recognised for its leadership in climate change

Johnson Controls have been recognised as a leader for its actions and strategies in response to climate change by CDP, an independent not-for-profit organization that builds a sustainable economy and holds the largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world.

Johnson Controls received an A- climate change Leadership band score, in recognition of its actions to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change in the past year as well as an A score for its risk disclosure and governance. Johnson Controls is among just 12% of companies globally in climate leadership to be awarded this leadership level position. A record-breaking 9,600+ companies disclosed through CDP in 2020, a 70% increase since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 and a 14% increase since last year.

“Being recognized by CDP as a thought leader in addressing climate change underscores our ambition to play a meaningful role in helping the world transition to a low-carbon economy. The next decade is crucial in our shift to a sustainable economy and with our team of 100,000 employees we are firmly committed to building a world that`s safe, comfortable and sustainable”, said George Oliver, chairman and CEO.

Recently Johnson Controls was named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies® Honoree List and as one of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Since Johnson Controls first signed the United Nations Global Compact in 2004, the company has remained fully committed to aligning its operations and strategies with the U.N. Global Compact’s Ten Principles. Johnson Controls is using its industry leading OpenBlue platform to continually put sustainability at the forefront for its customers and society as a whole.

Competition for climate leadership level status is increasing, and investors and purchasers are increasingly calling for transparency and action from companies on how they are responding to climate change. According to CDP, 515 investors with US$96 trillion in assets and 125 major purchasers with US$106 trillion in assets, and 150+ large purchasers with US$4 trillion in buying power requested thousands of companies to disclose through CDP in 2020.

To read more about Johnson Controls commitment to sustainability, please visit: https://www.johnsoncontrols.com/

Sunbelt Fire announced as exclusive dealer of KME products for Alabama and Mississippi

KME, a subsidiary of REV Group® have announced the appointment of Sunbelt Fire as the exclusive KME dealer for Alabama and Mississippi. The company are now authorised to sell and service the complete portfolio of KME apparatus in these Southeast markets.

Established in 1983, Sunbelt Fire is well equipped to serve the needs of surrounding departments and communities with eight fully equipped mobile service trucks, a 22,000 square foot service centre, and a 25,000-gallon state-of-the-art pump test facility.

“We are committed to our existing KME customers in Alabama and Mississippi and we intend to grow our presence there,” says Chris McClung, Director of Sales for KME Fire. “With a dedicated sales and service team, Sunbelt Fire will provide fire departments with the superior products, parts, and service our current and future customers deserve.”

Sunbelt Fire also provides:

24-hour technical support
Complete fire apparatus parts inventory
Comprehensive training
Aerial ladder inspection and overhaul services
Plumbing and fire pump overhaul
Wreck and refurb solutions
Four (4) mobile Draft Commander^® units to perform NFPA pump testing

“Our mission is to serve those who save lives, and we are thrilled to now be able to offer KME fire apparatus as a solution for our customers,” says Slade McLendon, CEO of Sunbelt Fire.

To learn more about Sunbelt Fire, visit www.sunbeltfire.com and for more information on KME, visit www.kmefire.com

Tecnifuego publish guide for maintenance of passive fire protection systems

The Spanish Association of Fire Protection Societies, Tecnifuego, has published the “Basic Technical Guide for the maintenance of passive fire protection systems in fire installations”, developed by Engineering, Installation and Passive Protection Maintenance experts.

The guide aims to give work guidelines to professionals, given the lack of regulation, documentation and regulation of the figure of the installer and maintainer of passive fire protection.

The guide also includes a descriptive part of the structural elements, with characteristics of fire resistance, products and systems of sectorisation against a fire, and the products used to improve safety against the reaction of fire, slowing down the spread of fires.

Based on this, standard maintenance ranges are established with general guidelines as a complement to what is specified by each manufacturer, and emphasises the need to establish requirements that mark the importance of documenting the maintenance carried out.

To download the guide on maintaining passive fire protection systems, visit the Tecnifuego website.

Telgian Fire Safety appoint Vincent Joven as Vice President

Telgian Fire Safety have announced the appointment of Vincent Joven, CPA, CISA as Vice President Finance / Controller. In this position, Joven will be responsible for the preparation of operating budgets, overseeing financial reporting and performing essential duties relating to payroll and operations.

A highly accomplished accountant and risk professional who possesses an extensive accounting background and deep knowledge of risk and internal audit practices, Joven brings more than 20 years of finance management experience to Telgian. His proven skills in project management, project implementation and cross-organisational coordination will be an invaluable asset in the company’s high-energy, fast-paced environment.

Prior to joining Telgian, Joven served as Director of Internal Audit for Ports America. There, he led the internal audit team to deploy best-in-class audit methodologies appropriate to company’s business operations, leveraging relevant frameworks and professional standards, while ensuring a continuous connection between business strategy and operational execution.

He has also served in numerous advisory and leadership roles for PwC, Andersen LLP, and Interactive Corp.

Joven is a graduate of George Mason University and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

About Telgian Fire Safety

Since 1985, Telgian Fire Safety has served as a trusted partner to clients around the globe, providing innovative solutions and keeping facilities safe, compliant and on budget. Telgian’s expertise includes testing, inspections and repair of Fire Life Safety Systems including Fire Sprinkler Systems, Fire Alarm Systems, Fire Extinguishers, Kitchen Hood Suppression Systems, Backflow Systems, Emergency/Exit Lights, Special Hazards, Clean Agent Systems and Fire Alarm Monitoring.

The company specialises in service to multi-location properties, as well as large single-campus facilities. Telgian Fire Safety services approximately 50,000 locations annually throughout the US and abroad, providing a centralised approach and standardised way for clients to manage their FLS program including Inventory Tracking, Capital Replacement Programs, Budgeting and Forecasting.

Teledyne Technologies acquire FLIR Systems for $8 billion

Teledyne Technologies Incorporated and FLIR Systems, Inc. have jointly announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Teledyne will acquire FLIR in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $8.0 billion.

Under the terms of the agreement, FLIR stockholders will receive $28.00 per share in cash and 0.0718 shares of Teledyne common stock for each FLIR share, which implies a total purchase price of $56.00 per FLIR share based on Teledyne’s 5-day volume weighted average price as of December 31, 2020.

As part of the transaction, Teledyne has arranged a $4.5 billion 364-day credit commitment to fund the transaction and refinance certain existing debt. Teledyne expects to fund the transaction with permanent financing prior to closing.

Teledyne expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings, excluding transaction costs and intangible asset amortization, and accretive to GAAP earnings in the first full calendar year following the acquisition.

Teledyne and FLIR run ‘similar business models’

“At the core of both our companies is proprietary sensor technologies. Our business models are also similar: we each provide sensors, cameras and sensor systems to our customers. However, our technologies and products are uniquely complementary with minimal overlap, having imaging sensors based on different semiconductor technologies for different wavelengths,” said Robert Mehrabian, Executive Chairman of Teledyne.

“For two decades, we have demonstrated its ability to compound earnings and cash flow consistently and predictably. Together with FLIR and an optimised capital structure, I am confident we shall continue delivering superior returns to our stockholders.”

“FLIR’s commitment to innovation spanning multiple sensing technologies has allowed our company to grow into the multi-billion-dollar company it is today,” said Earl Lewis, Chairman of FLIR. “With our new partner’s platform of complementary technologies, we will be able to continue this trajectory, providing our employees, customers and stockholders even more exciting momentum for growth. Our Board fully supports this transaction, which delivers immediate value and the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company.”

Jim Cannon, President and Chief Executive Officer of FLIR, said, “We could not be more excited to join forces with Teledyne through this value-creating transaction. Together, we will offer a uniquely complementary end-to-end portfolio of sensory technologies for all key domains and applications across a well-balanced, global customer base.

“We are pleased to be partnering with an organisation that shares our focus on continuous innovation and operational excellence, and we look forward to working closely with the Teledyne team as we bring our two companies together to capitalise on the important opportunities ahead.”

Approvals and Timing

The transaction, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is expected to close in the middle of 2021 subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, approvals of Teledyne and FLIR stockholders and other customary closing conditions.

Advisors

Evercore is acting as exclusive financial advisor and McGuireWoods LLP is acting as legal advisor in connection with the transaction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Hogan Lovells US LLP is acting as legal advisor to FLIR in connection with the transaction. Teledyne has entered into a 364-day senior unsecured bridge facility credit agreement with Bank of America as sole lead arranger and administrative agent.

Conference Call and Webcast

At 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 a.m. Pacific Time) today, both companies will host a conference call to discuss the acquisition. A live webcast of the call can be accessed at Teledyne’s website at www.teledyne.com/investors/presentations. Please connect to the website at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to allow adequate time for any software download that may be required.

ADT Donates $50,000 to volunteer Fire Departments

2020 was a challenging year for fire departments. As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, the west also experienced a severe wildfire season. To assist volunteer firefighters that were on the frontlines of the wildfires, ADT provided $10,000 donations to five fire departments in the western U.S.

ADT is a longtime partner of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and reached out to the organisation to help identify fire departments in need. This is the third year that ADT and the NVFC have partnered during the holiday season to recognise and reward volunteer firefighters with donations to departments.

ADT ‘pleased to recognise departments’

“We commend ADT for giving back to the volunteer firefighters who protect our communities from all kinds of hazards,” said NVFC chair Steve Hirsch. “The five departments that received donations had a challenging time in 2020 due to both the pandemic and wildfires. These donations provided by ADT will help them overcome these challenges and move forward so they can be there when their communities call.”

“ADT is pleased to recognise these volunteer departments which serve as the front line of defense in their communities,” said Bob Tucker, ADT director of corporate affairs. “We hope these funds will help these brave firefighters continue to save lives and protect property.”

The five recipients of the $10,000 grants are as follows:

Coolin-Cavanaugh Bay (ID) Fire Protection District: COVID-19 prevented the department from holding its annual fundraisers, which meant a possible reduction in service. The donation will enable the department to meet the budget shortfall and continue to provide full protection to residents.

Grand Fire Protection District No. 1 (Granby, CO): The donation recognises the work of the volunteer firefighters who fought wildfires that destroyed land and property, including firefighters’ homes. Read more.

Malden (WA) Fire Department: The fire station and 80 percent of the town’s buildings were destroyed by wildfire in September. The contribution will help rebuild the fire station. Read more.

McKenzie Fire/Rescue (Leaburg, OR): The donation recognised the tireless work of the department’s volunteer firefighters to contain a massive wildfire that destroyed over 37,000 acres and hundreds of buildings, including some of the firefighters’ homes.

Turlock (CA) Rural Fire Department: Thanks to the donation, the department will be able to buy new hydraulic tools to rescue victims from vehicle accidents, after an existing unit recently failed and needed to be replaced. Read more.

In addition to these donations and partnership with the NVFC, ADT regularly gives back to the first responder agencies who answer the call when alerted to home emergencies. The ADT LifeSaver program has donated over $550,000 to first responder agencies, including volunteer fire departments.

London Fire Brigade staff included in New Year Honours

Four staff have been recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours for their service to London Fire Brigade.

Principal Fire Engineer, Lynsey Seal has been awarded the Queen’s Fire Service Medal, Harry Aquilina from Orpington Fire Station, Lisa Barker from West Norwood and Ashley Gordon from Lambeth Fire Station will receive British Empire Medals (BEM) for their services to the community during the Covid-19 response.

In a year that has seen prolonged isolation and uncertainty, Brigade staff have worked tirelessly to ensure they are there to serve Londoners. Recognised at the start of the pandemic for delivering a critical service to the public, crews have been supporting the London Ambulance Service as part of the Pandemic Multi-Agency Response Team (PMART), ensuring they are always there to serve the capital in any way they can.

Upon hearing about her award, Lynsey said: “I’m truly overwhelmed to have been nominated for such a prestigious award and I’m extremely proud to accept this on behalf of my team and Fire Safety as a whole. To have the work of fire safety and fire engineering recognised in this way is very much appreciated. There are so many individuals within the fire service that work tirelessly and have dedicated themselves to improve fire safety for others, and each and every one deserves recognition.”

On receiving their awards, Lisa and Harry said: “We are incredibly honoured to be awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) in HM Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. As part of the Pandemic Multi-Agency Response Team (PMART) we had the privilege to serve alongside brilliant firefighters, police officers, paramedics and clinicians. We couldn’t be any prouder to have worked with them to deliver the sad, but unfortunately necessary role of responding to Covid-19 deaths in homes across London. The professionalism, compassion, physical and moral courage shown by everyone in PMART was second-to-none and this medal really is for them all.”

“These amazing people have adapted to the challenges we have faced throughout the pandemic”

Andy Roe, London Fire Commissioner said: “We have so many incredible staff that give their time to help people with such care and compassion. These amazing people have adapted to the challenges we have faced throughout the pandemic, going above and beyond to ensure they are available for people facing difficulties across London. I am incredibly proud to see four members of the Brigade receive awards for their services in the Queen’s Honours – taken in combination with Deputy Assistant Commissioner David O’Neill being awarded a MBE and Station Commander Wayne Horlock receiving a BEM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours earlier in the year, this truly reflects support you have all given to London communities over this most challenging year.

“Huge congratulations to Lynsey, Lisa, Harry and Ashley for being recognised for their exceptional contribution to the Brigade. I would like to thank them for their dedication over the years, and all the support they have given people.”

The full New Year Honours list for 2021 celebrates the achievements and service of people across the UK with hundreds of volunteers being recognised for their amazing efforts.

Road Rescue® Launches Secureamp™ in its Vehicles

Road Rescue, a subsidiary of REV Group, Inc. and a leading manufacturer of Type I, III and Medium-Duty emergency vehicles, is pleased to announce all new orders will be equipped with its patent-pending SecureAmp^™ battery technology.

The technology ensures that the batteries are protected by automatically disconnecting parasitic loads once the voltage drops below a certain threshold. If your Road Rescue emergency vehicle is sitting without the engine running, SecureAmp will ensure that the battery is protected, and that the engine will turn over when the paramedics or EMTs need to answer their next call.

“We are thrilled to offer the SecureAmp technology to our customers,” said Daniel McLaughlin, Director of Sales for Road Rescue. “Road Rescue is continually finding new and innovative ways to better serve EMS providers. SecureAmp is another example of this.”

The technology is now included as standard equipment on all Road Rescue models. For more information on Road Rescue, please visit https://www.roadrescue.com/

Oshkosh named one of America’s Most Responsible Employers 2021

Oshkosh Corporation announced today that it has been named one of the America’s Most Responsible Employers 2021 by Newsweek. Oshkosh has earned this award for two consecutive years and is ranked #159 out of 399 companies on the list. America’s Most Responsible Companies were defined based on key performance indicators around environmental, social and corporate governance areas.

“We are proud of this award which is a result of our team members living our core values each day,” said Kevin Tubbs, Oshkosh Corporation Vice President, Chief Ethics, Compliance and Sustainability Officer. “At Oshkosh, we remain focused on caring for our communities, the environment and exercising strong corporate governance.”

OAP_SanFran_Striker8x8_Nov20 — Oshkosh offer a wide range of vehicles

To create the list, Newsweek partnered with Statista, a leading market research firm. First, a pool of candidates was created out of the 2,000 largest public companies in the United States by revenue. Banks and insurance companies were measured by total assets of more than $50 billion. Companies with a corporate sustainability or corporate citizen report were screened and analysed.

The analysis included reviewing publicly available performance data in the environmental, social and corporate governance categories. Additionally, a survey of 7,500 people was conducted asking perceptions about companies related to corporate social responsibility. All elements were weighted to produce a final score.

In addition to being named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies of 2021 by Newsweek, Oshkosh has also been named one of Forbes World’s Best Employers of 2020, was recently listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for the second consecutive year, has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere™ for five consecutive years and one of Barron’s Top 100 Most Sustainable Companies for three consecutive years.

To learn more about Oshkosh’s social, corporate governance and environmental efforts, please visit our impact.

Motorola Solutions named leader in public safety software by IDC

Motorola Solutions was ranked as a “leader” in the International Data Corporation (IDC) 2020 “MarketScape: Worldwide Digital Evidence Management Solutions for Law Enforcement Vendor Assessment.” Digital evidence management is the process of managing data and information that is electronically stored or transmitted, which may be used as part of an investigation and/or court case.

IDC, the premier global provider of market intelligence and advisory services for the IT, telecommunications and consumer technology markets, recognized Motorola Solutions in its report for its strengths in key areas, including its long history in technology innovation for public safety and global footprint.

The report also highlighted Motorola Solutions’ focus on integrating and automating information and data sharing, which enables officials throughout the public safety workstream (i.e., 9-1-1 call takers, dispatchers, records specialists, officers, etc.) to easily share evidence about a case in any stage of an investigation — from a citizen’s first 9-1-1 call to the case’s closure.

“Motorola Solutions’ focus on integrated end-to-end workflow is a critical market differentiator and a known pain point in public safety; integration capabilities at this level are likely to increase in importance as the pace and breadth of technology change continues unabated,” said the report.

“End users should consider Motorola Solutions when they are looking to digitally transform operations across the entire organization and would like to work with seasoned vendor capabilities that are focused on workflow transformation to meet the needs of public safety agencies today.”

The company’s cloud-based, digital evidence management solution helps agencies to securely collect, capture, store, manage and share digital evidence — no matter the source (i.e., in-car video, body-worn cameras, etc.) or provider (i.e., third parties/other vendors).

It is part of CommandCentral, Motorola Solutions’ integrated end-to-end software suite that unifies public safety data and streamlines workflows through 9-1-1, dispatch, mobile, records, evidence, analytics and jail.

One of the key strengths of the solution is the completeness of the case file because evidence is collected across the workflow, from the first 9-1-1 call until case closure. For example, when a call comes into 9-1-1 and is transcribed by CommandCentral Smart Transcription, the audio and call transcript are immediately added into the digital evidence management solution and are available to officers, prosecutors and other appropriate public safety officials, as part of the investigation and case disposition.

Similarly, Motorola Solutions’ digital evidence management offering enables officers to capture, tag and upload evidence from the field, helping to strengthen the chain of custody for critical evidence and exponentially enhancing efficiencies as officers can manage their evidence from collection to collation in the incident record in just a few quick steps.

“Law enforcement officers face two big challenges when working on an open case: massive amounts of data and a running clock,” said Andrew Sinclair, senior vice president and general manager, Software Enterprise, Motorola Solutions. “IDC’s MarketScape highlights the need for fast access to the right information within expanding sets of data that include video, audio, images, electronic citizen tip information, and other written content relating to an event.

“We’re proud to have been recognized as a leader in this space for our end-to-end CommandCentral workflow. But more importantly, we’re honored to provide so many public safety agencies with technology solutions that turn disparate information sources into intelligence, helping to keep officers and communities safe.”

More than 3,500 public safety agencies across the U.S. rely on components of Motorola Solutions’ CommandCentral software suite to run their mission-critical operations.

Access the IDC MarketScape Worldwide Digital Evidence Management Solutions for Law Enforcement 2020 Vendor Assessment excerpt (PDF) here.