Beirut explosion: Lebanon faces humanitarian emergency

The explosion in Beirut is further straining the health system and food supplies, as well as risking the country’s COVID-19 response. 

Lebanon faces a humanitarian emergency following the explosion on Aug 4, 2020, of more than 2000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut’s port that has added severe strain to a health system already buckling under an economic crisis, civil unrest, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hosting of some 1.5 million refugees in a country of about 6 million people.

The blast killed at least 200 people, injured more than 6,000, and left 300 000 homeless. On Aug 10, soon after rejecting an international inquiry into the explosion’s cause, the government resigned amid rising anger and protests demanding the removal of the political elite and an end to corruption, bad governance, and mismanagement.

International donors pledged 253 million euros in aid at a summit arranged by France on Aug 9, but they also called on the Lebanese Government to listen to demands for reform made by protesters.

WHO said three hospitals were non-functional and another two suffered substantial damage. In addition, 17 containers with essential medical supplies and a recently delivered shipment of personal protective equipment to tackle COVID-19 were destroyed at the port.

“WHO is deeply concerned about the hospital and health workforce capacity, supplies of medicine, and chemical fumes which might have a harmful impact on the health of people with underlying conditions”, the agency said in a donor alert issued on Aug 6.

Officials estimate that the explosion caused up to US$15 billion of damage. Damage to the port was expected to exacerbate the economic and food security situation because the port was a major entry point for aid, and Lebanon imports 80–85% of its food. According to the UN World Food Programme, even before the explosion, 50% of Lebanese people surveyed said that they were worried about not having enough to eat.

“It’s a catastrophe, it’s incomprehensible. Everyone is traumatised and there is a big mental health impact”, Iman Nuwayhid, dean of the faculty of health sciences at the American University of Beirut (Beirut, Lebanon).

Lebanon reportedly has enough doctors and nurses but is facing shortages of medical supplies, even before the blast, because of an economic crisis over the past few months, according to Karam Karam, a clinical professor of medicine at the American University of Beirut. A devaluation of about 80% in the Lebanese pound and bank controls on foreign currency meant that imports of medicines and equipment had become much more costly. “People are dying because they don’t have shelter or money to pay for health care”, he said. “Everyone blames the criminal and corrupt junta that rules us.”

Before the explosion, 75% of Lebanese people were in need of aid, 33% had lost their jobs, and 1 million people were living below the poverty line, and these numbers were considered likely to rise.

COVID-19 is posing a further burden – more than 6,000 cases and 78 deaths had been recorded by the health ministry as of Aug 8. There could be a spike in cases because many health and rescue workers responding to the explosion, as well as protesters, have not observed social distancing or worn masks.

While the resources of many hospitals were being directed towards the casualties of the explosion, the capacity to deal with COVID-19 should not be lost, urged Firass Abiad, the general manager of Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital (the main Lebanese Government hospital charged with managing the epidemic), in a tweet on Aug 6.

There was also concern about the impact on health caused by the chemicals released by the explosion. “The main long-term hazard is from combustion products such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic”, Roy Harrison, Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham. More immediately, the main health hazard was from the formation of particulate matter that causes reductions in lung function and symptom exacerbation in people with asthma, he said.

Kentec Installer Programme branches out internationally

The Kentec Installer Programme (KIP), launched by the leading manufacturer of life-critical control systems at last year’s Firex, is now expanding to include Kentec’s vast international installation customer network. To date it has registered more than 100 installers, making it one of the largest partner programmes in the fire industry.

The scheme provides Kentec’s registered customers with a wide-ranging programme of bespoke training and best-in-class technical support, as well as dedicated software and enhanced product functionality. It has been designed to further professionalism within the industry and assure end users that their installations take best advantage of even Kentec’s most advanced and sophisticated panels.

It also provides access to Kentec’s protected partner site, Virtual Resource, as well as Taktis LE2 commissioning software and enhanced Bridge Functionality – the solution for migrating Syncro panel networks to the latest Taktis technology.

A dedicated KIP technical support helpline provides installers with access to Kentec’s experienced team, training is providing on Kentec’s full fire product range and all KIP members can promote their Kentec product expertise with the KIP logo on their websites and marketing collateral. Kentec also features a list of its KIP partners on its own website.

Kentec’s approach is about considering the evolving market place and the requirements of installers to demonstrate competency on the manufacturers equipment, whilst not leaving its core values of being ‘open protocol’ behind.

Mark Wheeler, Managing Director of EA-RS Fire Engineering Ltd, says the Covid-19 outbreak has been a good opportunity to invest in training:

“We predict there will be a surge in business in coming months with projects that were put on hold due to Covid-19 being re-scheduled. It therefore makes sense to use training to put the company in the strongest position to meet additional demand,” he says.

“Creating the KIP scheme was a bold step for Kentec, acknowledging that a higher industry standard was required. It has been an important step in furthering the assurance we provide end users that critical life safety systems are only being installed by fully-competent firms, that have received training on the latest industry innovations. This ultimately ensures that life safety systems are optimised.”

Daren Pool, Managing Director of Triple Star Fire & Security Limited, joined the scheme as his business saw Kentec’s Taktis panel becoming increasingly prevalent:

“Taktis has become one of our preferred panel choices for its networking capabilities and easy-to-use interface. As we are installing the panel into more and more customer sites, across a range of critical sectors, I felt it was important that myself and engineers fully understood the latest developments and full capabilities of the panel in order that our customers are able to realise its full potential. The scheme has worked very well in providing us with full confidence that we are providing all our customers with this service.”

Derrick Hall, Director of Sales at Kentec, says he is proud of what the KIP scheme has achieved so far:

“Our KIP partners have been carefully selected based on their skill, expertise, experience and accreditations. We are proud to have developed a system that installers find useful in optimising installations of our highly-sophisticated fire panels. We’ve adapting to lockdown to make sure training can be delivered online and this has worked very well.”

https://kentec.co.uk/

BAFE acquires operations of the FIA AO

Following extensive and detailed discussions with BAFE, the independent register of Third Party Certificated fire safety service providers, the FIA has announced that BAFE will be acquiring the operation of the FIA AO.

BAFE will be establishing FireQual Ltd as an OFQUAL-approved Awarding Body to run the existing Fire Detection and Alarm qualification examinations and to develop new qualifications across the fire sector that will support the call for greater competence and availability of verification of skills for those engaged in fire safety across the UK.

BAFE FireQual will be using qualifications industry experts to operate the business and bring experienced industry and awarding body expertise onto the FireQual Board.

The existing FIA FD&A qualifications will be transferred to BAFE and the FIA will continue to include these in their successful range of training courses. FireQual will be offering these essential qualifications to all industry trainers who meet the stringent training centre requirements.

All of the existing assets of FIA AO, including the current extensive question banks, are included in the sale. FIA AO will continue to operate the exams until such time as BAFE FireQual is in a position to be fully operational. All delegates [including those that are in mid-process] can be fully assured that the priority for the FIA and BAFE is the seamless handover of the examination regime.

It is anticipated that the transfer will be completed by the end of October 2020.

Ian Moore, Chief Executive of the Fire Industry Association, says: “The FIA has allocated considerable resource to bring the first OFQUAL-approved FD&A qualifications to the industry. We are delighted to be passing this on to BAFE in its independent competency role.”

“It was the FIA that originally formed BAFE as the registration body for third party certified fire engineering specialist companies across the UK. As it developed, the FIA supported BAFE to become the fully independent registration body. We now feel that the FIA AO has reached that same level of development and for the same reasons of true independence [from the FIA Training Centre], is undertaking the transfer of the FIA AO to BAFE”.

Stephen Adams, Chief Executive of BAFE, says: ‘We believe that this will be a significant development for the UK fire protection industry and indeed BAFE’s role as the independent competency body. The FIA has made a major contribution to introducing qualifications for FD&A technicians with the development of the FIA AO and we look forward to building on this considerable achievement for the benefit of the wider fire industry. BAFE already invigilates the exams for a large number of fire extinguisher technicians and our aim is to work with Trade Associations and other trainers to develop a comprehensive range of OFQUAL approved qualification exams across the whole fire sector’.

www.fia.uk.com/

www.bafe.org.uk/

Dirk Laibach appointed to the IWMA Board

As of now, Dirk Laibach is a new member of the IWMA board of directors. IWMA general manager Bettina McDowell says: “Mr. Laibach, who will have to be confirmed in office during the IWMA member meeting in October, replaces Peter Clauss, who became a member of the board in April 2020.”

Dirk Laibach boasts over 30 years of varied global experiences in the fire suppression/detection industry, including 23 years related to water mist. He has held positions of ever-increasing responsibility with Siemens, KIDDE, FOGTEC Fire Protection, Marioff and currently is Senior Product Manager for water mist at Johnsons Control.

Through his involvement and membership in a number of trade associations, codes and standards organizations (CEN) and approval authorities (like VdS, FM) in Europe and the USA, he has extensive relationships within the industry and AHJ bodies.

Dirk Laibach holds a degree in electrical engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) from the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, Germany, and is a VdS-certified engineer for water mist fire suppression systems.

The IWMA board of directors would like to thank Peter for his contributions and good work.

www.iwma.org/

Scottish Government explores potential for firestopping certification scheme

A sample of stakeholders, including local authorities, contractors and insurers were interviewed as part of the research, which concluded that “a certification scheme in firestopping is seen as potentially beneficial for public safety, consistency and customer confidence.”

The report, commissioned by the Building Standards Division, consequently concluded that a certification scheme should be introduced on firestopping to cover both active and passive fire safety measures.

It should be noted that within this investigation, the term ‘firestopping’ referred to all aspects – both passive and active – of the protection of buildings from fire. Certification currently operates under The Building (Scotland) Act 2003, which allows “suitably qualified and experienced building professionals to act as Approved Certifiers”.

Research participants were however divided on the potential commercial/financial benefits, with contractors concerned that it would just add another layer of bureaucracy and costs to their roles. There are, after all, already four approved certification schemes in Scotland – all voluntary – where Approved Certifiers undertake regular audits which are managed via approved Scheme Providers.

Local authorities also raised concerns that a scheme would be unlikely to relieve pressure and the workload related to building inspections, as inspection standards would still need to be met to the same degree.

A consensus was not reached on whether the scheme should be made mandatory – this was deemed the best long-term approach, but difficult to implement in practice.

Overall, based on the results, the report made several key recommendations:

  • The scheme should be introduced on a gradual process and be supported via a fee-paying system to provide a solid financial basis. It was noted that this may require economic support to upskill those involved in firestopping.
  • The scheme should remain voluntary
  • The scheme should focus on construction (concerns over fire safety were primarily related to construction work)
  • Reviews should be undertaken on existing qualifications and training

The immediate first steps proposed are to “focus activities on improving and reinforcing all the training and qualifications related to fire safety”.

www.gov.scot/

Vimpex’s Smart+Guard installed at huge new Amazon fulfilment centre

A new Amazon fulfilment centre on the outskirts of Bristol has installed Vimpex Smart+Guard tough polycarbonate hinged protective covers to protect the building’s alarm call-points from accidental or malicious activation, which could trigger costly building evacuations resulting in lost production and missed logistical connections.

Amazon’s new 500,000 sq ft fulfilment centre at Severn Beac is designed to ensure that more people in the Bristol region receive next-day deliveries. When it is fully operational in September the centre will employ around 1,000 people and will be equipped with advanced robotics technology to help lift and move products around the plant.

Fire Detection specialists AFS, engaged to engineer and install a whole life protection systemat the fulfilment centre site, fitted with Vimpex Smart+Guard to all the relevant manual call points across the site to protect the system from malicious activation.

Smart+Guard, manufactured in the UK by Vimpex, is a tough hinged protective cover that can be easily installed over a range of emergency switches and other devices to provide protection from vandalism, accidental damage or misuse that can cause unwanted alarms. Misuse of manual call points or pull station resulting in false or nuisance alarmsis a costly and troublesome interruption to business continutiy. BS 5839 – The British Standard for Fire Alarm Installations recommends the use of manual call point covers in vulnerable areas to mitigate against false alarms.

Vimpex Limited’s Managing Director, James Jones, comments “When we acquired the SmartGuard range of products and merged production of the range into our operations, we knew there was a massive scope for developing the business. This is evidenced by the growing list of high-profile end users now specifying the product for use in their facilities. The recent news that Amazon have installed the product into their newest fulfilment centre in Bristol is testament to our great levels of customer service and our willingness to go that extra mile for our customers.”

Vimpex is Europe’s leading independent manufacturer and distributor of high quality fire evacuation and alarm system products for installers, distributors and OEM manufacturers. The company are also specialists in the supply of technical rescue and PPE equipment for the UK fire, rescue, police, military and emergency services teams.

www.vimpex.co.uk/

Helicopter pilot killed in California wildfires

A helicopter pilot involved in fighting fires in California died yesterday (19th August) when the aircraft crashed near Coalinga, authorities said.

According to Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregory, the Bell UH-1 helicopter was helping to fight the Hills Fire when it crashed around 10 a.m., about 11 miles south of New Coalinga Municipal Airport, the Fresno Bee reported.

In a statement, Cal Fire said the helicopter crashed while it was on a water-dropping mission on the Hills Fire in western Fresno County. The blaze has been burning in the area since Saturday and has consumed 1,500 acres and is 35% contained, KGO reported. Winds of 26 mph have been clocked in the area, with gusts to 35 mph.

The impact of the helicopter crash ignited a new brush fire, Gregory told reporters.

The pilot, who was not identified, was the only person aboard the helicopter, according to Cal Fire officials.

“There was one person on board, they did not survive,” Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant told the Los Angeles Times.

Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said the department’s search and rescue team assisted in the search for survivors, the Bee reported.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, with the NTSB in charge of determining the probable cause of the crash, the newspaper reported.

According to fire officials, 50 structures have burned down in Vacaville, with another 50 damaged by the fire.

“We are experiencing fires the likes of which we haven’t seen in many, many years,” Governor Newsom told reporters.

The blazes are thought to have been sparked by a heatwave combined with nearly 11,000 lightning strikes which have hit the state over the last three days.

Earlier this week, one of the highest ever temperatures on Earth was recorded in California’s Death Valley. Across the US western states on Wednesday, nearly 45 million people were living in areas under some form of excessive heat warning or heat advisory.

Mr Newsom said 367 known fires have been recorded so far, but noted that “the prospect of that going up is very real”.

“As those lightning strikes spark, as you have a lot of smoke, you have a difficult time determining total number of fires until certain things clear and we have the opportunity to go to more remote parts of the state,” he added.

The group of fires in the San Francisco Bay Area was driven by winds throughout Tuesday night and has now grown to 46,000 uncontained acres.

The fire, which is larger than city of Washington DC, has injured four people and threatens about 2,000 buildings in Vacaville, authorities say.

New figures reveal 20% rise in smoking-related fires during pandemic 

London Fire Brigade (LFB) has published figures showing a startling rise in smoking-related fires in the capital since the start of the UK lockdown. The 20% increase in fires comes despite the recently reported fall in smokers, with 1 million people in the UK kicking the habit during the pandemic.

Smoking remains one of the leading causes of fires, with hundreds of fires around the country caused by discarded cigarettes each year. In November 2019, The Cube in Bolton was devastated by a fire now concluded to have been started by a discarded cigarette on a combustible balcony. This is, sadly, a staggeringly common occurrence with a litany of balcony fires caused by smoking materials the length and breadth of the country.

LFB report in their latest figures that smoking materials caused over 500 fires during the lockdown period. Most notable was a blaze in a block of flats in Kennington in June started by a discarded cigarette from a higher floor igniting a first-floor balcony. Whilst the flat was destroyed, all residents fortunately were able to evacuate although 18 adults and children required treatment by ambulance crews.

Richard Izzard, Managing Director of non-combustible aluminium decking manufacturers AliDeck, said “We are seeing balcony fires all around the UK with worrying regularity, most of which have been started either by the use of barbecues or carelessly discarded cigarettes. With more people staying indoors or working from home during the Covid lockdown, it’s no surprise to see a rise in the figures but simple steps to remove and replace combustible materials would solve the issue at a stroke.”

Short of an apparently very unlikely behavioural change in smokers, the only way to reduce the risk of fires on balconies being caused by discarded cigarettes is for all combustible materials to be removed and replaced with non-combustible options, such as aluminium decking which is A-Rated for fire-safety. Removing combustible materials such as timber or composite balcony decking will immediately result in safer buildings and help to protect lives and property.

www.london-fire.gov.uk/

TracPlus launches new technology for aerial firefighting

TracPlus has unveiled a “world-first” new product for aerial firefighters that will automate the time-consuming collecting and reporting of data now required to satisfy new industry standards.

National Aerial Firefighting Centre of Australia’s (NAFC) OPS-14 Standards now state that operators must accurately collect and report volume collected and dropped, engine starts and stops, and take-offs and landings.

For rotary aircraft, TracPlus said its AFDAU-T1 product removes the need for manual calibration of a bucket, meaning that no pilot interaction is required, even when swapping buckets in a slung load configuration.

For fixed-wing operators, the organisation said the device automatically detects operational data for reporting – including proof of substantive flow from a hopper.

The new tech was produced in collaboration with Sydney-based engineers Aircraft Maintenance Solutions.

“Our goal was to bring a dedicated aerial firefighting data acquisition unit to the market that had been designed to meet the NAFC event reporting contract requirements,” said AFDAU-T1’s lead engineer, Zane Vohland.

“With AFDAU-T1, operators don’t need to worry about data accuracy. They will have peace of mind that their data is reliable, automatic and accurate.”

TracPlus was founded in 2007 and its varied client list worldwide also includes Californian forest fire protection department CalFire and San Diego Gas & Electric.

Previously, Australian Aviation reported that TracPlus secured $5 million of funding from Kiwi tech fund Movac.

As part of the deal, the firm will acquire Cambridge-based v2track, which already supplies it with tracking devices.

Chief executive Trevor McIntyre said, “We had a number of funding options, and we chose Movac due to their investment style and ‘hands-on’ experience in growing successful tech companies.

“It was also really important to us that there was a strong personality fit between the two teams.”

TracPlus staff have already switched to working from home during the coronavirus crisis to allow clients such as aeromedical charity RACQ LifeFlight Air Ambulance to continue flying.

McIntyre said, “We have implemented measures to do what we can to support our operators who are at the face of COVID-19, keeping their teams safe, continuing to provide tracking, 24-hour distress and emergency monitoring to ensure operators can stay in touch with their people.”

www.tracplus.com/

Peerless Pump Company and AMI Global partner up to launch IoT Solution for fire industry

AMI Global LLC has announced a partnership with Peerless Pump Company, a wholly owned company of the Grundfos Group and a manufacturer of UL listed and FM approved fire pump systems. The partnership brings IoT connectivity and condition monitoring to fire pump systems around the world with the launch of Peerless FireConnect™.

The system architecture of Peerless FireConnect™ is designed to reach beyond accessing just code-mandated alarms and provide real time fire pump system information accessed 24/7. System monitoring will help ensure fire pump systems are always ready through an advanced user interface and system notifications. Remote access to the fire pump system in both static and running conditions provides critical information without having to access the pump room. System data is logged and stored permanently for compliance reference including required ITM and other pertinent information.

“Having critical system information at your fingertips provides peace of mind to building owners and occupants that their fire protection system is ready and operational. In the event of a fire, real time system data can enable better decision making and improve safety,” said Scott Patterson, Vice President – Aftermarket Sales & Service for  Peerless Pump Company. “By developing this solution with AMI Global, we were able to bring Peerless FireConnect™ to the market quickly, enabling us to make a significant and positive impact for our customers.”

“We are proud to partner with Peerless Pump Company to drive digital transformation in fire protection for industrial and commercial buildings and beyond.  Together we can help transform an industry – this is proof that industrial IoT will transform the general pump industry in the very near future,” said Henrik Laursen, CEO of AMI Global.

For more information on Peerless FireConnect™ product visit www.peerlesspump.com.