Posts in category: Breaking News

Telgian Vice President and NFPA instructor Ralph E. Bless, Jr., PE, CFPS, SET discusses the CFPS test prep for fire protection training he recently carried out in KSA

Over the past 25 years, countries within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have experienced incredible growth. This concentrated, rapid development has led to myriad electrical, fire protection, code enforcement, and ITM challenges.  

As part of the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) commitment to serving global stakeholders such as those in the MENA region, Telgian Vice President and NFPA instructor Ralph Bless provided five days of CFPS test prep for team members from the Saudi Electricity Company fire protection group in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. By providing this training for NFPA, Bless supplied participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to prepare them for the CFPS Exam. The CFPS is an essential credential verifying proficiency in mitigating both physical and financial loss from fire hazards. 

Bless has long been recognised as one of the industry’s top experts and he shares this knowledge as a speaker, presenter and instructor across the US and around the globe. He has also published numerous articles on related fire and life safety topics in industry publications worldwide.

Bless is licensed as a Professional Engineer in six US states, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist, Level IV NICET senior fire sprinkler layout technician and holds four additional NICET certifications, as well as ten US state licenses. Dedicated to the industry, he plays an active leadership role within several important fire and life safety organizations including the NFPA.

IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey sat down with Ralph E. Bless, Jr., PE, CFPS, SET, to discuss fire protection training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Can you tell me about your background in the fire sector?  

I have 40 years of experience in fire protection including a broad range of water-based and special hazard system design, code consulting and fire protection engineering services. I am licensed as a Professional Engineer in six states in the US, a Certified Fire Protection Specialist, Level IV NICET senior fire sprinkler layout technician and hold four additional NICET certifications, as well as ten state licenses.

In addition, I serve on six NFPA committees including Chair of for Record Storage, NFPA 232 as well as NFPA 1, NFPA 13 Installation and Correlating, NFPA 15 and NFPA 915.

How did working with the Saudi Electricity Company fire protection group in Jeddah come about?

NFPA was contracted by the Saudi Electricity Company for in-person CFPS training. The Saudi Electricity Company is the leading provider for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power in Saudi Arabia, with 45 power generation plants across the Kingdom.

This training was very important, as these professionals are involved in the electrical power supply for an entire nation. I was thrilled to be selected by NFPA as the on-site instructor, based on my years of fire protection and teaching experience.

What exactly did the training involve and why is it essential for the participants?

Training involved five days of presentations on a variety of fire protection topics, focused on the NFPA Fire Protection Handbooks.  The focus of the training is to provide participants with the knowledge and skill necessary to prepare for the CFPS Exam.

The CFPS is considered “the global gold standard credential” in the fire protection industry.

Was the training a success? Do you have plans for a similar initiative in the future?

The feedback from the participants was very positive and I look forward to working with them again in the future.  Although I don’t have anything currently on the schedule in KSA, I do have over 40 other training events planned for this year.

What did you learn from conducting this training?

It is always a pleasure to work with other fire safety and fire protection professionals around the world.  And during this trip, I was also able to learn a little about the fascinating culture and history of KSA.

I really enjoyed my time in the country. The people were wonderful and welcoming, and I look forward to continuing to work with professionals for the betterment of the industry and society.

Contact Ralph at rbless@telgian.com

This article was originally published in the January edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

IFSJ takes an inside look at the fire training on offer at Newcastle International Airport

In 2022, Newcastle International Training Academy, which was officially recognised as a JOIFF Accredited Training Provider by JOIFF, the International Organisation for Industrial Emergency Services Management.

The accreditation, which was awarded by industry experts from the emergency services, recognises training providers who offer high quality training courses, facilities and a great learning experience capable of developing competency of emergency response personnel.

Gerry Johnson and Craig Kelsall, Consultants on behalf of JOIFF, visited Newcastle International Training Academy to undertake an audit of the training provisions and awarded the accreditation later that day. Formally recognising courses such as the Firefighter Bridging and Breathing Apparatus Instructor as trusted high quality training.

Johnson spoke about the accreditation process following the official certification, saying it: “Followed a rigorous audit of three elements of accreditation, including; looking at their establishment, including safety management systems and procedures; instruction, covering instructor experience, qualifications and mentoring systems; and the course programmes, looking at course content, and frequency of updating.”

IFSJ spoke to Gary Wright, Fire Manager at Newcastle International Airport, to find out about its new accreditation and the different kinds of training they have on offer for the fire professionals.

Can you tell me about the history of the training academy, when and why it was set up?

Customers expect quality training, and we believe at Newcastle International Airport that we have the right people and passion to be able to deliver commercial and industrial courses to businesses across the North East.

The Training Academy at the airport has been delivering professional training for nearly 30 years to ensure that fire services are equipped with the latest knowledge and skills. The Academy now provides a range of training solutions including aviation, offshore and industrial firefighting courses, as well as health and safety practices, first aid, confined space and team building.

The Academy delivers training to clients from all over the world, recently including the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria.

What fire training courses are on offer at the Academy?

The Academy specialises in aviation and industrial fire fighter training, with a range of courses available, including; Breathing Apparatus Training; Fire Fighter (Initial and Revalidations); Supervisor (Initial and Revalidations); plus Fire Team Member and many more.

Our unique infrastructure allows us to offer hot fire training, allowing fire fighters to experience as close to a real-life scenario as possible during their training course on aircraft and industrial specific live simulations. 

Have you added any recent courses of note? 

After a rigorous audit, the Academy has recently been recognised as an accredited training provider by JOIFF, the International Organisation for Industrial Emergency Services Management. The courses that have been awarded this accreditation are:

• Aviation Fire Fighter Bridging
• Breathing Apparatus Instructor
• Breathing Apparatus Refresher
• Industrial Fire Fighter Team Member
• Industrial Fire Fighter Refresher
• Industrial Fire Fighter Initial
• Industrial Fire Fighter Team Leader 

Following the success of our newly accredited training, the Academy recently submitted an application for JOIFF accreditation for additional courses. 

What other kinds of training does the Academy offer? 

The Academy offers an extensive catalogue of other courses from Team Building, First Aid and Health and Safety, through to highly specialised training including; Confined Space; Offshore Firefighting; Helicopter Fire Fighting; Breathing Apparatus Training; Wildlife Management and Winter Operations.

Why is fire training necessary in the aviation sector? 

Fire training is necessary in aviation in order to save lives in the event of an aircraft accident or incident occurring at or in the immediate vicinity of an airport.

Working on an active safety critical concept area allows our trainers to be up to date with the latest legislation and practices required in aviation.

We hope we never need to use our fire services, however, if the time comes, continual fire training is necessary to ensure that fire fighters are trained to the highest standards and have the knowledge and experience to respond to any situation.

How did the JOIFF accreditation come about, and what does this mean for the Academy?

JOIFF accreditation recognises training providers who offer high quality training courses, facilities and a great learning experience capable of developing competency of emergency response personnel.

The Academy prides itself on the high-quality training it delivers and this accreditation highlights the calibre of training provided by our world-class instructors.

This prestige certificate is testament to the team’s hard work and reassures our clients that they are receiving world-class training at the training academy. 

Are there any future plans or ambitions of note for Newcastle International Training Academy?

We are currently looking to expand our training facilities to accommodate more participants and additional courses in the near future.

We are always looking for ways to enhance the services and training we provide and regularly test and trial the latest technologies available in the industry. It is positive to see technology improving the training tools available for specialised facilities like the Newcastle International Training Academy and it will be interesting to see how such technologies could enhance the training services that we deliver in the future.

This article was originally published in the January edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

Neil Crosby, Middle East Aviation Emergency Training Correspondent, talks preparing for all outcomes

No matter where in the world you currently operate there is no more developing and more vibrant than the UAE. The speed at which it is consistently changing a advancing towards it future is remarkable and exciting to witness. Its very evolution from that of fifty years ago to the current day is astounding. Growth, population and infrastructure come coupled to engineering and wealth. The diversity of the cultures and populous is vibrant and attractive to those aiming to be apart of its future.

This metamorphosis of such a region brings with it opportunity and challenge, challenge to build, challenge to growth and challenge to compete. The UAE is synonymous with the intention towards perfection and presence. Its very vision is one of being the very best that can be offered, in lifestyle, accommodation, health and of course its safety, these are accolades bestowed by those thriving in the region or by those who have enjoyed the benefits of visiting lavish localities it has to offer. 

Heat stress

From every angle the evidence of growth and success can be seen, however this does not come with ease or without challenge. The very geographical location presents its own challenges from weather, sun, sand, heat or wind. Emergency services must consider this impact and consider they do.

Engagement in temperatures of 45 degrees or more in the summer months and 35 possibly in the evening hours hamper services to operate effectively or to conduct training. The occupations of those engaged must be monitored with consistent attention to prevent dehydration or exhaustion.

Every aspect of the service during events has an enlarged capacity for consideration due to heat, vehicle and appliance operating temperatures over prolong periods, media resources, equipment inoperability, firefighting actions and fire growth, flammable vapours and fire gas movement, all such occurrences agitate any event loading the considerations of any Incident Commander. The consistently changing locations which emergency services must respond change at a frequency and dimension difficult to imagine.

The city sky lines change almost overnight and the colossal enormity of the structures reach vertically or laterally in all directions. Emergency services must be topically and geographically familiar with their response areas, from a hazard perspective, what may be held within and what could to be to be expected. Typography, risk response, and risk register must become daily appraisals to be proactive as opposed to reactive.

Parking areas in the main are ventilated. However this will not prevent the growth and movement of fire gases within a structure. The challenge to the emergency service will be in the form of access, fuel loading and sheer volume of vehicles parked in close proximity.

Vehicles and their design are captivating to the motorist and to their owner, to an emergency service member, a hazard, a risk, or a dangerous challenge which must be approached in the most considered method. Simple entry or exit of the occupant is not always a straightforward as one would imagine. SUV vehicles have a vast selection of options, their construction materials, seating, and safety or protection systems all pose hazards to the uneducated or the initiated.

The aviation sector

There is one final area in which we must consider a potential: Aviation. Aviation is the most fundamentally changing areas for occupation within the region.  Over the last fifty years there has been a monumental growth in air travel and concept design.

The UAE airports support essentially all that the UAE is and has been to know to have become. Their major airports are fundamentally the beating heart of the UAE and Dubai and the surrounding locations. Their airports consistently brake records of achievement and challenges its self to be the most visual and efficient airports in the world. The aircraft traffic they handle is without question some of the most prominent and efficient the aviation sector has to offer.

Passenger volume is intended to breach 58 million within 2022 and striving to return to the pre Covid figures within 2023. It supports 238 airports, in 227 cities form 102 counties. 

The aviation sector has had to meet numerous challenges in the form of growth, location, expansion, experience, infrastructure, regulation, the weather and more over the vision and the need to succeed.  The sector is dynamic to say the very least, consistently changing, re-evaluating, personally challenging and consistently reacting to market and world forces.  The aerodromes also carries upon their shoulders the knowledge that the region is essentially feeds its sources. Should an event take place at an aerodrome the ripples emanate from the source to far wide reaching locations.

Aircraft movements take place at a frequency of departure and arrival at the most busy of periods at two minute intervals utilising the synchronicity of two runways simultaneously. It is not unusual to have ten aircraft taxiing or manoeuvring at the same time. Passenger loads on the largest aircraft frequency are in the range of six hundred occupants per rotation.

The ripples from an event will be felt the world over should the incident not be correctly handled. Approaching flights, departing flights, aircraft wishing to depart their country unable to arrive at their intended destination, slot allocations and interconnecting flights using the airport as a hub to connect to final destinations all may be impacted during any potential operational event. With this is an ever-present pressure to succeed and to overcome.

Every member of the aerodrome emergency service carries a shared responsibility to perform, to remain competent and operational compliant. It is essential they must remain engaged in all areas of occupation relating to their operational response. The complexity of the location and the frequency of movements dictate that operational fire service members must be appropriately qualified and certificated to for fill their operational responsibilities without restraint.

The constant need to train and to ensure an effective response is relentless. Each and every day there is a need to see a learning opportunity or to educate members on their growing potential risk. To say you know enough, or to believe you can do enough, is never enough.

Aircraft firefighting

Aircraft firefighting is without question one of the most technical fields of occupation, knowledge of the rescue and firefighting equipment provided to meet the risk are extraordinarily technical in their own right and the methods of firefighting based on the aircraft potentially involved are on a scale based around physics, chemical and structural engineering.        

Through developmental changes to the complexities of aerodrome infrastructures, aircraft, and the localities faced by the new generation of fire service members, the rescue and firefighting service must have a more considered approach to command decision making when applying the use of fire fighting and tactical ventilation.

Ventilation can facilitate the passage of ‘wet air’ through the induction of water spray, in elevated locations to infuse and create rapid reductions in compartment temperature growth. The synchronicity of simultaneous applications involves high level intelligent firefighting understanding and an incident command structure with increased tactical advantages.

Incidents must be considered both on and off aerodrome and access to any such incident must be accomplished within the defined response time. Multi-agency interoperability is essential in order to be successful at the scene of operations and the close cohesive working relationship established by all responding services. 

All these and many more considerations must take place in the most challenging of environmental weather conditions or working locations. Crews may be engaged for long and protracted periods of time and successful emergency planning will ensure a successful conclusion at any potential incident location.

There should be a more immersive programme of interoperability within all emergency service within the UAE with one aim, to become the very best the region can provide. They should strive towards the sharing of information, technical excellence and more importantly the overall ability to respond.

There is a wealth of knowledge and experience within the UAE, from overseas external influence, or subject matter experts, previous experience and local intent to succeed. The never-ending vision to demonstrate improvement and to embrace all that could be ahead. The road ahead is bright and yet it will be consistently challenging to those who strive for excellence.

The emergency services must embrace this challenge and many more, with the vision of the UAE and to continue on this journey no matter how difficult or diverse it may be. Draw on the expertise available, learn from the past to build for the future, embrace challenge and strive as an emergency community to prepare for the potential by being prepared. 

This article was originally published in the January edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.