Bridger Aerospace selects TracPlus to support aerial firefighting fleet performance

by Aerial FirefightingBreaking News

Bridger Aerospace has selected FireFlyte, powered by TracPlus, to provide automated mission recording and fleet-wide operational insight as wildfire risks continue to rise.

The aerial firefighting operator will use the platform to build a detailed operational picture of each mission, capturing aircraft position, timing, firefighting mode and drop-line data from take-off to landing.

The system is designed to help Bridger assess how each aircraft performs on every deployment, including where drops are made in relation to the fire perimeter and how suppression activity develops as conditions change.

According to TracPlus, the data is captured once at source rather than reconstructed afterwards, with an Aerial Firefighting Report generated for each mission.

Sam Davis, CEO of Bridger Aerospace, said: “For Bridger, the goal is not just operational awareness, but also continuous improvement. Mission data from FireFlyte allows us to make sure every aircraft, on every fire, is performing at the highest possible level.

“FireFlyte also enhances our situational awareness so we can increase our focus on safe operations by using data to highlight trends and maintain our high tempo in the field. This visibility gives us the best possible data to perform our mission to protect what matters – lives, property and the environment.”

The agreement covers Bridger’s fleet, including six CL-415EAF Super Scoopers, which can draw up to 1,412 gallons of water per pass, as well as Air Attack and Multi-Mission aircraft, Pilatus PC-12s, King Air 350s and Daher Kodiaks fitted with imaging and infrared systems.

Todd O’Hara, CEO of TracPlus Global, said: “The industry is shifting towards automated, complete mission records. Agencies like CAL FIRE and Australia’s national programme are already there. What’s changing now is that operators are making the same move. Bridger is leading that from the front. By capturing every mission automatically, the same way the major agencies do, they can focus on what they do best: flying the mission and keeping communities safe. That’s what we built TracPlus to do. We’re glad to be part of it.”

LEADER GROUP acquires MERCEDES TEXTILES to strengthen firefighting equipment portfolio

by Breaking NewsFirefighting EquipmentFirefighting Equipment

LEADER GROUP acquisition of MERCEDES TEXTILES expands its North American presence

LEADER GROUP has acquired Canadian manufacturer MERCEDES TEXTILES as part of its strategy to expand its international presence and strengthen its portfolio of firefighting and rescue equipment.

The acquisition brings together LEADER GROUP’s existing range of emergency response technologies with MERCEDES TEXTILES’ expertise in manufacturing fire hoses, fittings and portable pumps, enhancing the Group’s offering for fire and rescue services worldwide.

Founded in 1979 in Quebec, MERCEDES TEXTILES designs and manufactures equipment for municipal, military, industrial and wildland firefighting services. The company exports products to more than 50 countries through its three entities – MERCEDES TEXTILES Ltd., HIGHWATER HOSE Inc. and HYDRO-WICK INDUSTRIES Ltd.

LEADER GROUP said the acquisition will strengthen its long-term presence in North America while expanding its product offering, particularly for wildland firefighting, and supporting MERCEDES TEXTILES’ international growth through the Group’s global distribution network.

How LEADER Group’s DIPHASIC mist system improves fireground safety

The move represents the latest stage in LEADER GROUP’s transformation from a specialist manufacturer into an international provider of complementary firefighting and rescue solutions.

Since 2021, the Group has doubled its revenue through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, including ZELUP in France and C.E.T. Fire Pumps in Canada.

The expanded portfolio now covers key operational requirements across emergency response, including fluorine-free foam concentrates, firefighting nozzles and monitors, ventilators, search and rescue equipment, portable pumps and high-performance fire hoses.

Miguel Ferreira, President & CEO of LEADER GROUP, said: “This operation marks a major milestone in the development of LEADER GROUP. With MERCEDES TEXTILES, we strengthen our presence in North America and expand our range of solutions dedicated to firefightingng and rescue professionals.

“This complementarity enables us to support our customers with an ever more complete, innovative, and high-performance offering, driven by a single mission: helping save lives.”

UK firefighters continue Venezuela earthquake response mission

by Breaking NewsProjectsSearch and Rescue

Venezuela earthquake response continues as UK International Search and Rescue teams work alongside international partners

UK firefighters are continuing life-saving search and rescue operations as part of the Venezuela earthquake response, where specialist teams are supporting international efforts following last week’s devastating earthquake.

The 68-strong UK International Search and Rescue (UK ISAR) team is now two days into its deployment in the Caraballeda coastal region, around 15km north of Caracas. Working alongside local and international partners, the team is carrying out systematic searches of collapsed structures using specialist equipment and trained search dogs in difficult and hazardous conditions.

The deployment includes firefighters and specialist personnel from 14 UK fire and rescue services, supported by six search dogs, medics, a structural engineer and a veterinary surgeon.

Images released show UK ISAR personnel searching collapsed buildings, coordinating with local emergency responders and deploying canine teams as rescue efforts continue.

National Fire Chiefs Council Chair Phil Garrigan said: “Our thoughts remain with everyone affected by these devastating earthquakes and the families still waiting for news of their loved ones.

“Since arriving in Venezuela the UK ISAR team has been working round the clock in incredibly challenging conditions, working side by side with local and international colleagues as part of a coordinated global response. Their dedication and professionalism is a source of great pride for the UK’s fire and rescue services.

“The commitment of our firefighters and specialists to do everything they can to help brings hope at a time of immense difficulty.”

The UK ISAR team deployed through the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office remains self-sufficient and is expected to support operations for up to 10 days.

The earthquakes, which struck on 24 June, have killed at least 1,450 people, with tens of thousands still reported missing.

Britannia Fire appoints Matt Humby as expansion drives next phase of growth

by Breaking NewsFire SuppressionPeople

Britannia Fire appoints Matt Humby as Head of Client Support and Development as the manufacturer enters its next phase of growth

UK-based company Britannia Fire has appointed Matt Humby as Head of Client Support and Development.

Describing Humby as “highly-regarded in the fire safety sector”, Britannia said he brings more than 25 years of industry experience and a strong track record in technical engagement, customer relationships and helping organisations respond to evolving fire safety challenges.

In his new role, Matt will focus on strengthening customer support, training and engagement, and contributing to future business development initiatives across the organisation. 

Commenting on his appointment, Humby said: “I am incredibly excited about my next chapter with Britannia Fire. I’m looking forward to becoming part of a fantastic team, supporting customers and continuing to contribute to an industry I am passionate about.”

Managing Director Andy Spence added: “This is an exciting time to welcome Matt to our team.  As we continue to grow, we’re investing not only in manufacturing capacity but also in strengthening the support, education and training we provide to our customers and partners. 

“Matt’s experience in technical engagement and customer development will help us expand our existing training programmes and create broader learning opportunities across the sector.

“Alongside this, our investment in facilities and production capacity ensures we are well placed to meet increasing demand for the P50 range.”

Britannia, which manufactures fire extinguishers, said the appointment comes as it enters its next phase of growth following investment in its facilities and manufacturing capacity.

As well as the expansion of its headquarters in Ashwellthorpe in Norfolk, the company recently opened a 350m2 administration centre.

It has also installed a second winding machine worth more than £300,000, which is used to attach super-strength aramid fibre to its P50 fire extinguisher cylinders.

Britannia said the investment will double production capacity for the P50 composite range, enabling the company to meet growing demand.

For further information on Britannia Fire, please visit www.britannia-fire.co.uk.

Ghent University student wins Ragnar Wighus Award

by Breaking NewsEventsFire SuppressionPeople

Ragnar Wighus Award recognises Ghent University master’s graduate Mohsen Morshedi for his award-winning water mist research

A Ghent University graduate has been announced as the winner of the Ragnar Wighus Award. Mohsen Morshedi will present his master thesis at the annual International Water Mist Conference (IWMC2026) in Prague, Czech Republic, on 7th and 8th October 2026. 

The title of the winning thesis is “Numerical Simulation of dense Water Mist Sprays in ‘cold’ Conditions with an Emphasis on Multi-Droplet Aerodynamics Interaction”. The thesis was supervised by Prof. Dr. Tarek Beji and Prof. Dr. Tom de Mulder. 

On receiving the news, Mohsen Morshedi said: “I am deeply honoured to be named the recipient of the Ragnar Wighus Award this year. It is a privilege to be recognised among such inspiring professionals, and I sincerely appreciate the support I have received along the way.” 

The sponsor of the award is the International Water Mist Association (IWMA). The committee that evaluates the submissions is the IWMA Scientific Council under the chairmanship of Kemal Arsava (Norwegian University of Science and Technology). 

In 2027, The Ragnar Wighus Award will go to the author of the best Ph.D. thesis. Deadline to hand in submissions is 31st March 2027. The terms under which to apply will be published towards in November. 

RECOM Fire Solutions opens distribution hub to support passive fire protection growth

by Breaking NewsFeatured NewsPassive

RECOM Fire Solutions has opened a new distribution hub at Trafford Park in Greater Manchester

RECOM Fire Solutions has opened a new north west distribution hub in Greater Manchester as part of a six-figure investment to strengthen the operational capacity of its specialist passive fire protection division.

The new 2,500 sq m (27,000 sq ft) warehouse and office facility at Trafford Park will support the company’s continued growth by increasing storage capacity, improving logistics and enhancing stock management. The investment also includes an expanded vehicle fleet.

The division delivers passive fire protection works in live environments for clients across the education, healthcare, residential, defence and facilities management sectors.

According to the company, several smaller facilities in the north west have been consolidated into the single Trafford Park site, creating a centralised operation designed to improve efficiency and streamline deliveries.

The hub, located on the Westbrook Estate, is also expected to reduce the number of journeys required to support projects, contributing to the company’s efforts to lower its carbon footprint.

The investment follows the opening earlier this year of a new RECOM Fire Solutions base at Fort Dunlop in Birmingham, which supports projects across the Midlands, the M6 corridor and into the south west.

Sarah Leadbetter, head of RECOM Fire Solutions, said: “The opening of our new north west distribution hub is a major milestone for RECOM Fire Solutions. It creates greater efficiency through a centralised location, increases storage capacity and improves stock management.

“Trafford Park is an ideal location, as it’s highly accessible and close to our group headquarters in Salford Quays. It provides us with a strong base for our next phase of expansion and will contribute to reducing our carbon footprint as a business.”

The Trafford Park building is owned and managed by Indurent, which refurbished the site before RECOM Fire Solutions took occupation. Nexus Storage Solutions installed the warehouse racking as part of the fit-out.

The expansion comes as demand for compliant passive fire protection measures continues to grow alongside increased regulatory scrutiny across the built environment.

In recent months, RECOM Fire Solutions has also strengthened its management team with several new appointments and now employs around 60 operatives working on projects across the UK.

The company’s services include compartmentation and fire door condition surveys, installation and remediation of fire stopping and fire doors, intumescent paint application, overboarding and fire curtain installations.

RECOM Fire Solutions forms part of the RECOM Solutions group, which also provides project management consultancy and main contracting services. The group was founded in 2015 by Jason McKnight and Joseph Dillon, who met while studying construction management at the University of Salford before later working together at Bovis Lend Lease.

Ranger’s accelerated growth strategy enters ‘new phase’ with UK and Ireland acquisitions

by Breaking NewsMergers & Acquisitions

Ranger Fire and Security has acquired two high-performing businesses across the UK and Ireland.

Scion Communications Limited is a fire safety and security solutions provider covering the South of England. Its core offering spans fire alarms, security systems and access control. This acquisition is said to build on Ranger’s earlier acquisitions of Universal, Fidelity and Partnership.

Emerald Fire Technology is a Cork-based fire and gas detection specialist, supplying, commissioning, servicing and repairing equipment for commercial and Government-funded customers across the Munster region. Located near existing Ranger business B-Safe, this acquisition builds out Ranger’s coverage in the region and adds gas detection to its product offering.

Mark Bridges, CEO of Ranger Fire and Security, said: “Scion and Emerald each bring strong reputations and complementary expertise to the Group, and we’re delighted to welcome their teams on board as we continue to build the leading fire and security platform in the UK and Ireland.”

Both businesses’ leadership teams are staying in place, preserving their customer-centric focus while creating cross-selling opportunities with other Ranger businesses nearby.

The acquisitions are the first announced since Inflexion, a European mid-market investment firm, secured a majority investment in Ranger to accelerate its growth and acquisition strategy across the UK and Ireland. The investment will support further acquisitions of high-performing local businesses and the integration of back-office functions across the Group, helping advance Ranger’s ambition to build a national fire and security platform.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand: If you light a fire, you are responsible for it

by Breaking NewsCommunicationsWildland Fire

Landowners whose unattended burn piles caused a string of vegetation fires across the district of Canterbury in New Zealand last Saturday are being visited by Fire and Emergency New Zealand to ensure they understand their responsibilities for land management fires.

District Commander Dave Stackhouse said that 11 fires escaped and spread quickly in the severe nor-westerly winds. As a result, almost all the district’s firefighters were stretched to levels normally only seen in mid-summer.

“I am very disappointed at the number of fires that had been left unattended,” Stackhouse said. “If it hadn’t rained later on Saturday, we would have been calling on brigades from other districts to assist.”

While Canterbury is currently in an open fire season, meaning permits are not required for outdoor fires, landowners are always responsible for the fires that they light on their properties. The same applies to forestry managers.

Under Section 60 of the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, it is an offence to cause or allow a fire to get out of control and to spread to vegetation or property. The penalties for individuals include a fine of up to $300,000 and up to two years imprisonment.

The message was very simple, Commander Stackhouse said: if you light a fire, you are responsible for it.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand says that fires must not be left unattended and must be completely extinguished, not left to smoulder. When strong winds are forecast, anyone who has lit a fire should be checking for hotspots that could be reignited.

There is extensive advice at www.checkitsalright.nz.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand adds that vegetation across Canterbury is already unusually dry for this time of year, and the outlook suggests a very high risk of wildfire in spring and summer because of the predicted El Nino weather pattern.

Protective coating Interchar 1150 launched by International

by Breaking NewsConstructionProducts

International, AkzoNobel’s protective coatings brand, has launched Interchar 1150, for on-site structural steel application.

“Interchar 1150 is the latest waterborne intumescent passive fire protection from International,” said Ian Fletcher, Senior Product Manager at AkzoNobel. “The formulation has been optimised to deliver very low loadings, particularly for 4-sided beams and columns.

“Combined with faster dry times, it means structural steel coatings can be delivered much more quickly and at a lower cost, as well as delivering high standards of fire protection.” 

Interchar 1150 has been tested to EN13381-8:2013, and has a C-s1,d0 rating for fire reaction in accordance with EN13501-1:2018. It also has third-party certification from ITeC in Spain and holds both European Technical Assessment ETA 26/0098 and the CE Mark. 

Interchar 1150 is fully compatible with a range of International primers and topcoats, enabling it to fit into existing specification frameworks without any additional complexity, per the company’s release.

Sunwoda launches 588Ah energy storage platform at ees Europe 2026

by Breaking NewsProductsSafety

Sunwoda has launched a next-generation energy storage system (ESS) platform based on its 588Ah lithium iron phosphate cell technology at ees Europe 2026 in Munich, Germany, alongside new fire safety and European compliance milestones.

The energy storage provider used the event to showcase products spanning battery cells from 72Ah to 684Ah, as well as utility-scale and commercial and industrial energy storage solutions. Its newly announced 588Ah-based portfolio includes a 20-foot 6.26MWh liquid-cooled battery energy storage system (BESS), a 10-foot 3.13MWh liquid-cooled BESS and a 10-foot 3.13MWh all-in-one liquid-cooled ESS.

According to the company, the flagship 6.26MWh BESS offers a 24.8% increase in volumetric energy density, a 17% reduction in station footprint and a 40% reduction in total system components compared with its previous generation.

Sunwoda said the platform uses a multi-layer safety architecture and hierarchical electrical protection design intended to improve fault isolation and system stability. The system also combines liquid cooling with coordinated airflow to support even thermal distribution, while a cluster-level battery management system provides active balancing.

The platform supports centralized and string power conversion system configurations and is compatible with two-hour and four-hour applications. Sunwoda said this is designed to allow flexible deployment across a range of utility-scale energy storage projects. The 10-foot 3.13MWh BESS is aimed at projects with more complex transportation, installation or site-layout needs, while the all-in-one ESS integrates factory-preconfigured AC/DC architectures to reduce on-site integration work and speed up installation and commissioning.

Fire safety and compliance

At the event, Sunwoda also received certificates from CSA Group confirming that its 5MWh BESS platform had completed large-scale fire testing in accordance with ANSI/CAN/UL 9540A:2026 and had been evaluated against CSA/ANSI C800:2025 requirements.

The testing is intended to validate system-level safety performance in high-capacity battery energy storage applications, a key concern for developers, insurers, authorities having jurisdiction and fire safety professionals as grid-scale storage projects grow in size and density.

EU battery regulation readiness

Sunwoda’s 261kWh ESS series has also received certification from TÜV Rheinland under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, confirming compliance with requirements covering battery lifecycle management, material traceability and digital battery passport readiness. The company said these regulatory validations are being extended across its wider portfolio as it strengthens its European localization framework and after-sales technical support capabilities.