Posts in category: Events

A fire that broke out at a block of flats in Vauxhall required 60 firefighters in attendance to tackle the blaze.

A spokesperson for LFB said: “Around 60 firefighters and eight fire engines were called to a fire within a block of flats on Hebden Place in Lambeth.

“Firefighters tackled a fire within an electrical intake room in a communal area on the fourth floor of a ten-storey block of flats. The fire caused heavy smoke to spread into the floors above.

“Two people were assisted out of the building by firefighters, one suffered a panic attack while the second was suffering from smoke inhalation, both were treated at the scene by firefighters.

“The brigade was called at 7.36pm and the fire was under control at 9.42pm. Fire crews from Brixton, Battersea, Peckham, Soho, Clapham and Lambeth fire stations attended the scene. The cause of the fire is under investigation.”

The 2020 Security & Fire Excellence Awards looked a little different this year, taking place virtually for the first time due to the ongoing pandemic.

The awards continue to be supported by IFSEC International and FIREX International as well as headline sponsors First Response Group and Aico. Other VIP event sponsors included Amulet, CircleFM, HID Global and VPS and platinum sponsors Ajax Systems, CornerStone Cyber & Risk Consultancy, ICTS UK & Ireland, Security & Safety Things, SSGC and The Security Commonwealth.

The virtual awards kicked off with the industry’s karaoke rendition of Wonderwall by Oasis before host, Stephen Mulhern, announced the 2020 winners, ably supported by winning stings from Rockaoke. 

Security & Fire Award winners

Split into Company, People, Vendors and Fire category groups, the 2020 winners included:

Adept Corporate Services; Axis Communications; Axis Security Services; BSIA with CySPAG; CornerStone; CriticalArc SafeZone Customer Success Programme; FGH Security and Delivery to the HMS Prince of Wales and Glastonbury; Gallagher; HawkSight SRM with HawkSight Software Virtual Global Security Operations Centre; Hikvision with MinMoe Touch-Free Face Recognition Terminals; Hörmann with OktaBlock Mobile Vehicle Blocker; SecuriGroup; Southampton City Council with Safer Living in Southampton; SSGC, Serco & The Yorkshire Regiment Association. STM Group (UK) with Making a Difference and Teesside University Security Team.

A highly competitive Security Manger of the Year category was deservedly won by Tracey Edwards, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust.

And, introduced for the first time in recognition of companies going above and beyond during the pandemic, standing out from the crowd of brilliant submissions, Lockdown Hero of the Year was Mitie Security.

Full list of Finalists:  https://www.securityandfireawards.com/enter/finalists-2020

Full list of Winners:  https://www.securityandfireawards.com/winners-2020

Four people have died following an explosion at a waste water works in Bristol. Three of those are reported to have worked for the firm.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service said they were called to reports of the blast on Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth, and have been joined at the scene by Avon and Somerset Police officers and South West Ambulance Service medics.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service Area Manager Matt Peskett said: “We were called at 11.22am to reports of a large explosion on Kings Weston Lane, Avonmouth.  

“Crews from Avonmouth, Southmead, Yate, Patchway, Hicks Gate, Kingswood, Weston-super-Mare and Temple were mobilised and attended the incident.

“We were joined at the scene by our police and ambulance colleagues and have now handed over the incident to the police and continue to support our multi-agency partners.

A full investigation into the incident will be conducted.

The dates for INTERSCHUTZ have been changed, with the event now taking place from 20 to 25 June 2022. The decision to reschedule the world’s leading trade fair fire, rescue, civil protection and safety/security was taken by Deutsche Messe after a process of thorough deliberation and intensive discussion with key market players.

In a context that has affected numerous other trade fairs and events, the move was driven by the latest developments in the global status of the COVID 19 pandemic.

“Flagship trade fairs like INTERSCHUTZ have a long-range planning horizon and require a lead time of several months. In addition, the industries that participate at INTERSCHUTZ, either as exhibitors or visitors, are among the people most heavily involved in dealing with the current pandemic across the globe,” comments Dr. Andreas Gruchow, Member of the Deutsche Messe Managing Board.

Delaying INTERSCHUTZ “a difficult decision”

“INTERSCHUTZ takes place every five years. The community of people involved in fire and rescue services as well as civil protection has been eagerly awaiting the next edition of the event.

“Against this background, the decision to reschedule was a difficult one. But a series of intensive discussions with our partners and exhibitors as well as representatives of key visitor target groups made clear to us that this move was unavoidable.

“A staging of the event in the summer of 2022 has been welcomed by all stakeholders. This is the only way we can offer everyone the necessary planning security for their trade fair appearance.

“A flagship fair like this one thrives on a large number of international visitors and, in particular, face-to-face encounters. Based on the current international travel restrictions, our clients would not be able to adequately prepare for such a major, globally significant trade fair,” Gruchow concludes.

“The auspices for INTERSCHUTZ have been excellent for a long time,” adds Martin Folkerts, Global Director of INTERSCHUTZ at Deutsche Messe, continuing: “We had already signed up a record number of exhibitors for the originally planned edition of the event in June 2020.

“We are confident our exhibitors will now join us in organizing 2022, which will be staged for the first time as a hybrid event. The pandemic has made us all aware of the importance of the fire department, rescue services and civil protection.

“In addition, we expect significant increases in investment in these sectors all over the world, which will present the ideal conditions for our marketplace. More than any other event, INTERSCHUTZ thrives on personal contact and direct networking. It is the platform for the worldwide community.”

“The manufacturers of fire fighting technology within the VDMA expressly welcome the postponement of INTERSCHUTZ to 2022. For us, INTERSCHUTZ is the most important international trade fair for the industry.

“Our expectation is that it will seamlessly follow on from the great success of 2015. We are certain that the conditions will be in place in 2022. Our highly innovative industry will have numerous exciting new products in its program by then.

“Our German and international visitors will make INTERSCHUTZ 2022 the big live event of the year as we know it,” said Dr. Bernd Scherer, Executive management member of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) and Managing Director VDMA Fire Fighting Equipment, commenting on the new date of INTERSCHUTZ in June 2022.

Dirk Aschenbrenner, President of the German Fire Protection Association (vfdb), also welcomes the decision to postpone INTERSCHUTZ until 2022: “Our emergency services are and will continue to be extremely busy in the coming months.

“As we know, INTERSCHUTZ is always a welcome opportunity for thousands of them to obtain information, exchange experiences and network. None of this would be possible at present in this tense situation. However, without the many visitors, including those from the non-material world, INTERSCHUTZ would not be what it has always been.

“Exhibitors also appreciate the direct contact with those who ultimately use their products and services. The industry needs this exchange between suppliers and users”.

Dieter Siegel, CEO of Rosenbauer International AG, welcomes the new date for INTERSCHUTZ in the summer of 2022: “Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis still has a firm grip on all of us and does not yet allow us to hold trade fairs and major events safely at the present time.

“However, the safety and health of people is of course our top priority as a system provider in firefighting and disaster protection. We are therefore in favor of postponing INTERSCHUTZ until 2022, because we all want nothing more than an INTERSCHUTZ as we know it: an unforgettable trade show experience and a meeting place for fire departments from all over the world, without compromising on the safety of our customers, visitors and guests”.

The next INTERSCHUTZ will take place from 20 to 25 June 2022 at the Hannover Exhibition Grounds.

The detailed statements of exhibitors and partners can be found here .

Crowd management has been a long-standing life safety challenge for both fire-related and non-fire emergencies in assembly occupancies. The lack of data-informed situational awareness to identify rapid changes in crowd density, movement, and other behaviors presents challenges to crowd managers.

Although tramplings, crowd crushes, and other disasters lead to civilian deaths every year, modern technologies can enhance existing crowd management strategies.

On November 12, 2020, the Fire Protection Research Foundation hosted a webinar that presented a proof-of-concept tool for data-informed crowd management and decision support, highlighting the collection, analysis, visualisation, and reporting of crowd movement to inform near real-time crowd management strategies.

This research effort funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce and a National Institute of Standards and Technology Fire Grant is being led by the Fire Protection Research Foundation in collaboration with the National Fire Protection Association.

The full recording of this webinar is available here. Visit www.nfpa.org/webinars for more upcoming NFPA and FPRF webinars and archives.

Sector standard specialists BSI are hosting a virtual event on Fire and the Built Environment. The event will run on the 3rd of December from 8:30-17:00.

There will be several key speakers from the sector attending including Ian Moore , CEO of Fire Industry Association, Aman Sharma GIFireE CFPA-E Dip , Managing Director of Totus Digital and CEO of ASFP, Niall Rowan.

What is Fire and the Built Environment about?

This one-day free virtual event looks at the rapidly growing fire safety market and answers key questions around what’s changing, the likely impacts, emerging trends, and how knowledge can be shared between the fire and construction sectors to help meet the new challenges.

Who is Fire and the Built Environment for?

The event is designed for a broad range of people including those with direct responsibility for fire safety in their organization, those who need to keep others informed of changes, and those using standards in their day-to-day work. Attendees will be:

Fire engineers and consultants

Fire and safety officers

Managing consultants

Principal fire surveyors

H&S managers

Fire safety advisors and other fire safety professionals

Government and local councils

Building managers and landlords

Contractors and construction professionals

Architects

Facilities management professionals

Safety and security experts

Equipment buyers

House builders and housing associations

Why should you attend Fire and the Built Environment?

This is the premier fire safety event on standards. It attracts a unique gathering of standards-makers, standards-users and regulators, and generates a level of discussion and detail on forthcoming standards which is not found elsewhere.

The event aims to give attendees greater knowledge about standards and the role they play, while giving them the opportunity to speak directly to major industry players, ask questions and gain better insights.

The event will answer the following key questions:

What’s changed and what will continue to change?

What does industry need to know about those changes and what will the impact be?

What are the current and emerging trends in the sector and how are standards helping to meet those trends?

How can knowledge be shared between the fire and construction sectors to help meet new challenges?

Click here to register

Telgian fire protection expert Ralph Bless, P.E., SET, CFPS will present an all-new Fire Smarts “NFPA 13: 2022 Edition Revisions” webinar on December 10, 2020 from 2:00pm-3:30pm Eastern (including Q&A time).

“NFPA 13 ‘Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems’ has major revisions coming in the 2022 edition,” says Bless.  “This course covers these major revisions that represent the best practices for the design and installation of fire sprinkler systems.”

Bless has more than 38 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.

He is licensed as a Professional Engineer in six states, is a Level IV NICET senior fire sprinkler layout technician and holds several state and national certifications including that of Certified Fire Protection Specialist.

His webinar will examine the 2022 edition of NFPA 13, which includes revisions related to the use of inert gas with dry pipe sprinkler systems to control corrosions, the elimination of area/density curves and the incorporation of single-point densities for new sprinkler systems protecting storage commodities, and new requirements for the protection of multiple-rack storage configurations.

His presentation will also address some proposed revisions that were not accepted by the technical committees to help participants understand the thinking and intent behind the revisions that were accepted.

Upon completion of the “NFPA 13: 2022 Edition Revisions” webinar, participants will be able to describe the difference between codes and standards, explain the process for revising codes and standards, identify and locate the major revisions incorporated with the 2022 edition of NFPA 13 and understand the reasoning used by the committee in accepting or rejecting proposed revisions

This webinar complies with ICC CEU requirements for ICC approved training courses. These can be used as supporting documentation for CPD points, which are required for NICET certification.

In addition, certificates of completion for the Fire Protection for High Rise Buildings webinar can be used as supporting documentation for credit hours required for re-certification as part of the UCC program, as well as for Texas Commission on Fire Protection certifications.

To learn more and register for the “NFPA 13 2022 Edition Revisions” webinar, please visit Fire Smarts.

Fire protection, life safety and security industry leader Telgian have announced the recipients of the company’s annual Top Gun Awards. The winner for the Telgian Fire Safety business unit was Steve Goyette, Vice President of Business Development.

“While I’m thankful to have won Telgian’s Top Gun award, it is not possible to accomplish without the fantastic efforts put forth by the colleagues I work with in our Sales group and the thorough and dedicated personnel on the Operations side,” says Goyette. “They are the ones delivering for our customers every day, and it takes a team effort for Telgian to be successful overall.” 

Although the Top Gun Awards recognize top performing company sales for the year, “Steve Goyette does not just “make sales,” explains Telgian Executive Chairman Russell Leavitt. “He does it the right way — with integrity and honor.”

Goyette, currently the Vice President of Business Development for Telgian Fire Safety, has over 30 years of experience in fire protection design and consulting for numerous industries.  He is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS), as well as Level III NICET certified in Automatic Sprinkler System Layout.

The Emergency Services Show 2021 will return to its traditional September slot next year at the NEC, Birmingham. It was orginally due to take place in April.

The event will run alongside the Fire Safety Event, Security Event as well as the Health and Safety installment.

Free-to-attend, The Emergency Services Show features more than 450 exhibiting companies including leading names in search and rescue, extrication, training, protective clothing and uniforms, medical equipment, vehicles and fleet, vehicle equipment, outsourcing and safety.

New technology on display will include connected vehicles that serve as mobile communications hubs, satellite communications, ruggedised mobile computers, tablets and phones, data, cloud storage, wearable tech, connectivity, UAVs/drones, hybrid and electric vehicles, body-worn cameras and other video capture systems.

Among more than 50 organisations exhibiting for the first time in 2021 are Linkwave Technologies, Bullitt Group, Halo Technologies and BiTEA.

With COVID limiting opportunities for face-to-face training, Virtual Reality technology is also set to feature strongly, as is the use of other online technologies like Zoom and Microsoft Teams for training.

Enabling ICT applications being showcased include control room systems, data management, mobile apps for emergency service and public use and the multiple technologies now being used to speed and aid collaboration.

The Emergency Services Show 2021 will for the first time be co-located with The Fire Safety Event, The Health & Safety Event, The Security Event & The Facilities Event, creating the UK’s largest event dedicated to the protection of people, places and assets.

The Emergency Services Show is working closely with the NEC to ensure visitors enjoy a safe and secure visit, in line with the event industry’s All Secure Standard risk-assessment-based framework of COVID-19 secure industry best practice and guidance.

The NEC Venue Protect programme has put in place comprehensive social distancing measures and enhanced cleaning and sanitisation and supports testing and tracing.

To minimise contact and ensure smooth and efficient entry flows, all visitors are required to register in advance for free entry and free parking at: www.emergencyuk.com

Telgian’s Tom Parrish, SET, CFPS, PSP will present the “Maintaining Fire Protection Systems in Buildings Post-COVID” webinar on December 8, 2020 12:30 pm CST. This webinar is one of a six-part series on fire safety hosted by the Academic Facility Council, which is part of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA). The Academic Facilities Council offers facility managers and space planners essential resources to help them conquer the many unique challenges encountered each day while managing facilities, such as maintaining fire protection systems in buildings post-COVID.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards and state-adopted fire codes require periodic inspections and testing to ensure systems will operate if required. During this webinar, Parrish will present an overview of the importance of maintaining code compliance regarding life safety systems, even during a pandemic. In this session, he will introduce alternative scheduling that may help facilities maintain compliance.

In addition, Parrish will address utilization of facility personnel while conducting tests and inspection activities. The presentation will also cover some of the key points of communications that are required to ensure smooth transitions as facilities endure a variety of different changes.

As a 25+ year veteran fire protection presenter, Parrish is uniquely qualified to conduct the “Maintaining Fire Protection Systems in Buildings Post-COVID” webinar. In addition to his role at Vice President of fire protection, life safety and security industry firm Telgian, Parrish is also the current Fire Marshal for Putnam Township Michigan.

Parrish also serves on several National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) technical committees including NFPA 72 Signaling Systems for the Protection of Life and Property and Emergency Communications Systems. And, he is the Vice President of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA), the foremost industry advocate organization dedicated to improving the quality, reliability and value of fire and life safety systems.

His professional credentials include Level IV NICET Certified Fire Alarm Technician, Level III NICET Inspections and Testing, Certified Fire Protection Specialist and Master Electrician.

To review other webinars in the series such as “Ever-Changing Sprinkler and Suppression Technologies and Codes,” “Investment Protection – Costs, Corrosion, and Life Expectancy,” and “Remote Access and Automation in Fire Protection Systems” or to register for the “Maintaining Fire Protection Systems in Buildings Post-COVID” webinar, please visit IFMA.