NFCC issues precautions as 70 UK wildfires breakout in 2022

by Featured NewsFire SuppressionProductsSafety

Following more than 25 wildfires last weekend alone, the National Fire Chiefs Council is urging the public to take additional precautions. And there is now a large-scale wildfire in Devon and Somerset which has ten fire appliances in attendance, with alerts out for similar fires in both South Wales and Lancashire.

In additon, a six hectare wildfire in East Sussex has also been reported earlier this week. To date in 2022, there have already been more than 70 significant wildfires across England and Wales – showing how serious the issue is this early into the year.

Over the last weekend, firefighters tackled wildfires which broke out in Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria and areas of the Pennines, with incidents in Derbyshire, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and Lancashire. With the additional incidents reported today, firefighters across the UK will be battling these over the coming days.

According to NFCC, the dry weather conditions the UK is currently experiencing – combined with strong winds and dead vegetation which has built up over the winter can lead to spate conditions for such fires – and makes fighting and controlling wildfires incredibly difficult.

Wildfires often result in sustained and prolonged operations by UK fire & rescue services and other partner agencies.

Often, firefighters from across the country will be deployed to deal with just one in a different part of the country, depending on its severity. This includes specialist equipment, tools and vehicles, as well as national tactical advisers to give expert help and assistance on how to tackle them.

As the weather improves and temperatures rise, NFCC is calling on the public to ensure they are not putting our green spaces and natural habitat at risk. While encouraging people to enjoy the countryside, simple measures can help prevent wildfires.

Fire chiefs and fire services across the UK are urging the public to enjoy the countryside responsibly; asking them not to have barbeques or campfires and to ensure cigarettes are fully extinguished before disposing of them.

Paul Hedley, NFCC’s wildfire lead points out: “We have seen over 20 wildfires in just one weekend; these can take hold incredibly quickly, destroying land and habitats, while impacting on local communities. They also create one of the most challenging incidents for firefighters as they not only battle with the fire itself, but also the weather conditions.

“We want the public to enjoy our wonderful green spaces, but the use of portable barbecues and campfires can be catastrophic for our countryside. Even a poorly discarded cigarette or a glass bottle can spark a wildfire, leading to a major incident.”

FIA commends UK’s efforts towards Ukraine fire fighters

by Breaking NewsPPEProductsSafetyThermal ImagingVehicles

The Fire Industry Association (FIA) has lauded the efforts of UK’s fire industry in its efforts to assist firefighters in Ukraine.

The FIA CEO Ian Moore said it has been an “honour and a humbling experience”. As he lauded members for contributing not just equipment but other resources as well.

“The whole of the fire industry has come together to support the UK deployment of aid through Fire Aid, our charity partner,” Moore said in an official statement on the FIA’s website.

“It has been both an honour and humbling experience to be part of a truly collaborative humanitarian response from the UK.  We are incredibly proud of our sector for their determined and unified effort to help the fire fighters of Ukraine,” he added.

Fire Aid and International Development (Fire Aid), along with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) are coordinating donations of more than 5,000 items of fire and rescue equipment and PPE which will be sent in convoy to Ukraine.  

Eighteen fire engines, thermal imaging cameras for finding victims, generators, lighting, hoses, rescue equipment, and thousands of sets of PPE are among the items being donated. Every fire service across the UK has stepped in to support these efforts.

Moore said: “Our members have donated time, money, and equipment to supporting the UK Fire Sector Humanitarian response, but most of all they have stood shoulder to shoulder, working alongside all of the great organisations, as a team with a clear objective: to help the fire fighters of Ukraine. We are all united in our desire to do this.”

ERSI USA finds dangers of emergency warning lights on drivers

by Featured NewsLightingProductsSafety

A new research study from US body, the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI), investigated the impact of lighting colour, intensity, modulation, and flash rate on driver behaviour while approaching and passing a traffic incident scene at night.

The report is titled “Effects of Emergency Vehicle Lighting Characteristics on Driver Perception and Behavior: Study Report.” The impact of retroreflective chevron markings in combination with emergency lighting configurations, as well as the measurement of “moth-to-flame” effects of emergency lighting on drivers was also investigated.

The research was conducted by Dr. John D. Bullogh (formerly with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and currently with the Light and Health Research Center in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai) and Dr. Scott Parr of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in partnership with ERSI.

Under different emergency lighting setups volunteer civilians drove a closed course traffic incident scene at night consisting of a simulated fire apparatus in center-block position with a cone taper.

Two SAE-compliant, commercially available blue, white, yellow, and red lights were mounted vertically on two tripods spaced apart at a distance approximating the left and right edge of the rear of a fire truck.

A silhouette cutout of a firefighter wearing a high visibility safety vest was positioned adjacent to the lights. For some of the tests, researchers placed a panel of retroreflective red/yellow chevrons constructed with ASTM Type V sheeting materials directly behind each flashing light tripod.

The researchers tested 14 combinations of lamp colour, lamp intensity, pattern, flash rate, and presence of reflective markings next to the lights. Researchers measured vehicle distance to the lights and the distance at which drivers could distinguish the silhouette of a firefighter. They also administered a survey after the driver completed the course. Twenty drivers completed the testing.

Intensity
Study participants consistently judged higher intensity lights as more glaring but only marginally more visible than lights of lower intensity. Lower intensity lights remained highly visible. Using lower intensities at night will reduce discomfort glare without reducing the lights’ visibility. This finding indicates that stationary vehicles in nighttime blocking mode should be sufficiently visible with lower intensity lights.

Color
Drivers’ rated visibility of lights appeared to be related to the perceived saturation of their color. Blue and red lights have the greatest perceived saturation and were judged to be brighter than white and yellow lights of the same intensity. Blue and white lights were rated as most glaring. Yellow and red lights were least glaring. This data suggests that red lights for stationary blocking operations may offer the best combination of better visibility with less glare.

“Moth to Flame”
None of the variables tested caused drivers to move their vehicles either toward or away from the lights. Therefore, the data in this test did not support or disprove the “moth to flame” effect.

High Visibility Markings
This study raises the possibility that combining high intensity lights with high visibility markings may make it more difficult for drivers to see responders on foot at night, even when the responders wear high visibility vests. Further research is planned to determine if lower grade retroreflective markings will help improve the conspicuity of emergency personnel operating near emergency vehicles and traffic.

This study was produced under a contract between the U.S. Fire Administration and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association’s Emergency Responder Safety Institute, which subcontracted with the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to perform the research.

London fire: How Europe’s longest ladder and a fire escape hood helped

by Featured NewsFirefighting EquipmentPPEProductsSafety

More than 125 firefighters locked horns with a blaze in East London as they successfully evacuated 60 people were from a tower block as a large fire broke out.

A fire broke out in the tower block of flats and offices on Whitechapel High Street in Aldgate East on Monday afternoon with large flames could be seen fanning out of the 17th floor of the building. Dramatic footage from onlookers showed falling burning had fallen to the ground.

In its aid firefighters deployed a 64m (210ft) ladder, which is being touted as Europe’s largest. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said a woman had to be given ‘fire survival advice’ until firefighters got to her as she was trapped on the 17th floor.

Chris Jenner, station commander, told the BBC: “Fire crews used a fire escape hood to help lead the woman to safety via the internal staircase.”

A fire escape hood offers up to 15 minutes protection from fire gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein. They do not provide oxygen but temporarily filter toxic smoke to make breathing easier, LFB said.

London Ambulance Service said two patients were taken to hospital while two others were checked over at the scene.

APS: ‘Safety up front’ paramount for Building Safety Bill

by Featured NewsSafety

The Association for Project Safety (APS) has proposed several suggestions for improvements to the proposed legislation for residents, other users, Government, and the construction industry.

The APS wants to see ‘safety up front’ with building safety made an explicit requirement in the Building Safety Bill. There’s also a desire to deliver government-backed professional indemnity insurance and clarify the principal designer roles.

Jonathan Moulam, president, APS said: “As it stands, the Building Safety Bill represents something of a wasted opportunity when it comes to making the built environment safer for everyone. The concentration on structural fire risk replays a disaster that should never have happened without looking ahead to how safety can be improved more generally.

“In its current state, the Building Safety Bill creates dangers of its own and is likely to make homes less affordable, while also pushing small firms out of business. Potential costs could make the existing skills crisis worse.”

According to the APS, if the management of building safety risk was to be made an explicit requirement of the Building Safety Bill, this would ensure residents will not be forced to bear the costs of managing building safety risks that could have been avoided, or otherwise reduced, during design or building works.

The APS believes this change would make a ‘second Grenfell Tower Tragedy’ less likely by removing any possible confusion over responsibility. Products would be cheaper as safety would be fully costed from the outset and residents would be financially better off.

The current version of the Building Safety Bill would allow developers to choose and install fire alarm systems and emergency lighting that may be inherently less safe and require physical testing with all the implicated costs, as well as all of the associated risks (such as tests not being done) rather than deploying self-testing systems that can be remotely monitored. Only the minimum requirements would be met, and residents would face hidden costs.

London fire: Major blaze hits 22-storey tower block

by ActiveFeatured NewsSafety

A large fire broke out on Monday afternoon, in East London on the 17th floor of a block of flats. London’s fire service said it sent 15 engines and 125 firefighters to the high-rise at Whitechapel High Street.

Eye-witnesses described large panels of glass falling hundreds of metres to the ground and smoke bellowing out of the windows. Three commercial units underneath the railway arches were completely alight, and four cars and a telephone box were also on fire.

At one point, flames began to spread to a balcony on the 18th floor before fire crews put them out. Fire could later be seen through a window on the 19th floor.

A resident in the 10th floor of the building, who was visiting her friend from Nottingham, said no alarms went off. The fire severely disturbed several victims who were in the building. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in “close contact” with London Fire Brigade’s commissioner Andy Roe, Sky News reported.

According to property developer Hondo Enterprises, which sold the building in 2018, it is a 22-storey mixed use development consisting of more than 7,000 square feet of retail area, 97,000 square feet of commercial office space and 207 residential apartments.

It is located over Aldgate East Tube station between the City, the financial heart of London, and neighbourhoods Aldgate and Spitalfields.

UK releases provisional ozone depleting substances common framework

by Featured NewsFire SuppressionFirefighting EquipmentProductsSafety

The Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) and Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-gases) UK Common Framework has been published in a provisional form on GOV.UK. The framework is accessible here.

This command paper sets out how the UK government and devolved governments propose to work together on the regulation of substances that deplete the ozone layer and fluorinated greenhouse gases.

The provisional Common Framework has received ministerial approval from all four governments. It was laid in the UK Parliament to enable parliamentary scrutiny to begin.

Traditionally, fire extinguishers have utilised halogens (CFCs). They also harm aquatic systems and contaminate water supplies along with the ozone layer.

Experts have long professed the use of pyrocool, which is a nontoxic, biodegradable, fire-extinguishing, and cooling agent. It’s said to replace the traditional extinguishers, and is just as effective in putting out fires, does not deplete the ozone layer, or persist in the environment, unlike CFCs.

Climate change to impact extreme wildfires by up to 50%

by Featured NewsFire DetectionIndustry SectorsPeopleProductsSafetyUncategorized

The UN has warned that forest wildfires can increase by almost double by 2100 due to global warming and impacts of climate change.

A report by the UN pointed out that regions that were previously not affected by fires, such as the Artic, are at an elevated risk due to climate change.

UN Environment Programme (UNEP) scientists have evidence that certain fires that burn for weeks are already becoming hotter and burning longer where wildfires are a regular occurrence. However, they are now beginning to flare up in remote northern areas, in drying peatlands and on thawing permafrost.

This study has also revealed that extreme fires could jump up to 14% by 2030, compared to the number recorded in 2010-2020. The increase could reach 30% by 2050 and 50% by the end of the century.

Dr Andrew Sullivan from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Canberra, Australia said: “The analysis was based on the definition of a catastrophic fire being one that would occur once every 100 years, so it’s a very low frequency fire event. The result was that the potential for that sort of fire would increase by a factor of 1.3 to 1.5 times, based on global analysis of fire frequency.”

The study calls for a radical reallocation of financial resources from fighting fires to prevention.

Even though these figures are projections on extreme events, scientists believe that lesser incidents of wildfire will increase as land use changes and populations increases across the world. This could have significant implications for climate change as the extra burning will increase the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.

The authors are calling on governments to change their model of spending on large fires. It is estimated that planning and prevention receives less than 1% of funding while firefighting takes over half of the available budget.

Euralarm releases guidance on integrated fire protection for batteries

by Featured NewsIndustry SectorsProductsSafetyTransportVehicles

The Extinguishing Section of Euralarm has published a guidance document on integrated fire protection solutions for lithium-ion batteries. This new guideline provides information on the issues related to the use of lithium-ion batteries, how fires start in batteries and on how they may be detected, controlled, suppressed, and extinguished. It also provides guidance on post fire management. Excluded from the scope are explosion and ventilation issues.

Lithium-Ion batteries have become the battery technology of choice in a variety of areas, including amongst others, power generation, communications, industrial, vehicles and many other applications. Active control of the energy being stored and extracted from lithium-ion batteries has been the foundation of their increasing popularity. The relatively low frequency of major incidents is testament to the effort and successful design applied to the critical aspect of using such high-density energy products. However, active control of the battery energy is not sufficient to prevent safety-critical situations and multiple levels of defence are needed to minimize the serious consequences of a failure in a lithium-ion battery.

The increasing number of lithium-ion batteries and an increasing amount of stored energy in different energy storage applications present a new type of fire hazard where fire protection is challenging. Key issues in any fire protection system are the selection of the most appropriate agent for the specific hazard, system layout, the correct discharge of the extinguishing agent, as well as correct installation, the use of approved systems and constant maintenance by appropriately trained staff.

The guidance document ‘Integrated fire protection solutions for lithium-ion batteries’ is intended as guidance for all professionals dealing with fire safety, fire protection, extinguishing and fire suppression in connection with the use, storage or transport of lithium-ion batteries and their fire risks. Aspects of consumers products are not covered in this guidance.

The document is intended as general guidance and is not a substitute for detailed advice in specific circumstances. It represents the current understanding of the industry and will be updated as more information becomes available.