Quelfire has further expanded its team with the addition of Rebecca Croton as Content Marketing Executive.
Commenting on her new position, Cronton said: “I have always had a passion for writing and creating content, I studied English and Journalism at university, so I knew it was going to be something I would enjoy. It is great to see how passionate everyone is at Quelfire, it is a fun yet professional atmosphere.
“I have never worked in the passive fire protection industry before, but I feel like I have learnt so much already. Even when you think you are not learning, you are! There has been a lot to take on board, but it has been very interesting as it is relevant to every single one of us. Particularly, I have enjoyed spending time with each member of ‘Team Orange’ to learn about their roles, how they play a part in fire safety and how I can assist them with future content.
“During my first two days, I jumped into fire safety headfirst, at The Fire Safety Event. It was a great opportunity to learn from my colleagues and meet specialists in the industry, to hear about their typical challenges.”
Welcoming Rebecca, Quelfire’s Marketing Manager Timea Popovics said: “As a result of increased scrutiny over the accuracy of construction product information and requests from customers for more regular updates on new tested details, we were keen to focus more on content. We believe that it will be critical in building and maintaining connections and engagement with customers and other partners.
“Rebecca will play a key role in keeping information about our solutions up-to-date and ensure it reaches our customers and all parties involved in firestopping. We are delighted to welcome Rebecca to Quelfire’s ‘Team Orange’ and look forward to encouraging her in the development of this important new role.”
Underwriters Laboratories (UL) have introduced challenging new requirements for smoke detectors. Apollo have responded by building the most solid, stable, and dependable fire detector yet based on our decades of experience and innovation in fire detection.
The Challenge
We know that one of the biggest challenges our customers face is false alarms. UL know this too, and through research conducted by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have introduced new requirements on smoke detector manufacturers, like us, to reduce the risk of false alarms. At the same time, UL have responded to the evolution of construction methods and materials that can change how fire behaves in a building. This has led to the introduction of a new fire test that requires faster and earlier detection of flaming fires than ever before.
Solution
We like to get the basics right. To Apollo this starts with the performance characteristics of the smoke sensors.
An optical smoke sensor must be protected from stray light, dust, and insects. These roles are all fulfilled by the enclosure, which we call the optical chamber. Whilst blocking these potential nuisances, the chamber must freely admit smoke allowing it to be measured by the optical sensor. A surprising amount of fluid-dynamics know-how is required to achieve this; since smoke from a fire tends to move relatively slowly with little energy to push it along. This has led to the unique chamber design of Soteria UL that collects smoke form the outer edges of the detector, removing any impediment to airflow, and achieving a particularly fast detection of fires without airflow delays.
Smouldering fires, in particular, tend to generate vast amounts of smoke, but due to the lack of heat in the fire, that smoke doesn’t have the energy to reach the optical chamber; and this problem worsens when the stack effect is introduced. Stack effect is when tiny pressure differentials, between ceiling cavity and a room, cause clean air from the ceiling to be forced through a detector and out of the smoke inlet, preventing smoke from a room fire entering the detector.
Soteria UL overcomes this issue through its patented vent design. These vents allow pressure differentials to be exhausted through a carefully positioned hole in the lid, so that is does not impede the flow of smoke into the smoke inlet or deeper into the optical chamber. Further, the vents allow any condensation that may occur in the cavity behind the detector, or in cable conduits, to escape without harm.
The drains, highlighted in blue, allow water and air to pass from the rear of the detector without affecting the smoke entry paths.
An often-overlooked characteristic of smoke sensors is their ability to operate uniformly no matter which direction the smoke is coming from. UL test detectors for this parameter in four different orientations and allows a variation of +/-50%. To ensure the most stable operation, we exceed this requirement and measure our detector at 360 orientations and achieve a variation of less than 10%/ft.
Why should a user care that Soteria UL’s directionality is so good? Well, if we had just one angle that was less receptive than others, then we would be forced to increase the overall sensitivity of the detector to ensure it can detect fire when tested in the poor orientation. By avoiding this pitfall, we can offer a detector with a perfectly balanced sensitivity.
Once smoke gets into the chamber, then it’s the job of the optical sensor to measure it, whilst discounting false readings from any foreign materials. The optical sensor consists of an industrially rated InfraRed (IR) light source. When smoke is present, light is scattered onto the light sensor. This sensor is a highly integrated Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), custom to Apollo, that combines the light sensitive element and electronic amplification.
Smoke is an aerosol – a mixture of air and tiny smoke particles. Because these tiny particles are similar in size to the wavelength of IR light, then they send that light scattering off in many directions via a quantum mechanical process that is described by Mie theory. Smoke from fires have precise characteristics; for example, it tends to scatter most light in the forward direction, rather than ‘reflecting’ it backwards.
We use this knowledge in the design of our optics, positioning the smoke sensor so it is more sensitive to the angles of scattering smoke, than the pattern of aerosols produced by cooking, for example. This is achieved with our unique patented optical sensor design.
The next nuisance that might trick our sensor is dust and insects. Traditional detectors suffer from the IR light source illuminating parts of the optical chamber, rather than just the scattering region in front of the light sensor. Because the light sensor is looking for only a tiny quantity of light to be scattered by smoke, then it can easily be fooled by light reflecting off chamber walls when dust or insects are present in the chamber.
Our first line of defence is stopping such things getting into the chamber. The Soteria UL uses a unique serpentine air inlet to prevent the ingress of dust. A fine nylon mesh prevents insects over a certain size from entering the chamber, but not all can be stopped is we still wish smoke to enter the chamber. Instead, we design the chamber to be robust to these smaller insects and accumulation of dust.
Firstly, a unique patented light absorbing surface of the chamber prevents the IR light being reflected around the chamber. This means that dust and insects on other surfaces of the chamber are less illuminated. Secondly, and this step takes some effort, all possible surfaces where an insect could stand and spread its wings, whilst being in the view of the light sensor, are eliminated. That means that even when an insect smaller than the screen finds its way into the chamber, it is very unlikely to be able to cause a false alarm. The same advantage is experienced when dust accumulates inside the chamber – there are no surfaces where dust can gather to cause stray light and trigger a false alarm.
And it’s not just our lab that this high performance is achieved. Every Soteria UL detector is produced and certified to conform to the same narrow range of sensitivity. This means that every product you install will behave the same as the last, it will not be more sensitive to common nuisances, or less sensitive to the attributes of fire. This is achieved in our factory with a blend of skilled hand assembly and highly automated modern manufacturing processes. Every single product is measured and calibrated for smoke sensitivity.
Once we have crafted the best smoke sensor, our next focus is the intelligent signal processing that determines when there is a real fire. Because the basics are right, we don’t need a highly complex, unpredictable, and opaque artificial intelligence algorithm. We simply add the right amount of smoothing, the right amount of delay, and a little enhanced detection of fast flaming fires. False alarms are avoided, not only by getting the basic smoke sensor right, but by reducing the response to slowly developing nuisance signals like cooking. The detector is constantly processing information, and if it decides there’s a fire, this is signalled to the panel via Core-Protocol with exceptional speed.
Keeping you safe from fire, every second of every day.
At least 149 buildings in Chennai have been placed under the scanner of Special Task Force (STF) for fire safety norm violations. The State fire services department will soon make checks on these buildings to ensure corrective measures are taken by their owners, said CMDA member-secretary Anshul Mishra.
Tamil Nadu government issued an order on December 17, 2018, to constitute two special task forces to address issues pertaining to encroachments, unauthorised construction, and enforcement of provisions of Second Master Plan in Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) and other areas that come under the jurisdiction of Directorate of Town and Country Planning and Composite Local Planning Authority.
The latest drive comes after the fire safety STF conducted a meeting after a gap of 20 months in January this year. The STF also carried out a separate study on fire safety measures needed in congested areas with narrow roads such as George Town, Purasawalkam, Triplicane, and T Nagar.
The task force was formed after the Centre in 2018, in accordance with a suggestion of the Supreme Court, asked all States to take necessary steps to ensure fire safety measures in buildings.
Five of 16 buildings in Chennai, where major violations were detected during an enforcement drive carried out against 396 buildings that got approval after May 2021, could also be issued with lock and seal notices, Mishra said.
All five buildings were constructed beyond approved height. While a residential area has been converted into a hospital in one case, there is shortage of car parking space in another one, sources said.
Enforcement drives will now be carried out regularly as CMDA staff strength has been enhanced through new recruitment drive, Mishra said.
Mishra added that the CMDA is also trying to reduce time taken to clear layout files: “We have come out with a document checklist. This will be helpful in complying with CMDA norms.! Previously, layout files were prepared by the layout division of the CMDA. Now, to reduce time and ensure transparency, applicants have been asked to submit layout drawings themselves.
The Metropolitan government has released a report which as revised down the estimated number of people who would die in the event of a major earthquake in Tokyo by 30% to 6,100.
The report by a panel of earthquake experts attributed the reduction of around 3,500 people as a result of advances in the quake-resistance of buildings and the greater use of non-combustible materials in their construction.
The pane concluded that the largest death toll of up to 6,148 would result if a quake with a magnitude of 7.3 originated in the southern part of central Tokyo, after it simulated significant earthquakes with different epicenters for the latest damage projection.
Of the estimated deaths, 3,209 would be caused by collapsed buildings and 2,482 by fires, the report said.
“Although the number of deaths has been reduced, losses of as many as 6,000 people must not be allowed to happen,” Naoshi Hirata, commented Head of the panel and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. “It is necessary to steadily advance measures.”
The National Weather Service has issued critical fire condition warnings across the US South West as wind gusts have been predicted to case fire-jumps across containment lines.
The warning comes as fire crews in New Mexico continue their efforts to stop growth of the country’s biggest wildfire – the result of two fires that merged to create the largest wildfire in the history of New Mexico.
The seven-week fire has burned 491 square miles of forest and rugged terrain east of Santa Fe since the beginning of April after being started by two intentionally-set blazes by authorities.
The National Weather Service has now issued a red flag warning of critical fire conditions for parts of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah with predictions of strong winds, low relative humidity and dry vegetation.
Bruno Rodriguez, the fire management team’s meteorologist, said that forecasts predict wind gusts up to 50mph, with critical fire conditions continuing into Monday, followed by more favourable weather later in the coming week.
John Chest, a fire operations manager, commented: “Imagine traveling in your car and the fire can outpace you. That’s the kind of extreme fire behavior that we’re talking about.”
Exclusive: Fabrics and materials manufacturer PBI has been pushing the boundary with its latest trademark innovation PBI LP, Ian Callaghan, Senior Director, International Marketing and Sales, PBI International tells us more
PBI is at the forefront of incredible innovation in the development of fabrics that protect firefighters against heat and flame, but are also lightweight and breathable, reducing the risk of heat stress.
The company’s range of fabrics have become the preferred choice of fire services all over the world. From USA and Europe, the Middle East to the Far East and Australasia, firefighters go to work every day protected by PBI outer fabrics.
Choosing to work with only the best fabric manufacturers in the supply chain ensures that every PBI product performs to the highest levels required in modern firefighting and rescue. The company’s close working relationship with its supply chains is a key factor in the continued investment in research and innovation which results in products that set new standards in comfort and performance. It has driven the development of an extensive range of structural firefighting outer shells designed specifically for the different needs of fire services.
The company’s product portfolio was recently expanded with the addition of, PBI LP, a trademark lightweight fibre that further enhances comfort, breathability and freedom of movement for future structural firefighting gear.
Fabric made with PBI LP, which stands for ‘lightweight performance’, is 10% lighter than other outer fabrics for structural fire gear, helping to reduce the risk of heat stress. Even though the unique PBI LP™ is lighter, it still enhances heat and flame protection and resistance to break open, without compromise.
The new lighter fibre performs incredibly well when used in outer shell fabrics, even when tested against other heavier para-aramid and meta-aramid outer shells. In independent test undertaken by BTTG in the same conditions the 180 gsm PBI LP garment outperformed an identical garment made with 220 gsm meta-aramid outer fabric. An eight second burn test was undertaken on the 2006 version of the male heat sensing manikin known as RALPH, which was developed by BTTG and conforms to ISO 13506. For the test the hands and head were not used, leaving 123 sensors on torso, arms, legs that monitor the temperature on the surface of the manikin during the test.
The BTTG tests showed 2nd and 3rd degree burn injury prediction of only 1.8% for the garment with lighter PBI LP™, compared to a much higher figure of 19.3% burn injury for the meta-aramid, despite the meta-aramid also being 40gsm heavier.
Like all PBI fabrics, PBI LP delivers excellent tensile strength and will not become brittle, shrink, or break open when exposed to flame and high temperatures. This means that the integrity of the internal layers of the garment is protected, and the transfer of any radiant heat is slower, allowing more time for firefighters to escape to safety in a situation such as a flashover. PBI’s protection from exposure to heat and flame has been proven over many years of independent testing and performance in the field.
In a Dynamic Flame Test, which is used to demonstrate the time it takes for an outer fabric to breaks down under tension, PBI LP of 180g/m2 lasted 48 seconds, while a much heavier 220/ g/m2 Para-aramid/Meta-aramid fabric lasted just 3 seconds.
PBI LP fabric is a result of PBI’s continued investment in research and development that creates new standards of firefighter protection. That development process must always take account of the balance between comfort and protection. That is why outer shells made with PBI LP join a wide range of PBI fabrics that meet the need of every situation and work effectively as an integral part of all garment design. Each product has different properties and applications, but every PBI fabric exceeds the required protection standards from heat and flame for outer fabrics.
PBI’s continued commitment to innovation and new product development is not restricted to structural firefighting solutions. Working closely with the supply chain, PBI has also developed a range of lightweight protective fabrics with increased tensile strength that is designed specifically for technical rescue, wildland and industrial firefighting.
One of the biggest challenges to firefighter safety is the risk posed by heat stress. It can cause many problems, from muscle fatigue and reduced cognitive function to cardiovascular strain and cardiac arrest. Research has shown that more firefighters dies in the line of duty from cardiac arrest than any other cause. One of the paradoxes of firefighter protection is that structural firefighting garments designed to protect the wearer from heat and flame can potentially contribute to the rise in core body temperature that triggers heat stress. That’s why it is so important that the outer shell, which has a primary role of protecting from heat and flame, is designed to mitigate the risk of heat stress.
All PBI fabrics are designed to offer maximum thermal protection from the outside, while at the same time delivering high levels of breathability and comfort to reduce the risk of heat stress. They will not become brittle, shrink or break open when exposed to flame and high temperatures, which is among the characteristics of other fabrics. This means that the integrity of the internal layers of the garment is protected and the transfer of any radiant heat is slower, allowing more time for firefighters to escape to safety in a situation such as a flashover.
In the 40 years since opening for business in Charlotte, North Carolina, PBI Performance Products has created a reputation for protection without compromise that is recognised all over the world.
This article was originally published in the May edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here
The Swiss Air Force has teamed up with fire service vehicle and equipment manufacturer Rosenbauer to implement its PANTHER training system to enable training for the tactical handling of ARFF vehicles as well as handling the extinguishing and control panels.
The PANTHER training system will be installed in the fire training center of CFR Campus PHÈNIX at Payerne Airport.
The simulator landscape consists of two PANTHER tactical simulators – 8×8 and 6×6 S, as well as two simulators that can be configured bot as ARFF vehicles and command or logistics vehicles.
The two PANTHER simulators are equipped with identical PANTHER cockpits, while the other two have generic cockpits on which all functions can be operated the same way as in the respective original vehicle.
Everything that happens outside the vehicles is displayed on large LED screens in Ultra-HD (4 times HDTV) resolution. Each screen is controlled by its own computer; a total of 18 computers with powerful graphics cards are installed in the training system.
The system also includes a control panel on which the virtual training sessions are planned, programmed, and documented. There are five airport layouts and numerous aircraft types to choose from, the time of day or night, and the weather and runway conditions can be modified in order to make the operational action as realistic as possible.
All firefighting operations from leaking jet fuel to an undercarriage catching fire or burning jet engines can be trained on, whereby the control of the firefighting equipment is just as sensitive as in the real-life counterparts.
“The Swiss Air Force is building a competence center for aircraft firefighting here, where the members of the aircraft incident squads will receive their complete training in future and be able to complete regular drills under real conditions,” saod Hans Schmid, Head of Crash and Fire Rescue Swiss Air Force.
“In the future, each and every member will train on the simulators for at least two days a year. Their integration into an overall system allows us to systematically and efficiently structure the training. In addition, three liquid gas-fired fire simulators (dummy aircraft) are available for “hot” drills on the approximately 26,000 m2 site.”
Markus Zellinger, Managing Director of Rosenbauer Switzerland added: “The Swiss Air Force’s aircraft incident squads can train for every operational scenario imaginable in a resource-saving, safe, and controlled manner. That’s the great advantage of simulator training.”
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service’s (WSFRS) Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, has been announced as the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) International Lead.
The role with the NFCC will be carried out alongside Sabrina’s position of Chief Fire Officer in West Sussex and will see her work with fire services across the world to share best practice and improve firefighter safety to ensure fire services benefit from shared knowledge and the latest developments within the fire service sector.
Speaking of her recent appointment, Sabrina said: “I am delighted to have been appointed as the NFCC International Lead and I am looking forward to embarking on this new journey and being able to share international best practice with colleagues around the world, as well as here in West Sussex.
“Over the last decade I have been researching decision-making psychology to help keep firefighters, and therefore the public, safer. Through this work I have had the privilege of sharing findings with others around the world and I have seen first-hand just how valuable the exchange of knowledge can be between fire service colleagues, both in terms of what we can share to help keep other firefighters safe, but also what we here in West Sussex can learn from other services.
“We already work very closely with all of our neighbouring services here in the UK to share best practice, but this position allows us to take that learning to a whole other level, and puts our fire and rescue service here in West Sussex in a fantastic position at the forefront of international best practice.
“I feel it’s really important that we learn from other people’s experiences in order to adopt new best practices, and this is something I am incredibly passionate about.”
The role will also support when aid is needed from fire services in other countries, such as the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.
In March the NFCC, FIRE AID and Fire Industry Association coordinated a national response to support firefighters, emergency services and volunteers battling together on the frontline following the Russian invasion.
A team of 12 firefighters from WSFRS were among the biggest UK fire service convoy and delivered 22 vehicles, including four fire engines donated by WSFRS, and more than 5,000 items of vitally needed equipment.
Since then, a further two convoys of equipment have departed for Ukraine. Going forward Sabrina’s role as NFCC Lead will be instrumental in driving forward similar projects.
The UK government has announced that The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 will implement the majority of the recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in its Phase 1 report, which required a change in the law.
The regulations seek to improve the fire safety of blocks of flats in ways which are practical, cost effective for individual leaseholders and proportionate to the risk of fire and will come into force on 23 January 2023 following the publication of supporting guidance which is due later in 2022.
The regulations will make it a legal requirement for responsible persons – that is a building owner, or in residential properties, any other person in control of the premises – of high-rise blocks of flats to provide information to Fire and Rescue Services to assist them to plan and, if needed, provide an effective operational response. These regulations will apply to existing buildings. Requirements for new buildings may be different.
In high-rise residential buildings, responsible persons will be required to
Provide building plans to their local Fire and Rescue service with up-to-date electronic building floor plans and to place a hard copy of these plans.
Provide to their local Fire and Rescue Service information about the design and materials of a high-rise building’s external wall system and to inform the Fire and Rescue Service of any material changes to these walls.
Undertake monthly checks on the operation of lifts intended for use by firefighters, and evacuation lifts in their building and check the functionality of other key pieces of firefighting equipment.
Install and maintain a secure information box in their building containing the name and contact details of the Responsible Person and hard copies of the building floor plans.
Install signage visible in low light or smoky conditions that identifies flat and floor numbers in the stairwells of relevant buildings.
In residential buildings with storeys over 11 metres in height, responsible persons will be required to undertake annual checks of flat entrance doors and quarterly checks of all fire doors in the common parts.
In all multi-occupied residential buildings with two or more sets of domestic premises, responsible persons will be required to provide relevant fire safety instructions to their residents, which will include instructions on how to report a fire and any other instruction which sets out what a resident must do once a fire has occurred, and provide residents with information relating to the importance of fire doors in fire safety.
On whether these regulations are a proportionate response, the government guidance stated: “These regulations, where they legislate to require responsible persons to provide information to fire and rescue services focus only on high-rise residential buildings. This approach is a proportionate one which implements the majority of the Phase 1 recommendations, which require a change in the law, in a practical way.”
Commenting on the government’s plans, Grenfell United said: “We are enraged at the government, whose sole focus continues to be profit and not public safety. We’ve fought for years to create a legacy for our 72 loved ones, and to prevent another Grenfell. But five years on, the government has reverted back to the same policy in place before Grenfell.
“This policy resulted in 41% of those living with disabilities dying at Grenfell. It left them with no personal evacuation plan and no means of escape. They didn’t stand a chance. This report is a disgrace.
“Disabled people have the right to leave their homes safely. The government must implement the recommendation from the Phase 1 report of the Grenfell Inquiry and ensure personal evacuation plans for disabled residents.”
National Fire Chiefs Council’s (NFCC) People Programme has launched four new tools to support fire and rescue services in the selection, recruitment, nurturing and growth of diverse talent.
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Hub, Recruitment Hub, Talent Management Toolkit and Coaching and Mentoring Portal have been put together as the culmination of months work by the NFCC project teams and colleagues from across the fire and rescue sector.
Each tool champions best practice processes, showcasing sector-endorsed guidance to provide a consistent approach at a national level.
The Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Hub contains a of resources to help services ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are part of everything they do.
The Recruitment Hub is a centralised resource for colleagues finding and bringing in diverse talent.
The Talent Management Toolkit has been developed to provide support to fire and rescue services around the key talent management areas: attract, identify, develop, engage, retain, deploy, and evaluate.
And the Coaching and Mentoring Portal allows a continuation of learning and connects individuals with coaches and mentors from within the sector.
Ann Millington, People Programme Executive said: “I am immensely proud of the work by members of the People Programme in conjunction with fire and rescue services, and the resulting four products.
“These products signify another significant leap forward by the NFCC in supporting the people already working in, and those yet to join, this exciting and dynamic sector.”
