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The importance of inspecting fire doors

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Checking and inspecting fire doors is an integral part of Chubb’s portfolio of fire solutions designed to prevent, detect, and contain fires while enabling people time to safely evacuate. Everyday use of fire doors can result in damage to the door and its surroundings, which can affect the performance of the door in the event of a fire. Chubb offers a comprehensive audit of fire doors for businesses and landlords in the UK, helping them maintain safe environments and conform to the latest fire safety legislation. Fire door inspections are carried out by a competent fire assessor who will carefully inspect internal doors, checking each door’s structural integrity, the furniture, and mechanisms for faults, damage, or wear. The assessor will provide a report detailing any remedial work required and information and photographs of any nonconformities. Complying with fire safety regulations Tracy Gregory, Fire Consultancy General Manager at Chubb, said, “Fire door checks should become part of every business’ fire safety strategy, just like testing the battery on a smoke alarm or checking the pressure of a fire extinguisher.” “Our Fire Door Inspections provide business owners and landlords with the relevant documented proof they need to help them comply with fire safety regulations.’’ Reducing risks in buildings Fire safety legislation for England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland highlights the legal responsibilities of reducing the risk of fire spreading within premises. Fire doors play an important part in reducing this risk in many buildings. Penalties for failing to comply with the legislation carry unlimited fines or a prison sentence for organisations and landlords. Chubb’s Fire Door Inspections are available to all businesses in the UK.   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Honeywell acquires US Digital Design

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Honeywell announced it has agreed to acquire privately held US Digital Designs. The company delivers alerting and dispatch communications solutions, which enhance first responders’ efficacy and enable faster emergency response times. The acquisition will be integrated into Honeywell’s Fire and Connected Life Safety systems business and will expand Honeywell’s line of solutions for public safety communications, providing first responders with better situational awareness of building emergencies and improved life safety. When combined with Honeywell’s solutions, US Digital Designs’ offerings will securely transmit detailed data about the emergency, such as the type of hazard, severity, and location within the impacted building, all before first responders even arrive onsite. The existing communications infrastructure between fire stations and emergency centers often uses legacy, manual technology, which slows response times and affects the accuracy of transmitted information. In contrast, solutions from US Digital Designs instantaneously connect dispatch centers to fire stations, improving both the quality of the information shared and the time it takes for first responders to arrive at an emergency. It is estimated that in the coming years, aligned to pending federal legislation to improve the 911 system, several billions will be invested in the United States alone to upgrade legacy alarm infrastructure to provide faster, more precise alarm alerting to first responders. “The future of public safety relies on technology. We are integrating intelligence throughout the fire alarm transmission process – from the fire panel to the first responders – and providing uninterrupted communications to first responders,” said Doug Wright, President and Chief Executive Officer, Honeywell Building Technologies. “Integrating US Digital Designs’ fire station alerting capabilities with Honeywell’s Connected Life Safety Services will allow us to eliminate manual processes and significantly reduce response time. Helping first responders arrive faster on site means potentially saving more lives and providing a higher level of asset protection.” US Digital Designs’ suite of hardware and software solutions, which includes dispatch communication aids and mobile alerting applications, provides situational awareness and helps reduce response times. US Digital Designs also offers solutions that awaken first responders with soft-start LED lighting and audio alerts that are less disruptive. The offerings complement Honeywell’s suite of solutions that help its customers meet their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, including improving safety for first responders.   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Cleaning Nittan Evolution control panels

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People are all only too familiar with the “Hands, Face, Space” mantra intended to help control the spread and risk of Covid-19. Obviously, this means it has never been more important to ensure that surfaces are kept clean. This includes items such as Nittan fire alarm control panels, which have controls and touch screens used by engineers and end-users when operating them. But as with all electronic equipment, the materials used to clean them need to be chosen very carefully. Nittan was established in 1972 in the UK and has grown to become a major force in the EMEA fire protection industry. With the extensive support facilities of their Tokyo parent company, Nittan Europe now supplies in excess of 500,000 detectors per year, all of which are made to marine standard for exceptional quality. Nittan Europe has produced the Technical Guidance Sheet TGS-28 with the recommendations for cleaning all of the range of control panels. Nittan would appreciate that these recommendations be adhered to, ensuring no damage to the hardware, nor loss of operation or functionality of the life safety products: Control panel enclosures in general can be gently cleaned using a soft dry cloth to remove dust and dirt. If the enclosure is heavily contaminated, moisten the cloth and gently clean using a light detergent. Avoid getting detergent on the controls, touch screen or in the interior of the control panel. Precautions with respect to the Evolution 1 Colour Graphic LCD touch screen display. (Extracted from the display manufacturers data sheet) If the display surface becomes contaminated, breathe on the surface and gently wipe it dry with a soft cloth. If it is heavily contaminated, moisten the cloth with one of the following solvents: Isopropyl alcohol Ethyl alcohol Solvents other than those mentioned above may damage the polarizer. Especially do not use the following: Water Ketone Aromatic solvents Extra care to minimise corrosion of the electrode, Water droplets, moisture condensation or a current flow in a high humidity environment accelerates corrosion of the electrode.   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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ILUS launches its Maxi A-1 firefighting nozzle

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FireBug, which was acquired by ILUS in January 2021, which already sells its own patented water mist technology, has now announced its launch of its Maxi A-1, the only all-in-one handheld firefighting nozzle with integrated water misting capability. This nozzle can operate on most standard firefighting vehicles globally and even from fire hydrants. It is the only nozzle of its type globally which can provide several selectable flow water jet streams of up to 160 GPM as well as a “single click” 13 GPM water mist mode which can extinguish most fire types including electric fires and fuel fires, and a fog pattern mode. Following months of testing by FireBug engineers, the Maxi A-1 has proved successful in the consistent extinguishing of multiple classes of fires including flammable gas fires, electric fires, and cooking oil/animal fat fires which standard firefighting nozzles are not capable of efficiently extinguishing without the use of added chemicals. The Maxi A-1 will be going into full scale production at a UK manufacturing facility which ILUS is in the process of acquiring and will announce soon. For the North and South American markets, nozzle components for all FireBug nozzles, once manufactured in the UK, will be assembled by Precision Powered Products in Houston, Texas, which ILUS is in the process of completing the agreed acquisition of. FireBug plans for the full-scale UK production of the Maxi A-1 to commence from the beginning of February 2022 and in the meantime, the company is already producing some units for further testing, demonstrations, and special orders at its Dubai, UAE facility. Not only can the water mist technology offered by the Maxi A-1 nozzle extinguish electric vehicle (EV) fires and many other fire types which firefighters struggle to extinguish without the use of added chemicals, but it also uses 60-80% less water in doing so. The availability of water mist in a nozzle that can be used on every fire truck, on the most widely used firefighting pumps and even from fire hydrants, means that firefighters can save up to 80% of water when fighting conventional fires and not just some of the less prevalent fire types. Consequently, fewer fire trucks are required at a scene and smaller firefighting vehicles with smaller water tanks can be used to achieve the same firefighting capability as larger, more expensive, and less efficient fire trucks. As an example, FireBug’s water mist nozzles have extinguished standard car fires with as little as 1.5 gallons of water in less than 30 seconds and in most tests, its water mist is capable of extinguishing car fires with less than 5 gallons of water in less than 90 seconds. Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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NFPA urges added caution this holiday season

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Many hallmarks of the holiday season, including Christmas trees, holiday decorations, cooking, and baking, present potential fire hazards that contribute to an annual increase in US home fires during the winter months. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Christmas Day and Christmas Eve are among the leading days of the year for home fires (topped only by Thanksgiving Day). Attention and planning “December is a leading month for home fires, in large part because many of the activities we engage in during the holiday season reflect leading causes of home fires year-round,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy. Fortunately, Carli notes, the majority of winter fires can be prevented with a little added awareness and planning. “By knowing where potential fire hazards exist and taking some basic safety precautions to prevent them, people can enjoy a festive, fire-free holiday season,” said Carli. Tips and resources The NFPA Winter Holidays page offers a wide variety of tips and resources to reduce the risk of fires, while the latest NFPA statistics underscore the increased risk of fire during the holiday season: Christmas trees An estimated average of 160 home fires that began when Christmas trees caught fire caused an average of two civilian deaths, 12 civilian injuries, and $10 million in direct property damage per year between 2015 and 2019. Some type of electrical distribution or lighting equipment, including decorative lights, was involved in almost half of these fires. Nearly one in five Christmas tree fires were started by decorative lights. 8% of Christmas tree fires were started by candles. In nearly one-fifth of Christmas tree fires, the tree was too close to a heat source, such as a candle or heating or lighting equipment. Decorations An estimated average of 790 home fires that began when decorations (other than Christmas trees) caught fire caused an average of one civilian death, 26 civilian injuries, and $13 million in direct property damage per year between 2015 and 2019. One in five home decoration fires occurred in December. Year-round, 35% of home decoration fires began with candles; in December, the number jumped to 45%. In more than two of every five fires (44%) involving decorations, the decoration was too close to a heat source such as a candle, cooking, or heating equipment. Candles An estimated average of 7,400 home fires (2%) started by candles caused an average of 90 civilian deaths (3%), 670 civilian injuries (6%), and $291 million (4%) in direct property damage per year between 2015 and 2019. Candle fires peak in December and January with 11% of candle fires in each of these months. In three of every five candle fires, the candle was too close to something that could catch fire. Christmas is the peak day for candle fires with roughly 2.5 times the daily average; Christmas Eve ranked second. Falling asleep was a factor in 10% of the home candle fires and 12% of the associated deaths. Cooking Cooking is the leading cause of reported home fires (49%) and home fire injuries and the second-leading cause of home fire deaths. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of home cooking fires. Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Fire alarm system to remove waking watch patrols

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Intelliclad’s internal fire alarm system is designed to remove the need for waking watch patrols, and has recently been installed in two apartment buildings in the UK. IFSEC Global finds out more about the fire detection system. The 38 apartment Interchange building in West Croydon has become the first building in the UK to have the new Intelliclad system installed in a bid to boost resident safety as the wait for cladding remediation works continue, followed by the 33 apartment St Chad’s building in Plymouth. By having this installation carried out alongside implementation of Intelliclad’s internal fire alarm system – which conforms with BS 5839-1 L5 guidance – the buildings have been able to remove the need for waking watch patrols. Residents at The Interchange will now save £460 a month in waking watch bills until remediation is carried out, with the cost of installation covered by the Waking Watch Relief Fund. Natasha Charlton, Assistant Property Manager at Hudson and Kimm Block Management, which manages the building, said “The occupants and leaseholders at The Interchange have commented that they do feel a lot safer in their homes and environment following the installation of Intelliclad. “The waking watch did not provide occupants/leaseholders with the same reassurances.” When asked how Intelliclad engaged with the residents of the building – a measure that will be of increasing importance as a result of the Building Safety Bill requirements – a spokesperson said: “We sent a letter out to residents to ensure them of the need for external fire detection, sensitive to the fact that this obviously could cause some concern, which we tried to address ahead of time. “It was imperative that they understood our reason for entering their apartments for access to balconies, and why detection on their balconies was required. Interaction with residents during the install was good opportunity for explaining what our system does and why it is needed, and the dangers of not being aware of the fire risk on those balconies.” A third internal and external installation is currently being carried out at a mixed-use building in Bournemouth – where the ground floor is a local library, with 24 flats above it. The Intelliclad fire alarm system Intelliclad’s system is said to be unique, due to the fact that alarms are installed into the combustible external façade of high-risk buildings to detect early symptoms of a fire. Darron Brough, Intelliclad’s Managing Director, said: “Years of hard work and experience has gone into creating Intelliclad and these installations signal the start of a new era of building safety. “The scope of this tragic scandal is becoming more and more concerning each day. We are proud to be able to play a small part in making people feel safer in their homes as they await cladding remediation – we need the support of those in power to be able to do this on the scale necessary to facilitate real change.”   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Grenfell Tower Inquiry: “agenda of deregulation”

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The Fire Brigades Union lawyer for the inquiry has placed central importance on a government “agenda of deregulation, privatisation and marketisation” for causing the disaster. The comments were made as part of the opening statements for Module 6 of Phase 2 of the Grenfell inquiry. Phase 2 is focusing on the causes of the events of the night of the disaster, and Module 6 within that is focused on government. Acting on behalf of the union, Martin Seaward said a regime “which encouraged companies to behave recklessly towards building safety” was “actively and, regrettably, deliberately created by central government”. Seaward said that the aforementioned agenda had been in place for “more than four decades”, across multiple governments. He stated that it had led to a range of factors which had in turn “contributed to the systemic failure of the building and fire safety regimes, thereby enabling the installation of cheap and dangerous rainscreen cladding systems all over the UK, including at Grenfell Tower”. Flammable cladding installed onto Grenfell Tower played a vital role in the fire spreading across the building. In the FBU’s submissions to the Inquiry, links were also drawn between deregulation and other factors that caused the disaster, such as sprinklers and premises safety information. Seaward emphasised that the disaster was not simply caused by “government and public authorities being taken advantage of by a few unscrupulous companies”, but that it was a failure of the building safety system in place. He outlined how this system had been hit by deregulation. In the accompanying written submission it was highlighted that “The fundamental underlying causes of the terrible loss of life at Grenfell Tower lie in political decisions made by central government in the service of a social and economic system driven by profit and greed”, appearing to draw links between government actions here and their wider political agenda. Lawyers for bereaved, survivors and residents also pointed the finger at deregulation. And the inquiry’s own lawyer Richard Millett QC notably stated that one of four essential questions for government was what motivated government in the approach it took to fire safety, a statement which could relate to wider aims the government had such as deregulation.   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Jon Könz new Euralarm President

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During the 51st General Assembly of Euralarm, the European association representing the fire safety and security industry, the members have chosen Jon Könz as new President of Euralarm. He succeeds Martin Harvey who was President for the past three and a half years. Before being elected President Jon Könz was Chair of the Services Section of Euralarm. He is head of Industry Affairs at Siemens Smart Infrastructure. The 2021 General Assembly was held in Brussels where the outgoing President praised the work that was done in fostering internal communications in times when more and more people were bound to their (home) office and much of the communications takes place via online communication platforms. Nevertheless, the association succeeded in aligning opinions and developing clear priorities shared across the whole scope of the industries represented by Euralarm: product and system manufacturers, installers, integrators, service providers, and national associations from all over Europe. Having added more than 10 new members over the past years, Euralarm now represents a bigger share of the industry, allowing the association to exert more influence at European level. Under Euralarm’s umbrella model, different industry disciplines are represented by distinct Sections with separate membership, but they work together in their high-level dialogue with institutional players and other European stakeholders. The General Assembly also elected Anja Schäfer (JCI) as chair of the Marketing Committee whereas Dominique Taudin (Carrier) will remain as chair of the Advocacy Committee. On the following day, section chairs and vice chairs were elected or re-elected by their respective section members. Neil Budd (FIA) was elected Vice Chair of the Fire Section, Milan Ceeh (AGA) will be the Acting Chair of the Security Section with Oscar Feijo Jimenez (Verisure) as Vice Chair. Robert Thilthope (FIA) will succeed Jon Könz as chair of the Services Section with Victoria Ferrera Lopez (Verisure) as vice chair. Alan Elder (JCI) and Tornbjörn Laursen (SikkerhedsBranschen) will remain as chair and vice chair of the Extinguishing Section.   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Effective fire risk assessments for wind farms

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Ifsec reports – a new report by fire suppression technology specialist, Firetrace, has set out best practice to support owners and operators in conducting effective fire risk assessments at wind farms. An effective fire risk assessment (FRA) can make it less likely that life is endangered when fires occur at wind farms and will also reduce the risk of the surrounding area being impacted. Yet, unlike in other power generating industries, it is reported that there is a general reluctance among wind industry stakeholders to conduct FRAs. This is due to several reasons: An assumption that insurance will cover fire related costs A lack of resource – owing to the continued impact of Covid-19 The cost of repairing or replacing turbines damaged by fire is greatly underestimated There is no legal requirement for operators to conduct FRAs. This means that there is little evidence that holistic FRAs are being conducted that follow a type of recognised standard. However, pressure will mount on owners and operators as the cost of replacing an individual turbine damaged by fire is becoming increasingly expensive and can now cost up to $9 million, with 12-18 months of expected revenue loss and downtime to get replacement parts. An effective fire risk assessment can therefore protect investments and asset returns. In its latest report, entitled ‘How to evaluate fire risk at wind farms’, Firetrace sets out the methodology that wind farm owners and operators can apply to conduct effective fire risk assessments (FRAs). The report concludes that eight different internal and external stakeholders can benefit from having a copy of an operator’s fire risk assessment. From those responsible for safety, capital expenditure, and negotiating insurance cover, to those in operations teams, external finance providers and the local fire department. It also sets out a checklist for the best practice in conducting fire risk assessments. Angela Krcmar, Global Sales Manager at Wind, Firetrace International, said “Effective fire risk assessments increase the level of protection for wind farm assets by reducing the risk of wind turbines being damaged or destroyed by fire, potentially reducing insurance costs and boosting the reputation of both the operator and the industry at large. “But perhaps most significantly, fire risk assessments – conducted at regular intervals – can protect operators’ personnel working on-site and the communities surrounding wind farms.” Angela continued, “Once assessments are complete and all stakeholders consulted, operators can work out the best ways to protect their people, operation, revenue and surrounding communities from fire – perhaps through detection or suppression systems. “It is for the greater good of the whole wind industry, and the energy transition generally, that fire risk is taken seriously.”   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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Battery energy storage

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The popularity of lithium-ion batteries as a stored source of energy for industries across the UK is becoming ever more prominent according to data released by one of the UK’s independent fire suppression specialists, revealing a 300% increase in enquiries from UK-based companies seeking battery energy storage-specific fire suppression solutions over the past 12 months alone. The data, released by Nobel Fire Systems, relates to the 12 month period of Dec 2020 – Dec 2021, and compares enquiry numbers to the same time period the year prior. According to Nobel’s data, a 300% increase in enquiries from companies seeking fire protection and suppression systems specific to lithium-ion battery storage (BESS) was witnessed over the past year, with enquiry numbers spiking in September 2021; coinciding with the fuel crisis in Britain. This is the biggest growth area of enquiries witnessed across all sectors serviced by Nobel in the past year. Enquiry data has further revealed the sectors most frequently seeking BESS fire suppression systems in the past 12 months, with the top three revealed as follows: BESS Owners and Investors Energy / Power Companies Commercial and Industrial (C&I) “The popularity of battery-energy storage systems is rising exponentially and we don’t see that slowing down anytime soon, especially when you look at what the past 12 months alone have resulted in enquiry-wise; a growth unlike any other industry,” explained Managing Director Ian Bartle of Nobel Fire Systems. “This can certainly be explained by the increase in focus on renewable and alternative energy sources across the board, but what our data from the C&I sector shows is just how quickly this shift in focus is resulting in industries across multiple sectors actually taking action and installing BESS on their premises, making for a very promising outlook for the battery energy sector indeed. “These projects are typically smaller than the grid-scale projects seen at the outset of the BESS industry, but they are set to change the landscape of the country as assets such as factories, industrial parks, office buildings, hospitals, schools and EV charging forecourts look to improve their energy efficiency, enhance their energy security and even become energy self-sufficient” “What’s important is that, alongside this growth in popularity, awareness about the fire risks that lithium-ion batteries pose is raised. Unfortunately, fire regulations when it comes to BESS are still somewhat loose here in the UK, with no strict requirement in place for the detection/ suppression of battery fires in the eyes of insurers. As a result, many companies with BESS on-site have inadequate protection in place in the event of a fire, where thermal runaway can cause catastrophic damage. We very much hope that this continuous growth in the BESS fire suppression sector will encourage regulatory bodies to take note and put stricter measures in place to ensure better protection across the board.”   Media contact Rebecca Morpeth Spayne, Editor, International Fire Buyer Tel: +44 (0) 1622 823 922 Email: editor@firebuyer.com

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