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Teijin Frontier Establishes Subsidiary in the Americas

Tokyo, Japan, April 8, 2016 — Teijin Frontier Co., Ltd., the Teijin Group‘s fiber-products converting company, announced today that it established TEIJIN FRONTIER MEXICO S.A. DE C.V in Mexico City on February 3 as its first automotive material subsidiary in the Americas.   The company will manufacture and sell materials for auto manufacturing and serve as a headquarters for the North American market, where Teijin Frontier is aiming to expand market share by supplying rubber and materials for car seats and airbags to Japanese and other automobile companies operating in Mexico. Sales and marketing activities are scheduled to begin in July 2016.   About the Teijin Group Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide. It posted consolidated sales of JPY786.2 billion (USD 6.6 billion) and total assets of JPY 823.7 billion (USD 6.9 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2015. Please visit www.teijin.com.

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The Akron Brass Company develops battery-powered LED Tactical Scene Light

Today, the Akron Brass Company released the Revel Scout™ Scene Light to improve overall scene illumination and operational ease. The new Revel Scout is ideal for fire departments or emergency medical service teams in need of a high output, tactical scene light with multiple mounting options. Fast, Flexible Deployment Compact, lightweight and portable, the Revel Scout’s flexibility will provide you with more options than most LED scene lights to accomplish various tasks. The Revel Scout’s design allows for multiple placement options – set on a flat surface, hung on a door, strapped to a ladder or attached to drywall with its integrated spike. With a removable, rechargeable battery that can last up to 7 hours and weighing only 12 pounds, the Revel Scout simplifies fire scene lighting operations. Light Where You Need It Boasting 14,000 lumens, the Revel Scout is all you need to light your entire exterior scene and interior work area. Easy to move or position, the Revel Scout’s combination of flood and spot light optics increases overall scene visibility when lighting exterior areas such as vehicles, structures, parking lots and overhead hazards. It can then be used indoors for overhaul or any variety of other tasks. Discover more at akronbrass.com/revel-scout-pr to request a demo. About Akron Brass Company Founded in 1918, Akron Brass is a worldwide marketer and manufacturer of high performance life-safety, firefighting and emergency response equipment. Markets served consist of fire & rescue, petro-chemical, marine, military, airports, mining, specialty vehicles and bus & student transportation. Akron Brass is ISO 9001 registered and has an excellent reputation for developing and manufacturing innovative products. Headquartered in Wooster, OH, Akron Brass has additional manufacturing facilities in Columbus, OH and Washington, IL, with sales offices in Beijing, China and Dubai, UAE. 

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A solid evacuation route will prove invaluable in the event of fire

If a fire breaks out in a factory, warehouse or other industrial premises, it is important for all parties to know the best plan of action for escape Good management of fire safety is essential to ensure that fires are unlikely to occur; that if they do occur they are likely to be controlled or contained quickly, effectively and safely; or that, if a fire does occur and grow, everyone in your premises is able to escape to a place of total safety easily and quickly.The risk assessment that you must carry out will help you ensure that your fire safety procedures, fire prevention measures, and fire precautions (plans, systems and equipment) are all in place and working properly, and the risk assessment should identify any issues that need attention. A fire risk assessment is an organised and methodical look at your premises, the activities carried on there and the likelihood that a fire could start and cause harm to those in and around the premises. The aims of the fire risk assessment are: To identify the fire hazards. To reduce the risk of those hazards causing harm to as low as reasonably practicable. To decide what physical fire precautions and management arrangements are necessary to ensure the safety of people in your premises if a fire does start. A fire risk assessment will help you determine the chances of a fire starting and the dangers from fire that your premises present for the people who use them and any person in the immediate vicinity. Much of the information for your fire risk assessment will come from the knowledge your employees, colleagues and representatives have of the premises, as well as information given to you by people who have responsibility for other parts of the building. A tour of your premises will probably be needed to confirm, amend or add detail to your initial views. It is important that you carry out your fire risk assessment in a practical and systematic way and that you allocate enough time to do a proper job. It must take the whole of your premises into account, including outdoor locations and any rooms and areas that are rarely used. If your premises are small you may be able to assess them as a whole. In larger premises you may find it helpful to divide them into rooms or a series of assessment areas using natural boundaries, e.g. process areas, offices, stores, as well as corridors, stairways and external routes. If your premises are in a multi-use complex then the information on hazard and risk reduction will still be applicable to you. However, any alterations to the use or structure of your individual unit will need to take account of the overall fire safety arrangements in the building. Your fire risk assessment should demonstrate that, as far as is reasonable, you have considered the needs of all relevant persons, including disabled people. Escape routes Once a fire has started, been detected and a warning given, everyone in your premises should be able to escape to a place of total safety unaided and without the help of the fire and rescue service. However, some people with disabilities and others with special needs may need help from staff who will need to be designated for the purpose. Escape routes should be designed to ensure, as far as possible, that any person confronted by fire anywhere in the building, should be able to turn away from it and escape to a place of reasonable safety, e.g. a protected stairway. From there they will be able to go directly to a place of total safety away from the building. Those who require special assistance (e.g. very young children in a creche and some people with disabilities) could be accommodated on the same level as the final exit from the premises to facilitate escape. Where they need assistance to evacuate, you should make sure that there are sufficient staff to ensure a speedy evacuation. The level of fire protection that should be given to escape routes will vary depending on the level of risk of fire within the premises and other related factors. Generally, premises that are simple, consisting of a single storey, will require fairly simple measures to protect the escape routes, compared to a large multi-storey building, which would require a more complex and inter-related system of fire precautions. The type and number of people using the premises The people present in your premises will primarily be employees. Employees can reasonably be expected to have an understanding of the layout of the premises, while contractors or visitors will be unlikely to have knowledge of alternative escape routes. The number and capability of people present will influence your assessment of the escape routes. You must ensure that your existing escape routes are sufficient and capable of safely evacuating all the people likely to use your premises at any time, including temporary staff employed in busy periods, and visitors. If necessary you may need either to increase the capacity of the escape routes or restrict the number of people in the premises. Escape time In the event of a fire, it is important to evacuate people as quickly as possible from the premises. Escape routes in a building should be designed so that people can escape quickly enough to ensure they are not placed in any danger from fire. The time available will depend on a number of factors, including how quickly the fire is detected and the alarm raised, the number of escape routes available, the nature of the occupants and the speed of fire growth. In high rack storage the spread of fire vertically will be rapid, so this risk should be given special consideration. The age and construction of the premises Older buildings may comprise different construction materials from newer buildings, and may be in a poorer state of repair. The materials from which your premises are constructed, the quality of building work and state of

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Lake Assault Boats introduces Mercury Marine's Joystick Piloting and Skyhook Digital Anchor systems to the fireboat industry

Lake Assault Boats, part of Fraser Shipyards and a leading manufacturer of purpose built, mission-specific fire and rescue boats, is showcasing a high-performance, Lake Assault 28-foot fireboat at booth #8726 on April 21-24 at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) Exhibition in Indianapolis, Indiana.  The modified V-hull, custom-built craft is the first in the fireboat industry to showcase the Mercury Joystick Piloting and Skyhook Digital Anchor systems for unmatched boat control, and enhanced safety and performance. “Lake Assault Boats are custom-built for performance and safety, and it’s with this mission top-of-mind we worked with Mercury Marine to integrate their state-of-the-art Mercury Joystick Piloting and Digital Anchor systems onto our lineup of fireboats,” said Gary Smith, Lake Assault Boats director of sales and marketing. “With these new systems, more so than ever before, the pilot will be able to effectively and easily maintain position and manoeuvre the boat – critical functions when lives are on the line and seconds count.” The simple to operate Mercury Skyhook Digital Anchor system uses GPS technology and an electronic compass to automatically control shifting, throttling and steering to help first responders maintain heading and position when responding to an emergency. For example, when engaging the fire pump, the Skyhook Digital Anchor system automatically maintains the fireboat’s position so the operator can better concentrate on the mission at hand. The Mercury Joystick Piloting system provides safe and easy one-handed maneuverings in tight spaces – even in a big fireboat with multiple engines. Joystick Piloting can move a fireboat sideways or at an angle in any direction; it can rotate a fireboat on it own axis and maneuver safety in close quarters with just a push or twist of a single joystick. This feature is invaluable during docking procedures or when in the midst of rescue operations. “Even an experienced boat captain can find docking and maneuvering in tight quarters a challenge. But that changes drastically with these new systems,” said Smith. “Lake Assault engineers worked together with Mercury Marine to integrate the technologies onto our fireboats, and the systems were tested at our factory and on the waters of Lake Superior. We’re looking forward to FDIC to showcase these systems, as well as the other technologies and components on this amazing fireboat.” The Lake Assault fireboat on display at FDIC features a hull length of 28 feet, a beam of 9-feet 6-inches, and has a carrying capacity of 4,000 lbs. Manufactured from high-strength marine grade 5083 and 5086 aluminium, the hull and superstructure are MIG and TIG welded throughout for added strength and long life. Other features include: Twin Mercury Verado 250 HP outboard engines with counter-rotating stainless steel props. A Darley fire pump rated at 1500 GPM powered by a separate V-8 engine, and a remote-controlled TFT “Monsoon” deck-mounted monitor. A full suite of Garmin electronics, including GPS, chartplotting, sonar with side/structure scan, 4G radar, two 12-inch touchscreens, VHF marine radio, and a Fusion audio system. Whelen emergency light bar with siren, controller, PA and hailer. Two FRC scene lights with bottom raising poles and two fixed mount scene lights. A 63-inch hydraulically-operated bow door with an integrated ladder for diver re-entry, and flat tread areas for ATV deployment. LED underwater lights are integrated into the front lip of the bow door to provide a “target” for divers to focus on when returning to the surface. Two, 34-inch swing out dive doors, each with an integrated ladder. Pilot house with an interior clearance height of 76-inches, forward leaning safety glass windshield, and a helm station that places all controls at the operator’s fingertips. Removable deck panels for easy service access to pump and other components. Self-bailing decks and easy to clean surfaces. Two (2) Garmin 12-inch touchscreens with GPS, sonar (with side and structure scan), and chart plotting. Roof-mounted forward looking infrared (FLIR) video camera (with zoom, pan and tilt features) that displays from the helm’s touchscreen. Four remote-controlled spotlights and LED work lights.

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Industrial fire-fighters must receive the highest standard of training possible

Robert Moore, Division Director of the Emergency Training Services Institute at TEEX, tells Chris Beck about the challenges of training fire-fighters around the world for industrial disasters What sort of industrial training do TEEX offer? TEEX offers training in all aspects of emergency response to include Industrial response. All of our courses comply with NFPA Standards and most are Proboard certified. The most popular industrial training we are currently doing on the firefighting side is NFPA 1081 certification – interior, exterior and leadership training. We also offer customised industrial training to meet the core objectives of our clients may be. Often large companies with facilities spread worldwide request to do a large corporate school, bringing employees from all of their facilities to College Station, Texas Brayton Fire Field. During these schools we customise the training to meet their needs. Just as Industrial response is different than municipal response, so is the aspect of training for both. During my career I have worked in both arenas and the response to each has its own unique challenges and must be handled differently. Both types of response has a primary Life Safety concern. Typically with an Industrial event in a plant or factory setting you have a better accountability for the area involved. Also both types need a good strategy and tactical planning before any fire-fighting takes place but with Industrial response comes the concern of what type of chemicals or material may be involved. If you are an Industrial plant brigade most of the time you will already have this information through preplans. If you do not have this information you will need to approach it more on a defensive mode and as the information comes in to command start moving to an offense mode. What are the main risks that you prepare your students for? Our goal is to prepare our students to face any situation they may come across with Life Safety being the most important. At Brayton Field we have the most realistic industrial burn props in the world replicating process units that you would find in refining and chemical operations. All of our industrial props are designed by our Industrial staff who have worked in the industry and have responded to all of these types of events. Since there is a difference in response techniques and terminology between an industrial response and a municipal response, we have chosen to have our Instructors teaching each to come from that industry or Fire Department. This allows us to make the training as realistic as possible and teach our students proper strategy and tactics for each. We make sure the student gets the type of training they are coming to TEEX for. How important is realistic hands-on training for fire-fighters? It’s crucial that you not only get the classroom portion of the training, but also quality hands-on training as well. If students can see, for example, the way water patterns can be used to protect themselves and equipment from flame impingement, or how foam operations work and how to deal with pressure fires versus atmospheric types, that can only help reinforce the message they had heard in the classroom and help them better understand their life safety responsibilities. What range of industrial situations do you cater for? Our primary Industrial training is based on the petrochemical and refinery industries. Companies like Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell are our largest client base. We train them in response to process fires, transportation emergencies, hazardous materials response, rescue operations, storage tank fires, and emergency medical response. How do you teach your students to be aware of the risks of fire on top of the fire-fighting techniques? We teach our students pre-planning, where we send them to a tank farm, for example, and plan what type of fire scenario could arise. We then put together a pre-plan that can be implemented should that situation happen. Doing that increases the safety for the fire-fighters, meaning they already know what equipment is likely to be available in the area, what sort of fire situation – pressure, gas, liquid and so on – may arise, what sorts of chemicals they may be dealing with. This allows them to choose the best personal protective equipment to ensure their own safety, work out how many members of the public or staff may be in an area and in need of rescue, and who is accountable for what. How do you ensure that the equipment that you use is as modern and up-to-date as possible? We work with our numerous vendors, who help us with supplying the most up-to-date tools for our fire-fighters to use in the training field. We make sure that the equipment is true-to-life and unaltered and give the students the chance to try different types of the same tool. We don’t typically recommend one particular brand or manufacturer, but we would recommend different types. For example, if we have a new type of foam eductor, we may encourage our students to work with it and look at vendors who produce products like it. How have you seen the techniques that are taught change over the years, and do you think standards of training globally are as high as they should be? Techniques do evolve. We learn through trial and era. The best place to learn is on the training ground and not an emergency scene. We allow our students to try different techniques and make mistakes to learn from. In terms of training around the world, the more industrialised countries tend to be a bit further ahead of the curve as far as adopting new techniques and equipment is concerned. We do training all over the world, not just here in Texas. We are in 58 different countries, dealing with our students and offering training in all four corners of the globe, and take the most up-to-date techniques and equipment with us to our students, wherever they may be. We have what we call Cooperative Learning

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Fire and Search & Rescue teamwork on-site in an industrial disaster scenario

Mikael Westerlund, CTO of Savox Communications, explains how industrial disasters pose unique and numerous challenges for search & rescue teams and fire brigades alike Deploying to scenes of devastation following earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes and getting a search started at the earliest possible time is the typical stuff of USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team work and equipment deployment. Where fire plays a part in structural failure and building collapse, however, it’s not always possible for USAR teams to get started until the fire services have a situation under control. Scene setting – Bosley Mill Disaster On Friday July 17 2015, just after 0900hrs, an explosion at the Wood Treatment Limited wood mill in Bosley, Cheshire, UK, resulted in a major fire and structural collapse incident. Some 15 fire appliances were on the scene by 1030hrs by which time it was known that two explosions had taken place and four wood mill employees were missing, presumed trapped. The cause of the explosion was the ignition of wood dust, or ‘flour’, produced at the plant to make wood-laminate flooring; also present were quantities of heating oil, kerosene, acetylene and asbestos adding to the combustibles and dangerous chemicals on site. When materials such as grain or wood are handled in an industrial scenario the creation of dust is inevitable. When that dust is confined in an enclosed space with a good source of oxygen in the air, the only thing missing to create a dust explosion is a spark or ignition source. This might come in the form of static build-up due to a storm front, or an unnoticed mechanical malfunction of a piece of equipment causing a spark or heat build-up. Exactly what the source was in Bosley on that first morning is unclear, but the Cheshire Fire Brigade described as ‘fully developed’, fires in several areas of the site from the outset. It was also ascertained early in the chaos that a four-storey building had collapsed among the devastation. With the prospect of further explosions the fire services had to proceed with extreme caution, the main method of fighting the fires being the use of water. As the fire crews tackled the fire and first injured were transferred to hospital, (some 35 people suffered injuries of varying severity), three regional USAR teams were called on by late morning to attend the scene. By 1800hrs it was clear that the ‘large multi-agency team’ that was now gathered, including USAR teams from Merseyside and Lancashire, would have to remain at least over the weekend. Both these teams were equipped with a number of Searchcam 3000s and LD3-4 Delsar life detection systems from Savox Communications, which were used on many occasions throughout the incident. The Cheshire Fire Brigade continued pouring huge quantities of water on the fires, including the silos containing wood flour that was still burning and stated on that first day that its crews were ‘working tirelessly to ensure that search and rescue teams could safely access the site’ as soon as possible to search for those missing. By 0730hrs on July 18, almost 24 hours after the first explosion, the specialist USAR teams began initial assessments. Shortly after, the county’s search dog, Bryn, and his handler began work, with other search dogs joining later. By lunchtime, SAR efforts were well underway, the manual work involved in finding those missing aided as much as possible by the use of the Savox search and rescue cameras as well as the life-detection systems. The following day, demolition and specialist heavy lifting gear were used to clear a path to the search area at the centre of the site for the USAR teams. During the night, USAR teams had discovered a body in one of two key areas that had been identified as ‘of interest’ by Bryn. USAR efforts continued through the 20th alongside the fire-fighters who were continuing to cool the site, though with the number of fire crews now reduced to five. With the reality of the situation apparent, USAR teams went from search and rescue to search and recovery mode. By lunchtime on July 21 a second body had been found. At 1630hrs that day it was announced that work within a collapsed structure on the site had begun though dark, humid and smoky conditions inside were more challenging than ever. After three of the silos were removed on July 22 this enabled further search and recovery work on July 23 in an area that had been focused on by search dogs early on. On the morning of July 27, a fresh USAR team from West Yorkshire arrived on site to replace the crews from Lancashire who, like their Merseyside counterparts, had attended since the start. The Merseyside USAR group remained and continued working with the West Yorkshire team. A full two weeks after the incident began on July 31, the USAR teams were still working 24/7 to locate the missing, while fire-fighters continued to monitor and cool the site. USAR teams remained onsite throughout August. Equipment deployed – fire impact With the devastation and dangerous chaos at Bosley, the use of dogs at an early stage was essential and proved exacting in locating two of the victims later; trained SAR dogs, like Bryn, are responsible for a many victim-location SAR successes. Also deployed at Bosley, however, were technical search tools, including Delsar seismic/acoustic life-detection equipment and SearchCam 3000 telescopic cameras. Both these were used in combination during the SAR phase. Once the recovery phase had begun, however, the SearchCam 3000 stood alone in the ongoing search for the missing. Using the life-detector system in the SAR phase it was, of course, hoped to locate live victims in the rubble pile, with the seismic sensors designed for attaching to beams, or girders, or other surface on which they can detect any sound vibrations generated by a victim. They can also be pushed firmly into the ground using a screw-in spike, with magnetic attachments also able to attach the sensors to

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Solberg achieves MIL-SPEC product certifications on foam concentrates

The Solberg Company, the world’s foremost innovator of fire-fighting foam concentrates and systems hardware, has announced that the company has achieved U.S. Military MIL- F-24385F Certification on the company’s ARCTIC 3% and 6% AFFF foam concentrates. ARCTIC foam concentrates from SOLBERG are PFOA and PFOS-free synthetic fire-fighting foam concentrates used to effectively extinguish Class B fuel fires. ARCTIC foam concentrates provide rapid extinguishment and excellent burn back resistance and can be used in fresh, salt or brackish water. ARCTIC 3% and 6% MIL-SPEC AFFF (military container packaging) In May 2012, ARCTIC AFFF and ATC foam product lines became C6 fluorochemical based, making Solberg the first foam manufacturer in the Americas to offer commercially available foam concentrates that are compliant to the 2015 U.S. EPA PFOA Product Stewardship Program. In addition to MIL-F-24385F Certification, ARCTIC 3% MIL-SPEC AFFF is Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Listed in accordance with UL 162 (Standard for Safety for Foam Equipment and Liquid Concentrates). Unlike competitive 3% MIL-SPEC AFFF concentrates, the UL Listing for ARCTIC 3% MIL-SPEC AFFF (commercial container packaging) is not a minimalist certification rather a comprehensive UL Listing that includes bladder tanks, proportioners and hand-line nozzles in addition to fire sprinklers. “After months of development work and hundreds of fire tests we have come up with product formulations that are superior in every aspect of performance and have the added value of being UL Listed to the stringent requirements of sprinkler applications” said Mitch Hubert, Vice President Global Product Development. ARCTIC 3% MIL-SPEC AFFF is also certified for use in numerous commercial land and offshore applications where the use of MIL-SPEC certified concentrate is required. These include NFPA 403: Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Services at Airports; NFPA 409: Standard on Aircraft Hangars; NFPA 412: Standard for Evaluating Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Foam Fire equipment; NFPA 414: Standard for Aircraft Rescue and Fire-Fighting Vehicles and NFPA 418: Standard for Heliports. ARCTIC concentrates are extremely effective fire-fighting foams for flame knockdown, fire control, extinguishment, and burn-back resistance. Control, extinguishing time, and burn-back resistance are paramount to the safety of firefighters everywhere. ARCTIC foam concentrates have shown excellent performance in each of these categories. Solberg’s Vice President and General Manager, Steve Hansen commented, “The team at Solberg once again has looked beyond the needs of industry. Formulating a product with the range of performance found in our 3% and 6% MIL-SPEC AFFF concentrates is elegant chemistry at its best.” ARCTIC AFFF foam concentrates are intended for use on Class B hydrocarbon fuel fires and are available in 1%, 3% and 6% concentrations. ARCTIC ATC (AR-AFFF) foam concentrates are intended for use on Class B hydrocarbon and polar solvent fuel fires. Concentrates available include 1X3%, 3×3%, and 3×6% formulations. All ARCTIC foam concentrates can be used to prevent re-ignition of a liquid spill and control hazardous vapours, and will improve extinguishment in Class A deep-seated fires.

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EAPFP calls for single, unified EU Facade Test after skyscraper fires in the UAE

The European Association for Passive Fire Protection (EAPFP) has urged the European Commission (EC) to replace the patchwork of facade fire tests in force across the EU with a single unified test. The EC is currently reviewing the existing tests and classification system with a view to developing a fire-assessment method that meets the regulatory requirements of all EU member states. The issue, which will be addressed in upcoming discussions by the EC Standing Committee for Construction Advisory Group, has been given greater impetus by high-rise fires in Dubai on New Years Eve 2015 and Melbourne in 2014. It is now generally agreed that conventional, small-scale reaction to fire tests and larger scale fire resistance tests are not sufficiently accurate in modelling the behaviour of facade fires. Numerous large and small-scale fire resistance tests have been developed. There are currently two options on the table. The first is to adopt the test method defined in BS 8414-1: Fire performance of external cladding systems (complemented by Sweden’s SP Fire 105) as the large-scale assessment method of choice, and to retain the existing draft German DIN 4102-20 method as the small-scale assessment method. The alternative is to develop new large-scale and intermediate scale-assessment methods as proposed by the European Organisation for Technical Assessment (EOTA). Not keen on either option the EAPFP is proposing a single test method that meets the requirements for both large and small-scale testing, for all product classes, and which is compliant with the regulations of all member states. The association, which represents national fire protection associations throughout the European Union, also believes the development of a new facade test method presents the ideal opportunity to simultaneously clarify the fire-performance classification of all types of building facades. EAPFP Vice President Miroslav Smolka believes the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) is best placed to drive through any new test. “Thresholds, levels, and classes that currently apply in member states are strongly tied to national fire safety and building codes,” he says. “The competence and responsibility of member states have to be fully respected in the process so that the established and/or required level of safety in case of fire is improved or at least maintained. “The EAPFP believes that the European Committee for Standardisation is the only body that is truly competent and transparent enough to be given the task to develop a test method that would meet the needs and requirements of all EU member states. “There are a number of test methods available and used in member states, as well as international ISO standards, but the EAPFP believes there is enough background information and research on the topic to enable a new test to be developed by CEN within a standard time frame.”

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Pierce Ascendant 107-foot single rear axle ladder is the most popular new aerial in company history

Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, has received over 60 orders and counting for its game-changing Pierce® Ascendant™ 107-foot steel heavy-duty aerial ladder since its unveiling last year, making it the most popular new aerial apparatus in the Company’s history.  The Pierce Ascendant’s advanced level of strength and performance in the single rear axle category was recently borne out through a successful completion of three phases of a fatigue test demonstrating the equivalent of 20 years of service life. “We knew the market would be strong for a 107-foot heavy-duty steel aerial available on a single rear axle configuration but, with over 60 orders on the books since its unveiling, the response has far surpassed our expectations,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president of the Fire & Emergency segment and Pierce Manufacturing. “With substantial sales numbers, and an unprecedented demand for product demonstrations, the Pierce Ascendant is quickly redefining the paradigm for performance and reach in the single rear axle category.” “When our guys returned from seeing the Ascendant, they said it had some strong benefits that would meet our department’s needs – especially the extra reach and compact single rear axle configuration,” said Rodney Schmidt, fire chief for the High Level Fire Department in Alberta, Canada. “We have a large industrial plant with a ceiling height of just over 100 feet, and our current 50-foot aerial simply isn’t up to the task. The new Ascendant will make a huge difference in reach. Plus, it eliminates the need for special licensing of our volunteers to operate a tandem rear axle.” Chad Smothers, fire chief for Riverside Fire Department in Riverside, Iowa summed up the Ascendant’s appeal this way: “Our department had been about to pull the trigger on a 75-foot aluminum ladder but, after seeing the Ascendant, we decided to switch over. The longer reach is the big advantage when you can stay on the same size chassis and carry 500 gallons of water and a 1500 gpm pump. With the Ascendant’s extra 32 feet of reach on a single rear axle, we’ll have more flexibility to set up in a safer position,” he explained. The Ascendant aerial passed all NFPA structural and stability testing requirements prior to its launch and, since that time, Pierce’s R & D team successfully completed three phases of a fatigue test that demonstrate the equivalent of 20 years of service life. Phase one included lifting a 750-pound tip load weight – plus the equivalent of 100 pounds of equipment – off the floor 60,000 times at full horizontal extension. Phase two repeated all steps in phase one for another 60,000 cycles which substantiated there are no fatigue issues in the design. A third phase included 10,000 additional cycles with the load increased to 1,125 pounds plus the equivalent of 100 pounds of equipment. To put the 130,000 cycles into perspective, that’s simulating 17 uses at rated tip load per day, every day, for 20 years. “The extra measure of fatigue testing we’ve completed confirms that the Ascendant aerial ladder is up to the emergency response challenges placed on any fire department,” added Johnson. “With these new tests, the Ascendant knocked it out of the park!  Make no mistake: the Ascendant is a tough, yet lightweight aerial that outperforms anything else in its class.” The Pierce Ascendant 107-foot aerial ladder features a weight optimized design structure that place weight and mass only where required. The aerial delivers a full 107-foot vertical reach and a 100-foot horizontal reach with a below grade operation of -10º. Its 100-foot horizontal reach is an astounding 32 feet greater than a typical single rear axle aerial. At the Fire Department’s Instructors Conference (FDIC) in April, the Pierce booth will include all-new configurations of the Ascendant heavy-duty ladder including the PUC™ configuration, Texas Chute Out body (side stack hosebed) and a no pump/no tank body configuration.

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