Teaser: Dubai, U.A.E Website: http://www.fleminggulf.com/conferenceview/Middle-East-Fire-Safe/457

Teaser: Sheraton WTC Hotel, Sao Paulo, Brazil Website: http://www.fleminggulf.com/conferenceview/Fire-Safe-Latin-America/444

Teaser: Johannesburg Website: http://www.ifsecsa.com/EN/Content/Pages/Home

Teaser: Saint-Petersburg, Lenexpo Website: http://sfitex.primexpo.ru/en/

Teaser: Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai Website: http://www.fire-india.com/

A four-storey building fell down, sending debris across the city Six people have died and at least 14 have been hurt after a building collapsed in the centre of the US city of Philadelphia, officials say. A four-storey building fell down, sending debris on to a building housing a bustling Salvation Army shop. The collapse happened around 10:30 local time (14:30 GMT) in the Center City neighbourhood. The building was being demolished, though the cause of the collapse was unknown, officials said. Early reports said just one person had died, but rescuers continued working into the night. Mayor Michael Nutter said the dead included five women and one man. "If anyone else is in that building, they will find them,” he said. Thirteen people were taken to hospital suffering minor injuries, Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. Late on Wednesday, a 61-year-old woman was pulled alive from the rubble to become the 14th known survivor. The four-storey building had both commercial and residential spaces. Several witnesses said they had been concerned about the way the demolition was being carried out prior to the collapse. "We’ve been calling it for the past week – it’s going to fall, it’s going to fall,” window washer Dan Gillis told the Associated Press. Earlier, witnesses said they had heard a loud rumbling sound immediately beforehand. "I was standing there looking out my window, watching the men at work on the building, and the next thing I know I heard something go kaboom," Veronica Haynes, who was in an apartment building nearby, said. "Then you saw the whole side of the wall fall down… on to the other building.” Bernie Ditomo told a local NBC broadcasterhe was driving on a nearby street when he felt something "like an earthquake". "I said, ‘What the hell is going on?’," Mr Ditomo said. "My truck is totalled. I am a little dusty and dirty, but I’m alright. I am one of the lucky ones." High school student Jordan McLaughlan said he saw several people on the ground being given oxygen by rescuers after the collapse as the air filled with dust. Authorities asked news helicopters to clear the air over the scene so rescuers could hear people trapped under the rubble. "This is delicate, it is dangerous work," Mr Ayers said. 

Fast-moving fire roars through parched California mountains Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated from settlements in the parched mountains north of Los Angeles as a rapidly growing fire destroyed at least six homes, damaged 15 others and threatened hundreds more. The blaze had burned about 40sq m (103sq km) of very dry brush in the Angeles National Forest mountains and canyons, some of which has not burned since 1929. The fire was growing so fast, and the smoke was so thick, that it was difficult to gauge its size, the US Forest Service incident commander Norm Walker said. "This is extremely old, dry fuel," Walker said at a news conference. The fire, which was 20% contained, appeared to be the fiercest of several burning in the west, including two in New Mexico, where thick smoke covered several communities and set a blanket of haze over Santa Fe on Saturday. Crews fighting the two uncontained fires on Sunday were focusing on building protection lines around them amid anticipation that forecast storms could help reduce the intensity of the fires. Crews in southern California were fighting the fire on four fronts, with the flames spreading quickest north into unoccupied land, authorities said. But populated areas about 50 miles (80km) north of central Los Angeles remained in danger, with more than 2,800 people and 700 homes under evacuation orders in Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth, authorities said.

‘ActiV’ is fully certified by Intertek Branded ‘ActiV’, the detectors have been third-party certified to the relevant parts of EN54 parts 5, 7 and pr29 by leading notified approval body, Intertek, and are available to purchase today. Daniel Griffin, Intertek’s Business Development Director, presented C-TEC Directors, Andrew Foster and Andy Scott, with the official approval certificates at Firex International where the detectors were not only on display but featured on a breathtaking 3.5 metre wide videowall presentation. Said Daniel: "C-TEC’s detectors have undergone rigorous laboratory testing for quality, functionality and performance. Only products manufactured to exceptional quality standards are awarded Intertek’s prestigious stamp of approval." Easy-to-fit, with a 9-33Vdc operating voltage, ActiV detectors offer outstanding detection performance at a very competitive price. Suitable for use not only with C-TEC’s CFP, FP, MFP and EP203 conventional fire panels but with many other manufacturers’ control panels, the range also carries the prestigious pan-European ‘CertAlarm’ System 5 mark. C-TEC also unveiled its proprietary new analogue addressable CAST protocol and fire detectors at Firex International. Although third-party certified by Intertek at the same time as C-TEC’s conventional detectors, CAST addressable detectors will not be available for sale until Q4 2013 when the company’s BETA site test regime is complete. Said C-TEC’s MD Andrew Foster: "As one of very few independent companies in the fire industry, C-TEC is in an incredibly fortunate position as we are not beholden to shareholders and thus have the freedom to create truly innovative products. The launch of our own UK-manufactured detectors and revolutionary new CAST analogue addressable protocol mark a major milestone in our history and we are looking forward to expanding and forging new business relationships in the coming months."

Locked exits ‘blocked escape’ A fire at a poultry processing plant in China has killed at least 119 people, officials say. The fire broke out at a slaughterhouse in Dehui in Jilin province early on Monday. Accounts speak of explosions prior to the fire, which caused panic and a crush of workers trying to escape. Some exits were said to be locked. The fire is now said to have been mostly put out and bodies are being recovered. Sources including the provincial fire department suggest there may have been an ammonia leak which either caused the fire or made fighting the blaze more hazardous. Other reports speak of an electrical fault. Dozens of injured have been sent to hospital. It is China’s deadliest fire since 2000, when 309 people died in a blaze in a dance hall in Luoyang, in Henan province. A labour activist told the BBC it was the worst factory fire in living memory. About 100 workers had managed to escape from the Baoyuan plant, Xinhua said, adding that the "complicated interior structure" of the building and narrow exits had made rescue work more difficult. It said the plant’s front gate was locked when the blaze began. Firefighters have still not completed the job of recovering bodies from the building, meaning the death toll may rise yet further, say correspondents. Dozens of injured have been sent to hospital, but the severity of their injuries remains unclear. Pictures from the scene showed the roof mostly burned away to reveal blackened, twisted girders. The provincial government said it sent more than 500 firefighters and at least 270 doctors and nurses to the scene, evacuating an area nearby that is home to 3,000 people as a precaution, reported Reuters news agency.  Workers interviewed by state broadcaster CCTV said the fire broke out at about 06:00 (22:00 Sunday GMT) during a shift change and may have started in a locker room. Those who managed to escape from the factory describe panic and chaos as the lights went out, the building filled with smoke, and they found exits blocked or locked. Guo Yan told Xinhua the emergency exit for her workstation was blocked and that she was knocked to the ground in a crush of workers trying to escape through a side door. "I could only crawl desperately forward," said Ms Guo, 39. "I worked alongside an old lady and a young girl, but I don’t know if they survived or not." Another unnamed survivor said: "I escaped by climbing out of a window. There was a huge cloud of black smoke coming down the corridor. It was burning hot. It engulfed me. As soon as I was outside I collapsed unconscious." Family members were quoted as saying the factory doors were always kept locked during working hours. An investigation into the cause of the fire is under way, Xinhua said. The plant is owned by Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. It was only established in 2009 and is not an old or antiquated facility. Located around 800km (500 miles) north-east of Beijing, it employs some 1,200 people and produces some 67,000 tonnes of chicken products every year. Chickens are slaughtered at the plant and then cut up for retail – a process that takes place in cold conditions. Ammonia is used as part of the cooling system and in such plants flammable foam insulation is commonly used to keep temperatures low. Workplace safety standards can often be poor in China, with fatal accidents regularly reported at large factories and mines, says the BBC’s John Sudworth in Shanghai. Those lax standards are variously linked to corruption, the prioritisation of efficient production over worker safety in building design, and poor enforcement of safety rules. Comments posted on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo about the fire included: "Why was the gate locked from outside!" "Work safety… everyone should be responsible. Sense of safety… should be taught early." "The province should lower national flags. Relevant bosses should be sacked."

Including five engines, one aerial platform, one heavy-duty rescue and three tankers Pierce Manufacturing, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE:OSK) company, received an order for 10 fire apparatus from Polk County Fire Rescue (PCFR) in Polk County, Florida. The purchase includes five pumpers, a 100-foot Pierce Aerial Platform, and a heavy-duty rescue/hazmat vehicle, all built on the Pierce® Velocity™ chassis, as well as three tandem rear axle tanker/pumper vehicles. “Polk County Fire Rescue became a new Pierce customer just over two years ago, and this significant new purchase is a direct result of how our first vehicles have performed on front line duty over that time,” said Jim Johnson, Oshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, Fire & Emergency. “We are proud to be selected to build these ten new apparatus for one of Florida’s largest fire departments.” “We purchased our first Pierce Velocity engine in 2010, and our personnel are very impressed with its dependability and overall build quality – so when the time came to order new vehicles, we concluded that it was the right decision to continue with Pierce,” said Fire Chief David Cash of Polk County Fire Rescue. “These new Pierce vehicles will reduce a significant amount of our ongoing maintenance costs, while providing state-of-the-art technology to help our firefighters save lives and protect property.” Pierce dealer, Ten-8 Fire Equipment, Inc. of Bradenton, Florida, provides local service and support. “Comprehensive support after the sale is critical to keeping any fire apparatus fleet on front line duty,” said Chief Cash. “Having the excellent team at Ten-8 available is a big plus for our department.” The PCFR pumpers and aerial platform feature an optional forward roof cab design, which enhances interior space for the crew and improves visibility. The Department’s pumpers are designed to function as paramedic engines, and will be assigned to the busiest of its 45 stations. Each vehicle features seating for six firefighters and a forward facing EMS cabinet inside the cab. The pumpers also feature a 450 hp DD13 engine, Pierce Command Zone® advanced electronics and a 1,250-gpm single-stage pump. The Pierce Velocity Aerial Platform features TAK-4® independent front suspension, a 500 hp DD13 engine, a 19-inch front bumper extension, a 300-gallon water tank, a 2,000-gpm single stage pump, Pierce Command Zone advanced electronics, and blue LED lighting along all three sections of the aerial. The three Pierce tanker/pumper vehicles, built on Freightliner chassis, each feature a DD13 engine, a 2,500-gallon water tank, seating for three firefighters, and a 1,000-gpm PTO driven pump. “The larger Pierce tankers will enable our department to replace eighteen smaller and aging tankers that have ongoing maintenance issues,” added Chief Cash. The Pierce Velocity non-walk-in, heavy-duty rescue features a 3-door cab with raised roof, seating for four firefighters, and a 21.5-foot body with roof hatches and recessed walkways. The vehicle offers a wide range of rescue equipment exterior compartments with adjustable shelves, slide-out toolboards and trays. PCFR is a division of the Polk County Board of County Commissioners. PCFR provides fire, emergency medical, and emergency management services to residents in a 2000-square-mile area, and mutual aid to surrounding counties. PCFR has more than 600 full-time employees throughout 45 stations, and runs more than 80,000 calls each year.