Thatcham Research helps Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service practice safe EV extrication
Thatcham Research recently welcomed Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service (RBFRS) to its Berkshire HQ to enhance its crews’ incident response approach to modern vehicles. The Thatcham Research crash team provided and…
How is the new 11m trigger for fire sprinklers in residential developments working out?
What is the 11m trigger and why was it introduced? The commercial market has always overshadowed the residential market for sprinklers, despite the reflective real-estate markets being the other way around. Fire…
Operation Orphan: firefighters on the front lines
You’re halfway into a full night’s sleep when the sirens start up again. An incoming barrage slams into the city. Most of the kids at the hospital are getting through, but not…
Life-saving inventor commends firefighting heroes
Roger Carr, managing director of the British patent-holding manufacturer Britannia Fire Ltd – and the inventor of the world-leading P50 fire extinguisher – donated a £10,000 cheque, on behalf of The Fire…
Firefighting is now officially a cancer-causing occupation
Although post-fire contaminants with a proven link to firefighter cancer are minute in size, measured in micrometres, the recent declaration by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the profession is now officially…
Maintaining undisturbed spaces through automatic testing
One of the issues associated with the maintenance of fire-safety systems is the potential impact on day-to-day operations. This is particularly true of public buildings such as hospitals or hotels, where the…
Wildfires – a time for change
Increasingly frequent hot summers in the United Kingdom and fewer fire and rescue service resources are beginning to have an impact we couldn’t imagine a couple of decades ago. For those of…
Rosenbauer’s vision for a sustainable electric future
The future is electric, sustainable and ready to happen – right now. With protecting the environment an issue that’s on everyone’s global agenda, Interschutz 2022 gave Rosenbauer the platform to showcase a…
The importance of cultural change within the industry
Marking the fifth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a fire started in the kitchen of a fourth-floor flat in West London. Within minutes, the fire spread via…
Only a functioning smoke alarm can protect you
Landlords have responsibilities to keep tenants safe in their properties by providing functioning life-safety equipment. Regulations introduced in 2015 require private-sector landlords to ensure they ‘have at least one smoke alarm installed…
The significance of urban planning in fighting future fires
Fires can cause up to 180,000 deaths globally each year. This, according to The World Bank, is three times as high as the annual average of deaths due to all-natural hazards. The…
BAFE and NAPIT highlight disturbing failure rates and absence of domestic smoke alarms
In research presented by BAFE and NAPIT, data collated over the last decade (2010/11–2020/21) in England, Wales and Scotland record an unsettling 424,464 dwelling fires. These fires resulted in almost 82,000 non-fatal…
Starting the year strong with GESA’s Equipment Exchange
We all know that Emergency Services departments and communities across the Global South struggle to get the equipment they need. Budgets are tight, procurements can be slow and inefficient, and the process…
Beware the imposters!
Several years ago, whilst on holiday, I went to see a Four Tops tribute act. When they took to the stage, there were five of them and they opened with ‘Eye of…
The Fire Standards Board launches the Fire Investigation Fire Standard
The Fire Investigation Fire Standard (FIFS) is the 10th professional fire standard produced by the Fire Standards Board (FSB) and focuses on ensuring fire and rescue services (FRS) deliver effective, efficient and…
IoT and fire
Industry professionals will be acutely aware of the importance of good information when preventing and tackling fires. To coordinate safe and appropriate responses, we will become increasingly reliant on data-harvesting technologies to…
Fire in educational premises
A recent study from Zurich Municipal revealed 480 primary and secondary schools endured fires in 2019, a staggering 40 incidents every month. As a result, almost 20,000 school children have had their…
PPE – the times they are a-changin!
The UK PPE industry often sees personnel changes, through retirement or promotion, but in my time associated with the UK PPE market, close on 40 years, I have never witnessed such an…