Ottawa firm’s emergency response portal could help first responders
Security expert Mark Macy was showing off his company’s remote building monitor system to a colleague over breakfast in Gatineau on Oct. 22 when news broke that a lone gunman had killed a soldier and attacked the Parliament Buildings. Though the portal is designed for...
Report warns of soaring risk of ‘mega-fires’ in B.C.
Firefighting won’t be enough to stop devastating fires; report calls for new emphasis on prevention. “During these events, suppression response cannot be relied upon to protect communities or natural resource values. The only protection provided will be the protection...
Cameras might circle Lake Tahoe to help warn of fires
Like an automated version of the manned fire lookouts used for decades to protect vulnerable forests from fire, the cameras are designed to alert officials that a fire has started, allowing them to send firefighters to the scene before it gets big. Had the camera...
Landlord given 3 year sentence after fatal fire
The owner of a rooming house in Etobicoke has been sentenced to three years in prison and will have to pay a fine in connection with fire that claimed one person’s life more than three years ago. The landlord was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death,...
Why lithium-ion smartphone batteries keep exploding
The last thing you may consider to be a fire hazard in your home is your smartphone. But if recent events are any indication, our trusty devices may have a hidden danger – their batteries. Hope Casserly is the latest Canadian to go public with a story about her...
Coroner’s inquest begins in fatal senior’s home fire
A coroner's inquest into the fire that killed 32 people at a Quebec senior’s home in January began Monday. Flames gutted the mostly wooden structure of the Residence du Havre in L'Isle-Verte, Quebec, about 230 km northeast of Quebec City, on January 24, 2014....
Man sets house on fire and kills Florida Deputy Sheriff in ambush
A man who set his house on fire then ambushed the first sheriff's deputy who responded, fatally shooting the deputy and wounding another before he was killed by a police officer who lives nearby, a law enforcement official said. The man's name and address had been...
Patients on oxygen therapy risk fire injury from e-cigarettes
Health Canada is warning about the potential risks of "vaping" after an unidentified Quebec resident receiving oxygen therapy was injured by a fire sparked by an electronic cigarette. The federal department says similar incidents of fires started by e-cigarettes in...
MSA G1 SCBA is Now Approved
MSA Safety Incorporated announced that its long awaited G1 Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) has received U.S. government approval from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and certification from the Safety Equipment Institute...
New Program Provides Gift Cards to Victims of Fires
A new program is helping the victims of house fires begin the difficult process of getting back on their feet, and firefighters are the ones making it possible. The gift cards are provided to victims who sustain 25 percent or more damage to their property....
Why homes could burn eight times faster
This TV news report and video demonstrates the rapid fire development of new synthetic materials versus old cotton and wool fabrics. The cubicle on the right is full of older or antique furniture, made of cotton, wool and down. The room on the left is a typical home...
Taller wood frame buildings in Ontario raise fire risk, firefighter group says
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing made changes to the Ontario Building Code this week to raise the height of wood frame buildings from four storeys to six storeys high. But Scott Marks with the International Association of Fire Fighters said firefighters...
City attributes reduced multi-residential fires to education
The city’s assistant fire chief gives much of the credit to an education campaign boosted by a federal grant and money from the city. The department bought and distributed almost 8,000 DVDs on fire prevention. They came in four languages — English, Spanish, Somali and...
Two men charged in $6M Windermere arson case
Edmonton’s Windermere condo development was still under construction in March when security cameras caught someone breaking into the building and setting fires inside. A 28-year-old construction framer has been charged with arson and numerous other...
Official report released on deadly Houston hotel fire – 4 firefighter deaths
In May 2013, four Houston firefighters lost their lives while battling a massive hotel fire. Problems with radio communications are among the findings of a report by the Houston Fire Department that investigated the fatal fire that killed four firefighters. It...
Has the loss of 19 firefighters on the Yarnell Hill Fire changed the way crews fight fires?
Since Yarnell, any measurable changes in the systems of wildland firefighting have been hard to grasp. Teams still train, operate and dispatch in the same ways. Equipment, from the national fleet of flying tankers down to the standard-issue foil fire shelters...
Oregon to use radio-controlled helicopter on fires
Oregon’s Department of Forestry will get the chance this summer to use a small remote-controlled helicopter equipped with video, infrared cameras and a GPS locator to get a better look in tight smoky places before incident commanders send in fire crews. "You are...
Phoenix arson squad comes under fire
The Phoenix Fire Department's elite fire investigations unit, once lauded as the most successful arson squad in the country, is being investigated for allegations of misconduct. The unit was making arrests in over half the city's arson cases, a soaring statistic in a...
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