Set to amend the Fire Safety Order 2005, the Fire Safety Act 2021 (as it is now known) has been designed to “ensure that people feel safe in their homes, and a tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire never happens again” in England.
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Crowd surges at Houston, Texas, Travis Scott concert cast a spotlight on crowd management. Ten people died and over 300 suffered injuries as the crowd surged during the rap performance.
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Over 43,000 people call California’s Canoga Park home. But the area is also home to a smattering of marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and retail stores.
This is not newsworthy by itself. California became the first state to legalize marijuana in 2012. What is noteworthy is the fire potential these cannabis facilities present.
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Firefighters are one of the first to be called into a crisis situation and they determine which additional services need to get involved. Simply, they take care of the immediate threat to life. Our fire service community needs support from you, from the government, and the community as these events of the past two years clearly demonstrate how they have become an all-hazardous emergency provider.
The current situation that the Province of British Columbia is facing with flooding and rockslides puts additional pressure on the fire service community in particular. If they weren’t already, they certainly are now, more than ever an all-hazard provider. Usually, as the first responder, they are required to make life-saving decisions in a timely manner and determine which additional support needs to be brought to the scene. A recent example of this is those that were called to the mudslide in Agassiz Fire Department (AFD) where individuals were trapped in their cars. These front-line workers, along with others, saved the lives and their presence alone calmed the fears of many.
The Canada Task Force 1 (CTF1) is a Canadian multi-disciplinary team that brings together firefighters, and specialists like engineers, paramedics, police, and others. Together they come in to back up local response agencies in all aspects of major emergency response. Many volunteers their time to participate in this important, national asset. This week they were deployed to Highway 7 to address several submerged objects and worked closely with AFD. The Canada Task Force 2 (CTF2), a team based in Alberta, recently assisted Whitehorse as they battled major flooding. As a result of climate change, wildfires and unusual weather events are more frequent and more severe. The risk is still out there as we see with the recent events in Abbotsford.
Photo courtesy of @DriveBC
“Fire and spill professionals often think absorption and adsorption are the same thing. But the truth is there is a fundamental difference in the performance of an absorbent versus an adsorbent, and not understanding these differences during a hazardous materials spill can have serious occupational safety and health implications.”
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“UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (FSRI) announced today the release of the new “Impact of Ventilation on Strip Malls” online training course. This online course explores the results of the fire experiments conducted in a multi-unit strip mall as part of the “Study of Coordinated Fire Attack Utilizing Acquired Structures.” These experiments were conducted in collaboration with the Fairborn Fire Department (Fairborn, Ohio) to explore the impact of ventilation on the fire dynamics of large, open volume commercial structures.”
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“Fire protection systems are increasingly networked to Building Control Systems (BCS), Internet of Things (IoT), and other platforms that are, by design or oversight, exposed to the public-facing Internet. This emerging environment could lead to unique and novel cyber vulnerabilities, and attacks on fire protection systems have the potential to have significant consequences. However, a thorough understanding of cybersecurity issues related to fire protection systems is lacking. The expansiveness of these vulnerabilities, the severity of the consequences, and the awareness of the fire protection community of these vulnerabilities is not well understood.”
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“Firefighting is a race against time. Exactly how much time? For firefighters, that part is often unclear. Building fires can turn from bad to deadly in an instant, and the warning signs are frequently difficult to discern amid the mayhem of an inferno.”
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“Projects treated with BarrierTek fire-resistant coatings are hard to miss. Our distinctive colourful coatings are more than just hallmarks of a progressive developer. They are beacons of safer communities, and the net result of over a decade in innovation in wood construction fire safety.”
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