Analysis of decades of accidents has helped us objectively quantify fire risks and the construction industry has been engineering solutions to address these. Iterative revisions of fire and life safety strategies have helped save countless lives and millions of dollars. But as the complexity of...
Across the world there have been many examples of fires in public assembly buildings which have resulted in the tragic loss of life. Fortunately, lessons learned from past events have led to the creation and updating of life safety codes to address these deadly types...
The Middle East is no stranger to natural disasters, even if the types of emergency change over time. For example, writes James Trevelyan, SVP Global Sales, Speedcast, increasing climate variability and a fast-growing population crowded into a tiny portion of the region’s surface area, have...
The Thomas Bell-Wright fire testing lab in Dubai occupies almost 8,800 m2 on a corner in the Jebel Ali Industrial Area (which is not part of the free zone), and employs approximately 110 people, of which about half are engineers. In this issue Chairman, Tom...
Doors and windows provide more than just access, air and light. Here Paul Duggan, Certification Manager, Warringtonfire and Fawaz Hashim, Senior Engineer, Al Futtaim Element Façade Testing and Advisory Services stress the importance of testing and certification. Robust testing systems supported by third party product certification,...
Despite many fire engineers being highly trained, skilled and experienced, without the right tools at their disposal the process of undertaking routine tasks can be challenging and time-consuming writes Advanced’s general manager for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Steve Carroll, who goes onto...
Firefighting foam has become the only viable means to effectively extinguish a large atmospheric storage tank or spillage fires involving flammable liquids, such as hydrocarbon products. Now Kevan Whitehead, Managing Director of Unity Fire & Safety Services in Oman offers a brief history of this...
Roger Startin, Joint Managing Director of Bristol Uniforms, explores the new and emerging dangers faced by today’s firefighters, and the importance of continuously refining PPE to keep firefighters safe. The role of firefighters and the hazards they are likely to face are ever-evolving and are becoming...
James Daniels, Fire Safety Manager at Warringtonfire, looks at incorporating fire safety in the design phase of mixed-use buildings and goes on to discuss the fire safety considerations required during the construction stage then deliberates the ongoing fire protection measures required during the occupied life...
This article was created from A Guide to Best Practice in the Specification and Use of Fire-Resistant Glazed Systems, a well-respected guide produced by the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF) which represents companies that manufacture, supply or install glass and glazing products throughout the world....
Don Gilbreath, Vice President of Systems with Rajant explains how the company is working on containing wildfires in California. Whether firefighters are responding to a fire in an urban city or remote local village, it’s critical that they can access vital voice, data, and video communications...
Lithium-ion batteries offer high energy density in a small space that makes them highly suitable for stationary electrical energy storage systems, which, in the wake of the energy transition, are being installed in more and more buildings and infrastructures. However, these positive characteristics have unique...
Emerging evidence continues to show links between exposure to smoke and higher rates of cancer diagnoses amongst the world’s firefighters. Roger Startin, Joint Managing Director of Bristol Uniforms, discusses how PPE designers and suppliers are working to minimise this threat. In recent years, specialist firefighter PPE...
Firstly, I wish to pass on my personal thanks to all front-line responders during this period. It is often forgotten by the wider populace but you are literally on the front-line and literally run into the burning buildings whilst we evacuate. Your continued efforts and...
Concentrating all or many occupants of many floors of a tall building onto refuge floors during an emergency has become a concept that has gained increased use. However, the refuge floor concept can pose challenges to efficiency, sustainability and life safety goals. In 2011 the...
One of the greatest challenges for the fire engineer is to ensure a well-rounded fire strategy is developed and implemented by the design team that fully considers all potential users and occupants of a building. Protecting vulnerable members within our society, including persons with reduced...
2020 will see the realisation of the UAE’s ambition to hold and deliver a world class event showcasing it’s culture, history and future aspirations – Expo 2020. With multiple infrastructure projects improving the connectivity across the region and future projects coming on-line, it re-affirms the...
It is important that the fire service, engineers and designers along with aviation professionals collaborate to achieve creative solutions to allow for innovation and expansion within the aviation industry writes Aaron Johnson, Fire & Building Code Strategist. In 2018, a report released by Aerospace Property Consultants1...
With challenging weather, desert terrain and a 711.7 nautical mile (1,318 kilometre) coastline the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) National Search and Rescue Centre (NSRC) provides federal search and rescue (SAR) services for all land, sea and mountain rescues. Tom Withington puts the NSRC in the...
Previously damaged buildings stand a much lower chance of retaining essential structural integrity in order to survive a fire event, reflects Jamie Hutchison, Marketing Executive, Belzona UK and as concrete is a globally popular construction material in the world, when a repair is needed reducing...
Wherever a wildfire breaks out it causes turmoil with farmers worrying about their crops and cattle; rural residents fearing for the safety of themselves, families and their homes; while native animals try to flee from the flames. However, to describe the wildfires of 2019 as...
The world’s first ISO approved drone standards have been announced by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) following a 12-month period of consultation with drone professionals, academics, businesses and the general public. The final publication of these new international safety and quality Standards for Unmanned Aircraft...
RISE Fire Research in Sweden run an open database to gather classifications of materials and products that have been tested according to EN 45545-2 – Railway applications – Fire protection on railway vehicles – Part 2: Requirements for fire behaviour of materials and components, Anna...
Mass transit applications are becoming an ever-increasing focus as we look to create the infrastructure to deal with the continuing growth in the world’s population. Here Kelvin Miller, Sales Director at industrial fire detection specialists Patol, considers the increasing role of thermal fire detection in...
NFPA 72 provides the latest safety provisions to meet society’s changing fire detection, signalling, and emergency communications demands. In addition to the core focus on fire alarm systems, the Code includes requirements for mass notification systems used for weather emergencies; terrorist events; biological, chemical, and...
While air travel in all its forms is statistically one of the safest means of transportation, it is a fact that despite our best efforts, aviation incidents and accidents do sometimes occur reflects chris thain, Business Development Manager, Fire Protection Services, G3 Systems Ltd. At airports...
The United States Fire Administration develops reports on selected, fire related subjects relating to major fires throughout USA. One of the most recent is entitled FIREBOATS THEN AND NOW… The first recorded fireboat was built in 1765 for the Sun Fire Insurance Company in London. This...
When a tank farm manager in Germany commissioned TÜV SÜD Industrie Service to develop a fire protection concept the technical experts, thinking out of the box, proposed a solution which relies on early fire detection using a fully automated infrared measurement system as a key...
Prevention is always better than cure, and there are few better examples than with fires. If fires can only survive when there is oxygen to fuel them, removing it from the air is an effective way to ensure that the environment remains fire-free. Oxygen reduction...
Fire Middle East explores a vital Whitepaper : Understanding the risks of working in confined spaces published by Honeywell Safety Products which explains how to identify a confined space, giving examples and characteristics as well as warning about the specific conditions that come together to...
Misconceptions about employee safety in the workplace tend to significantly impact on aspects such as employee retention, job satisfaction and financial gain (or losses) in a business, writes Daryl Wake, Business Development, Universal Site Monitoring. Safety remains a paramount concern for the industrial sector worldwide,...
Providing October FME readers insight into the design and development process when creating new protective garments is Roger Startin, Joint Managing Director of Bristol Uniforms which for more than 60 years has been at the forefront of firefighter PPE design. New fibres and fabrics Technical designers...
There is currently no test standard providing a robust set of proven and well researched tests to assess the performance capabilities of video flame detectors (VFD) and video smoke detectors (VSD) in anticipated service environments. To assess video fire detectors, sufficiently detailed and well demonstrated...
Maximum Foreseeable Loss (MFL) events are caused by one of three main events. These events are fire, explosion or equipment failure with fire being the primary cause. B. Aaron Johnson, Fire & Building Code Strategist, and Justin Biller, p.e., fsfpe consider the contribution of fire...
A recent project in the GCC has been the catalyst for this article from Peter Stephenson, Business Development Manager, Warringtonfire, which highlights the typical process and hazards/risks that should be considered when assessing the fire & life safety requirements for a desalination plant. With the global...
As organisations within the MENA region have been announcing big money plans for new electrical power installations two recent, highly disruptive and much publicised incidents in America have highlighted the necessity of ensuring the equipment is super-efficient and protected with effective fire safety equipment. It was...
Fire is often associated with heavy materials and firefighting equipment losses and casualties and is a key public security concern for authorities all over the world and the use of fireproof material can be traced back to ancient Rome reflects Hakan Ozyigit, Regional Director of...
As an architect or engineer, when you design a facility’s life safety system, your primary goal is to achieve compliance with state and local fire code requirements explains Rodger Reiswig, SET, Fellow and Vice President, Industry Relations, Johnson Controls. While that approach can help ensure...
Female firefighters are at a high-risk of developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and experiencing suicidal thoughts, compared to male firefighters, according to a new study published in May 2019 in the Occupational Medicine Journal. The study found that almost one in three (30%) female firefighters...
Old or new, all buildings are at an increased risk of fire during refurbishment. Here, Paul Henson, Sales and Marketing Director at Ramtech Electronics, looks at the importance of protecting occupants and assets during construction work. 2019 should go down in history as a turning point...
Tayfun Eren, Product Manager for the Prysmian Group examines the EU standard 50575 of the Construction Products Regulation (CPR): More safety in buildings. People spend 90 percent of their time in buildings where around 90 percent of all fires occur. The leading cause of death in...
With the international investment in aviation projects continuing, the cliché that the world is becoming a smaller place still remains relevant today writes Dermot Gallagher, Senior Fire Engineer in the UAE, Exova Warringtonfire. Tourism destinations have been competing to attract international tourists and their resulting...
More than a year of investigations into the March 2018 shopping mall fire in Kemerovo, Siberia, which killed 64 people and injured 79 others, have highlighted safety concerns that have to be taken into account not just in the rest of Russia but also worldwide. Physically...
Firefighting as an organised operation is as ancient as known history can tell us explains Ashley Price, Vice President, Fire Science Academy, KSA. The first historical accounts of organised fire brigade operation are believed to be from the Roman period in 115 BC, however, almost...
2015 was a landmark year for tall buildings reflects Peter Stephenson, Business Development Manager, Warrington Fire. Across the globe 106 tall buildings (above 200 metres or 656 feet in height) were completed. This surpassed the previous record of 99 (2014). The vast majority of new...
Miguel Coll reflects on how autonomous fire suppression is revolutionising exterior fire protection. Miguel is the Global Director Engineered Systems Product Management with Johnson Controls. The middle east is no stranger to industrial and economic growth. With this growth comes rapid new building construction. Consider the...
The “High-rise” or “Skyscraper” is not, as some would believe, a modern invention. They have been around since the height of the Roman Empire and were built more out of necessity than aesthetics. When you have a large population that require to be housed in...
In this vital article, Roy Savio Fernandes, SFPE with Jensen Hughes in Dubai, illustrates the changes adopted in the 2019 edition of NFPA 72 whilst considering occupant notification signals and standard updates from latest version of NFPA and explains the various requirements of fire alarm...
The Fire Station Manager for the Jabal Omar Development Company in the Holy City of Makkah in Saudi Arabia, Iqbal Ali, looks out of the window of his office at the thousands of Haj pilgrims making their way towards the Holy Mosque and the Holy...
Following the major fire at the Kings Dock car park of the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK, on 31st December 2017, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (MF&RS) investigated the incident and commissioned a report, just published, which considered the fire protection issues influencing the incident...