A complete family of 19, has survived a massive fire at their two-storey house in Al-Muraydah district of Ras-Al-Khaimah. Responding to an emergency call RAK fire and rescue teams found three rooms completely gutted by the fire. However they were able to rescue all the house's occupants...
The civil defence authorities in Sharjah and Ajman have announced they will intensify their fire prevention inspection and awareness campaigns which target commercial and industrial establishments. The move follows the introduction in 2017 of a new regulation which obliges the owners of commercial and industrial buildings...
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a firefighter has a 29% higher risk of contracting various types of cancer than the rest of the US population. They have a 1.39 chance higher of developing skin cancer and are 1.31 times...
Firefighters from the UAE and Saudi Arabia were praised after they worked together to put out a huge blaze that broke out in a warehouse on the border between the two countries. A plume of thick black smoke accompanied the blaze in the Saudi customs facility...
A raging early morning fire killed 28 valuable racehorses as they were trapped inside a training centre barn in upstate New York just hours after many of them had been in action at the Pocono Downs track in Pennsylvania. Flames emerging from the barn were spotted...
A large fire at one of Europe’s most popular outdoor amusement parks forced the evacuation of an estimated 25,000 visitors. Seven firefighters were injured tackling the blaze at Europa-Park in the town of Rust in southwest Germany. The fire which started at a storage site quickly...
Just two weeks before it is due to host one of this year’s World Cup soccer matches between Iran and Spain the Russian City of Kazan in Tatarstan has been rocked by a massive fire that broke out in a shopping mall. There were no reports...
Over recent years, studies have shown that heat stress is especially life-threatening for firefighters and is the number-one cause of firefighter casualties. Paul Gibson, International Sales Manager at Bristol Uniforms, looks at the latest advances in the fight against heat stress. Heat stress is a potentially...
Nigeria’s rating as the country in the world that sees more people killed by fires than any other has been reinforced by recent figures disclosed by the Lagos State Government. In the past year the area around the Nigerian Capital saw a total of 84 people...
Residents living close to the Jebel Ali Industrial Area were told not to panic or fear alarm should they see fire flaring in the neighbourhood over a two week period. The warning that flames would often be visible was issued by the Dubai Supply Authority as...
At least 64 people died in a fire that tore through a shopping and entertainment complex in the Siberian coal-mining city of Kemerovo. As many as 41 children were among the victims of the blaze which swept through the 1500 square metre building and took fire...
Welding work on an escalator was identified as the cause of a fire which swept through a hotel and casino complex in the Philippine capital Manila. Five people died and more than 20 people needed hospital treatment for injuries at the Manila Waterfront Pavilion, but 300...
The Dubai Civil Defence has announced plans to launch a new centre for studies and research this year which will analyse fire accidents and develop new fire safety techniques. After eight years in preparation, the centre will be headed by trained staff who earned their postgraduate...
Reflections of Bettina McDowell, General Manager of the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) When I was nine years old, I happened to watch the news one evening and watched a high-rise office block in flames. I remember the reporter saying that the firefghters could not reach...
Fire alarm systems are essential for the safety of people in a building. An emerging fire can put all the people in danger in minutes, therefore fire incidents should be detected early. With developing technology, high rise smart buildings are more common nowadays. So fire...
Five people including two children died when they were asphyxiated in a fire that gutted part of their apartment building in the Al Butainah area of Sharjah. Four other residents were treated for burn injuries in hospital. Civil Defence director Colonel Sami Al Naqbi said that...
Two teenagers suffered second-degree burns after the butane lighter gas they were inhaling inside a car, with its windows locked, triggered a fire in Sharjah. The face of one of the boys was so badly burned that Dr Safwat Al Husseini, plastic surgery consultant at Al...
The Emirates based hospitality company Time Hotels have introduced a brand new fire safety message to increase guests’ safety in its 859 bedrooms. It has produced a two minute long 3D animated video, available in every room which explains to guests general fire safety instructions and...
Fire safety is a subject which, unfortunately, still all too frequently grabs headlines around the world. However, with ever-evolving fire protection technology, practices and specialist standards, levels of safety are constantly improving. This said, notes Stephen Beadle of Detectortesters (No Climb Products Ltd.) there is...
Ancient sculptures in the famous Meenakshi Temple in the Indian city of Madurai escaped serious damage despite being engulfed by flames and smoke during a fire. The night time blaze which took 60 firefighters five hours to control gutted a row of 30 shops housed in...
A fire in an industrial biomass storage facility may take a massive financial toll. Biomass material is destroyed in the fire and the storage facility may be damaged, which often causes a long production down-time. In addition, people and environment may be harmed due to...
It has become common place to read reports online and in printed media about “Toxic AFFF” or “Health Concerns associated with firefighting foam”, with many of these originating from the USA or Australia. Here andy hall of Hall Fire Safety Consultants reports that he is...
No sooner had the 20th edition of Intersec Dubai closed its doors, with reports of record visitor and exhibitor numbers, the organisers of one of the world’s most impressive trade events for fire, safety and security the 21st edition will be held at the World...
At least 37 people were killed and 140 more suffered injuries when a when fire ripped through a hospital in the South Korean city of Milyang. The blaze was suspected to have start in the first floor emergency room of the facility which has mainly dealt...
A new website database has been launched to enable firefighters around the globe to learn from past incidents and help prevent injuries and losses of life caused by blazes in the future. The site, www.ife.org.uk, which has been created by the British-based Institute of Fire Engineers,...
The International Water Mist Association (IWMA) was founded on 15th April 1998 and will celebrate its 20th anniversary - for a whole week between 9th and 15th April. And with everybody who would like to join in. The idea is to sponsor activities and to donate...
The absence of a sprinkler system has been blamed for the devastating spread of a blaze which destroyed around 1400 vehicles in a multi storey car park in Liverpool in the UK. A witness told police she had first seen flames emerging from under the bonnet...
Intersec, the world’s leading trade fair for security, safety, and fire protection, will open for the 20th time in Dubai on Sunday 21st January, with its double digit annual growth over the last 20 years mirrored by the rapid transformation of the Middle East market....
Organisers of the 18th International Water Mist Conference (IWMC) which will take place in London, UK, on 19th and 20th September 2018 at the Grange City Hotel have issued a Call for Papers. The Abstract deadline is 16th April and speakers will be notified by...
A fire which broke out at an eight-story building in the central South Korean city of Jecheon, killed 29 people and injured 29 others. A fire official said many of the victims had been using a public bath on the second and third floors of the...
Thirty two crew members of an Iranian oil tanker were left missing feared dead after the vessel was involved in a collision with a cargo ship 160 nautical miles off Shanghai on the East Coast of China. The tanker, the Panamanian-flagged Sanchi which was carrying 136,000...
A fire that broke out in an upmarket rooftop restaurant in Mumbai’s financial district left 15 people dead and more than a dozen more injured. Fire official Balkrishna Kadam said that an artificial bamboo ceiling above the diners had burned quickly and collapsed as people were...
Two hundred workers from the Abu Dhabi Contracting Company were left homeless after a fire ripped through an accommodation centre in Al Reef, 45 kilometres away from Abu Dhabi city centre. The centre built out of porta cabins has several blocks each consisting of around 30...
A Securiton aspirating smoke detection (ASD) system from Patol is protecting the inmates and staff at one of the UK’s largest prisons. HMP Northumberland category C prison, with its capacity for 1,348 male offenders, is Britain’s seventh largest jail. When Sodexo Justice Services - the private...
Siemens is modernising locations of Australia’s largest museum organisation ensuring history doesn’t fade into the past Museums Victoria in Melbourne, the largest public museum organisation in Australia, attracts approximately 2.5 million visitors each year. The government of the State of Victoria commissioned Siemens to perform a...
Firefighters in Ras Al Khaimah respond to emergency incident calls faster than many other civil defence forces around the world. Captain Omar Mattar, head of civil protection in RAK has revealed that while the global average response time is eight minutes, the firefighters in the Emirate...
Dany Cotton, the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, has not ruled out the possibly that there will be another Tower block blaze like the one at Grenfell which killed 71 people in June. Speaking six months after the tragedy she told SKY TV news that...
The Intersec Conferences which will run at the Intersec Exhibition 2018 will bring together key government officials, experts, thought leaders, anaylsts and industry players to discuss and debate the way forward for the region’s safety and security industry. The conferences that will be held as a...
A new inspection committee is to be set up in Sharjah to check that high rise towers do not have the type of aluminium cladding that was a key element in the fire which caused extensive damage to the Downtown Address Hotel in Dubai and...
Guaranteeing the safety of our educational facilities has always been a challenge. Today the size of our universities, the diverse nature of the buildings involved and the sheer number of people present only serve to increase the complexity of this challenge. Protection is vital, however,...
The German manufacturer BMW has started a recall of more than 1.4 million cars and SUVs in North America two due to the risk of fires starting under their hoods. The danger has been identified in 16 different 6-cylinder models of the vehicles BMW produced and...
London’s Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton has called upon the UK government to make fire sprinkler fitting mandatory in all new and refurbished school buildings in England in line with the regulations currently in force in Scotland and Wales. Fire safety in public buildings in the...
Wildfires that have swept through the California counties of Sonoma and Napa have claimed more than 40 deaths and destroyed many acres of the area’s famous wine producing vineyards. The blazes have also destroyed at least 5,700 homes and businesses, making them the deadliest and most destructive group...
BAE Systems-built and supported BAe 146/Avro RJ Airtankers continue to play a pivotal role in combating the ever increasing numbers and costs of wildfires across North America. By September this year wildfires in the USA had cost the United States Forest Service (USFS) $2.35 billion, topping...
David Boxall, the ‘Boxall’ in ‘Baldwin Boxall’ has become the first recipient of the Warren-Barnett Technical Innovation Award. David having spent a lifetime dedicated to the technology of the PA industry, was nominated by Peter Mapp to be the ideal first recipient of this new...
CNPP has become one of only 18 training providers worldwide and the first training organisation in France recognised for the preparation of IECEx certification assessment. Active in explosion safety since its inception in 1956, CNPP supports its customers through experimentation, regulation, operational advice, assessment and...
In a break from tradition and after a most tumultuous year, a group of women from the UK’s Police, Fire and Ambulance Services have been jointly awarded Woman of Achievement Award 2017, in gratitude and recognition of their leadership and dedication in the face of...
A year after UL opened its Middle East Electrical laboratory in Abu Dhabi, this first industrial lab in the region is keeping busy providing safety tests to help deliver a sustainable future. The purpose-built lab tests electrical items found in most buildings to prevent against...
Dubai Police have said a discarded cigarette was the cause of a fire which engulfed 38 flats at the Torch Tower in Dubai Marina in the first week of August. Major-General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, said the cigarette butt landed on...
A new joint electronic platform has been set up in Wasit police station to strengthen the cooperation and emergency response times of Sharjah Police and the Sharjah Civil defence. The platform will receive reports of crime incidents and fire accidents and will also manage the visuals...