31 Aug Industry News from July/August
FireSafety cologne
The ever growing event, vds firesafety will again be held in cologne 6th and 7th december. 2023. The conference fire extinguishing systems will have german-english simultaneous translation and cover both days of the event with current case studies and solutions from germany and abroad will be discussed. There will also be two vds-firesafetytalk panel discussions which all trade fair visitors will again be able to listen free of charge as experts discuss important industry trends.
ActivFire approval for cables
LGM products has attained activfire approval for their renowned signaline often linear heat detection cables. Activfire is a respected certification scheme administered by the fire protection association Australia (fpa australia), an industry body dedicated to supporting and promoting the fire protection industry in the country. And obtaining activfire approval is a significant milestone for lgm products as it guarantees users, regulators, and stakeholders that signaline ft-en has undergone rigorous testing and adheres to the necessary standards, ensuring its reliability and effectiveness in mitigating fire risks. Signaline ft-en is the first product to be approved to the european standard en54 part 28:2016 and listed by activfire.
A unique ability to access obscure locations
The booming number of electric vehicles on the roads may be considered good for the environment, but it is causing concern among firefighters. Although electric vehicles are statistically less likely to catch fire than an internal combustion engine car, incidents involving a lithium-ion battery can be far more serious and difficult to extinguish especially if in an enclosed space such as an underground or multi-storey car park which large fire engines cannot access. Once a battery pack has been compromised by an accident or external fire, it can be difficult to tackle the resulting blaze as the energy contained with the cells is released, causing a thermal runaway. Previous ways of preventing this or fighting the fire involve extreme measures such as immersing the entire car in water for days in large bags or shipping containers. A new, more practical way of tackling these incidents has been developed along with a new rapid intervention vehicle, the british-built hiload, engineered by prospeed motorsport in york, which can deliver the crew and equipment to locations where height may be limited, such as car park structures. At just 1,850mm – less than some large suvs and low enough to allow access to the majority of parking structures. It also results in a lower centre of gravity and better stability in high speed manoeuvres.
Wabel the Robot
UAE firm FFBOTS has announced the Middle East’s first firefighting robot. The robot,
dubbed “Wabel” is hoped to become an addition to firefighting departments, the
manufacturer believes it will be especially useful for use in critically hard to reach places.
The robots are being built locally, but the company hopes that they can take on the global
market especially where extra assistance is needed in fires in factories, warehouse and tall
residential buildings.
Extinguishing method for Li-ion batteries
The swedish civil contingencies agency (msb) has published a new report titled demonstration of extinguishing method of lithium-ion batteries. The report is based on the results of a series of tests carried out in a collaborative project involving several stakeholders, including cold cut systems. The tests were designed to examine whether injecting water into a li-ion battery that had gone into thermal runaway could effectively suppress and extinguish that fire. The projects goal was to provide guidance on how to put out propagating lithium-ion batteries and increase knowledge and understanding of electric vehicles.
Detection Technology acquire Haobo Imaging
Detection technology plc has completed the acquisition of haobo imaging. Detection technology acquired 90% of the shares in haobo imaging for eur 12 million. With the acquisition, detection technologys product range covers all digital x-ray imaging detector technologies.
Expanding production capacity
Peli products gmbh has announced plans to expand the production capacity of the manufacturing facility it acquired in crottendorf in july 2022. Following the successful implementation of a state-of-the-art sap it system, by the end of 2023, peli will add 11 new injection moulded models to the 15 that are already manufactured in crottendorf, to be followed by an additional 15 through to the end of 2024. The industrial plan has been designed with a focus to maximize sustainability resulting in several projects such as recycling close to 100% of the wasted polypropene in-house and other materials, including polyethylene, externally. The manufacturing site has been upgraded with photovoltaic panels and a system to re-use the heat generated by machines to warm up the manufacturing halls in winter. To support this growth plan, the expectation is to enlarge the local workforce at the Crottendorf facilities, potentially doubling it in the next 2-3 years, as well as investing heavily in new plant equipment and machinery.
£10m prison service contract
Uk-based manufacturer of short duration breathing apparatus, semmco life protection systems (lps), announces a new as been awarded a 10m contract with the uks hm prison and probation service (hmpps) to provide its head rpe/ csre (cell snatch rescue equipment) escape breathing sets to prisons across england and wales. The contract will see semmco lps provide a complete service to hmpps, with 4,500 sets deployed across its prison estate, supported by comprehensive user training, the supply of user manuals, technical support and a fully managed refurb and maintenance programme. When an incident occurs, there is a requirement for respiratory protective equipment (rpe) to enable the safe resolution of the cell fire, ensuring the protection of those involved from harmful smoke and fumes. Since 2009, hmpps has deployed over 3,000 rpe sets across the prison estate, with an average of two sets used per cell fire event.
Young Talent Award
Since 2016, the international water mist association (iwma) scientific council has evaluated submissions from scientists applying for the iwma young talent award. To ensure that the prize goes to theses on different levels, it alternately goes to the best master or ph. D. Thesis. In 2023, the winner is martin thielens who graduated from ghent university in October 2022. The title of his ph. D. Thesis is: advanced computational fluid dynamics modelling of water sprays in fire-driven flows. The award will be handed over in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 12th October during the 22nd international water mist conference.
New Appointment
Mann mcgowan, manufacturer of high performance intumescent fire, smoke and acoustic seals, has appointed Paul Mountford as head of manufacturing and engineering. A highly respected and experienced engineering and operational professional in the passive fire protection industry, paul will be responsible for the leadership of manufacturing and extrusion activities at the companys main production facility in the uk.