Weakened Loonie Brings Cost of New Kelowna Fire Truck to $730,000
The falling loonie means the cost of a new fire engine is on the rise, and subsequently, the Kelowna Fire Department asked Kelowna City Council for an additional $130,000 to fund a new engine on Monday. According to the Kelowna Fire Department, the cost of a new...
Understanding Electrical Fire Hazards at Electric Generating Stations
Minimizing the impact of electrical fires in power plants requires a combination of prevention, compartmentalization, detection, and suppression strategies. But first, everyone in a plant needs to understand the hazard. Electrical Fire Hazards Power Plants
Two Firefighters Hurt When SUV Explodes on Highway Ramp
Two firefighters were hurt in an explosion at a car fire. The firefighters were called after a Boston EMS SUV caught fire. Moments later, the master O2 cylinder in the vehicle exploded and blew debris at the firefighters. Equipment in the vehicle,...
Volunteers Sought for the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes
The search for candidates to serve on the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) is on. The CCBFC oversees nine standing committees that work on the Canadian building, fire, plumbing and energy codes that form the basis of provincial and territorial...
Ontario Regulation 194/14 – Carbon Monoxide Alarms
Ontario Regulation 194/14 came into force on October 15, 2014. This regulation made the installation, maintenance, testing and replacement of CO alarms in existing residential occupancies mandatory. In addition, changes related to the maintenance, testing and...
CPR Dog to Help Pets
The Charleston Fire Department is now better equipped to train first responders to perform pet CPR with the donation of two specially designed pet mannequins. The mannequins were donated by Invisible Fence Brand and Bees Ferry Animal Hospital. All CFD apparatus are...
Firefighters Use Rare Cyanide Antidote Medicine to Save Lives in House Fire
It may have been an unusual tactic used by Tulsa firefighters that saved lives during a recent house fire. Three of five people pulled from the fire were given a rarely-administered medicine called a cyanide antidote. Tulsa Fire Department said this likely helped...
Update on Derailment and Fire of Canadian National Crude Oil Train
On 14 February 2015, a Canadian National crude oil unit train hauling 100 tank cars, 68 loaded with Petroleum Crude Oil and 32 loaded with Petroleum Distillates derailed and the crew observed a fire about 10 cars behind the locomotives. The temperature at...
Data and a Good Algorithm Can Help Predict Where Fires Will Start
The New York Fire Department is using a tool called FireCast to predict which buildings are most likely to have fires. The software applies an algorithm from five city agencies, taking into account as many as 60 different risk factors—not only obvious ones, such...
How To Build a Robot That Can Fight Fires
The Terrestrial Robotics Engineer and Control team at Virginia Tech is working on a firefighting robot named SAFFiR (pronounced "safer"). Specifically designed to fight fires on naval vessels, the bot has been equipped to navigate narrow passageways, climb ladders,...
British Columbia recovers $4 million from human caused wild fires
Expect a big bill if you cause a wildfire in BC. The province has recovered about $4 million from those responsible over the past five years. This money is separate from a fine or penalty. It’s a much larger sum. BC recovers $4 million from human caused...
Firefighters shouldn’t fear apparatus data recorders
On-Board Data Recorders on fire apparatus shouldn’t be feared by firefighters. “They’re not just used during investigations of accidents,” said Matt Pitzer who works for FRC which makes components that interfaces with the data recorders. ...
Fear of fire hazard causes removal of thousands of smart meters in Ontario
Ontario's Electrical Safety Authority is directing local utilities to replace a certain model of smart meter "as a preventative step" after reviewing reports of problematic metres in Saskatchewan. Last summer, the Saskatchewan government ordered SaskPower to...
FEMA Study Reports Stovetop Heating Element Able to Prevent Fires
"The technology to help stop stovetop fires exists," said Vision 20/20 Project Manager Jim Crawford. "This testing also provides critical data into a larger effort to produce a standard where manufacturers could develop products that inhibit unintentional kitchen...
Quebec’s volunteer fire services lag behind, investigation finds
One year after a seniors’ home fire claimed the lives of 32 people in the small Quebec community of L’Isle-Verte, questions remain about the training and capabilities of volunteer fire services across the province. Quebec's volunteer services lag behind
Jeep drivers still dying in gas tank fires 18 months into recall
Eighteen months into a recall of Jeeps with exploding gas tanks, drivers of the affected models are still dying and more than 1 million of the vehicles remain unfixed. Jeep drivers still dying in gas tank fires
As people beg, tot leaps from fire
An Alabama man captures chilling video as people beg a child to jump from an apartment fire. The child escaped the fire uninjured when he was caught by a bystander. child-jumps-out-of-burning-apartment-building
Manitoba First Nations can do fire inspections without evictions, inquiry hears
Manitoba's Fire Commissioner David Schafer says some fatal fires in aboriginal communities could be prevented by regular informal inspections that wouldn't risk a large number of homes being condemned. ...
Recent Articles
Yellowknife to Fort McMurray: lessons from the frontlines of Canada’s worst wildfires.
Volunteer firefighters see doubling in tax credit.
Oro-Medonte fire chief smokes out several ways to boost revenue.
Ahead of likely ‘ferocious’ wildfire season, fire chiefs lament drop in volunteers.
Vancouver firefighters get $2.8M from city to procure gear free of cancer-causing chemicals.
