FireWatch
FireWatch is a service that provides links to news stories from the fire community that have attracted our attention.
Canadian Government’s Directive for Oil Trains to Slow Down
In a bid to promote rail safety, the Canadian government has issued an emergency directive to ensure that trains which carry dangerous goods like crude oil and ethanol slowdown in urban areas. The directive requires the trains not to operate at speeds more than...
The World’s Most Polluted Bird Is Now Completely Immune to Fire!
Canada's Greater Vancouver is home to a bird species so polluted with chemicals, it is resistant to fire. A team of Canadian researchers identified Cooper's Hawk as the most polluted wild bird species in the world after analyzing liver samples from Vancouver's birds...
Forests Burning at Alarming Rates in Canada and Russia
Fires are ravaging the forests of Russia and Canada, burning at a higher rate in some cases than at any time in the past 10,000 years. High-resolution satellite maps showed the two nations lost a combined average of nearly 6.8 million hectares (26,000 square...
Coroner’s Inquest Lakeland Mills Fire Safety Plan Sent Back to Drawing Board
Three years after a fatal explosion and fire at Lakeland Mills they still don’t have a Fire Safety Plan approved by Prince George Fire Rescue, a coroner's inquest has been told. "Lots of them have documents that could be included in a fire safety plan,...
Diversity Demonstrated in the Fire Service
A new group ofToronto firefighters have been given their badges and caps and are now ready to answer the bell at fire stations across the city. Thomas Dario Ladu, who came from Uganda seven years ago, was one of 39 new graduates with Toronto Fire Services....
U.S. and Canada Moving Toward Higher Safety Standards for Oil Trains
After a series of spectacular oil-train crashes and accompanying fires the United States and Canada are preparing to announce that new higher flammability requirements will be adopted for railroad oil-tanker safety. Higher safety standards for oil trains
University Students use Sound to Extinguish Fire
Senior engineering students at George Mason University have developed a sonic fire extinguisher. It lets out sound waves at a specific frequency that disrupts the oxidation at the core of a fire. It basically separates the fuel source from the oxygen it needs to...
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...
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