Manitoba to hike fire-safety fines
Proposed amendments to Manitoba’s Fire Prevention and Emergency Response Act would increase maximum fines to $125,000 from $1,000 for a first offence and $250,000 from $10,000 for a second offence. The proposed maximum fines for a corporation would be $250,000 for a...
After 57 years Fire Chief Magazine publishes final edition
The November issue of Fire Chief Magazine -- the final edition -- will be a collector's item. Staff was notified that the plug was being pulled on the operation by Penton, the parent company. http://www.firehouse.com/news/11245108/penton-media-closes-fire-chief-magazine
New corrosion protection method for wet pipe sprinkler systems
Wet Pipe Nitrogen Inerting is a safe, effective, and affordable corrosion control method in wet pipe sprinkler systems. Nitrogen is fully compatible with sprinkler systems and non-toxic.
Boston airport apologizes after fire drill on 9/11 sparks outrage
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told the State House News Service holding a fire drill at Boston’s Logan Airport on the anniversary of September 11 was "Just dumb." http://www.cbsnews.com/news/boston-airport-apologizes-after-fire-drill-on-9-11-sparks-outrage/
Furniture treated with fire retardants may be health hazard
Your couch probably has flame retardants embedded in the foam which have been linked to cancers and a range of other problems from obesity to reproductive defects. A growing number of studies in humans and animals suggest that the problems are real and many...
24 hour shift may save money
This article contains a link to an interesting PowerPoint presentation which suggests the three platoon – 24 hour shift system - provides substantial cost savings....
Social media lessons from the Boston bombings and Australian bush fires
Three fundamental changes to mind-set that are critical to any effective use of social media when managing an emergency. 1. From 'We hold the information the community needs and we expect them to come to us' to 'We realise we need to go to the community' 2. From 'We...
One firefighter remains hospitalized after engine overturns with 5 onboard
One firefighter remains hospitalized after an engine overturned with five on board. It is time to remind your EVO’s that winter conditions are upon us. This type of incident is avoidable.
Fighting Fires Is Big Business for Private Companies
“Why is fire management on public lands being turned over to profit-seeking corporations?”, asks the Executive Director of Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology. The main concern is that private companies may put profit first. ...
Six workers, including 4 women, killed in Delhi factory fire
Fire broke out at a two-storey building housing a purse manufacturing factory in Delhi. At least six workers, including four women, were killed and 10 injured in the fire that destroyed the factory.
Arson cases in Winnipeg neighbourhoods put residents on edge
On Sunday morning, crews battled nearly a dozen deliberately-set fires in St. Boniface. Police said it’s too early to tell if the fires are the work of one person or a group of people....
Train disasters will be the new normal unless safety rules change
“Three years ago, there was almost no oil being moved by rail. It's been growing incredibly rapidly and its projected to keep growing that way and the safety standards in Canada simply have not kept up to the new ways to move new kinds of oil," a Greenpeace...
Molotov cocktails set police cars on fire
A police vehicle was set on fire in New Brunswick as police began enforcing an injunction to end an ongoing demonstration against shale gas exploration. http://www.castanet.net/news/Canada/100780/Cop-cars-set-on-fire-by-molotov-cocktails
Help for hearts is loaded into police, fire vehicles in Vancouver, WA
When a sudden cardiac arrest strikes every second is crucial so 60 police patrol vehicles and 19 fire department staff vehicles in Vancouver, Washington have been equipped with automated external defibrillators. ...
Samsung hopes new battery technology will end fires, explosions in mobile devices
From time to time, we hear about a battery catching fire or even exploding in a smartphone or tablet. Samsung is trying to change that with new flexible battery technology. The difference has to do with metal deposits that can cause leakage and short...
New York Court Rejects Computer Fire Modeling
A New York court held that a defendant had not presented sufficient evidence that computer fire modeling was generally accepted as reliable in the fire investigation community....
NIST Developing ‘Richter Scale’ for Fires
Researchers have been working on a system to measure and predict the destructiveness of wildfires - similar to the way officials use the magnitude scale for earthquakes. In the 1970s, wildfires destroyed about 400 homes across the US. Since 2000, wildfires have...
Sometimes it’s Better and Safer to Back Away from a Fire
Dude fire (1990) - six firefighters die. Esperanza fire (2006) - five Forest Service firefighters die. Yarnell Hill (2013) - 19 firefighters die. For what? “It is OK to retreat from danger until conditions become more favourable for safe and successful...
Recent Articles
Yellowknife to Fort McMurray: lessons from the frontlines of Canada’s worst wildfires.
Volunteer firefighters see doubling in tax credit.
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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.
