Vetter has released what it calls ‘next-generation high-pressure lifting bags’ – the S.Tec range. The new range allows emergency responders to raise the pressure from 8 to 10 bar to enable a 25% increase in lifting power compared with conventional 8-bar lifting bags. The simple formula force = area x pressure, combined with controlled pressure distribution inside the bag, makes it possible to lift heavier loads with the same bag size.

Water enhancer first to gain recognition in EPA’s Design for the Environment programme under new Industrial category.

Scott Safety thermal imaging camera proves itself during rigorous trial.

Copenhagen Fire Brigade, and the Danish National Survey and Cadastre (KMS - Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen) have partnered with Intergraph Corporation to develop a 1-1-2 mobile app for citizens who need to report an emergency. Financing the effort is TrygFonden, a Danish national foundation that supports and promotes life-saving initiatives.

The fire panel is certified to EN54, EN12094-1 and EN15276-2.

‘Sprinklers save lives, property, money, jobs, communities, the environment – the evidence is compelling, isn’t it?’ Impressions of a high-level seminar held at the House of Commons, London, by John Maxfield.

Enhanced FM approvals provides advanced, cost-effective solutions in higher density, extended coverage applications.

The newest member of the eDraulic family is low in weight and has a battery power option.

To overcome the communications constraints presented by a large industrial complex, and to ensure rapid response in emergencies, Snecma Propulsion Solide has adopted Sepura STP8000 hand-portable TETRA radios with man-down functionality. 

The new fire kit uses a new lightweight fabric system from TenCate Protective Fabrics.

iResponse Thermal is designed to aid Emergency Management professionals, such as Fire Chiefs, HSE Managers, Hazmat Teams, Engineers and Risk Consultants with their emergency planning.

Prime contractor responsibility taken over with immediate effect from Nokia Siemens Networks for Norway´s Nødnett TETRA public safety network.

Project involving Intergraph, Everis and Sadiel will modernize the management of emergency services in public safety and civil protection.

Remote fire detection and alert capabilities embedded in a perimeter security thermal imaging camera. 

A national broadband for the USA emergency services a real possibility

The RescueSim Virtual Emergency Response Platform will prepare Schiphol’s emergency services and safety personnel for airport incidents. 

Senior fire personnel from across Europe invited to witness a series of six test burns in Manchester, UK, at a neutral testing ground – the British Textile Technology Group (BTTG) test lab.

Rescue and emergency equipment supplier SP Services (UK) introduces the O-Two CPAP with Adult Mask and Harness in its 2012 catalogue.

CTE SpA delivers an A B-Fire 360  aerial platform in Thailand for the Lampang Municipality. The aerial device has a working height of 36 m with 450 kg of capacity in the basket.

Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas (US) are developing an emergency communications network that will maintain operation during natural disasters and provide critical warnings and geographic information to people affected by the disasters.

Angus Fire, the manufacturer of a wide range of firefighting foams and firefighting equipment, is launching Polaris, a foam-induction water motor that complements its existing range of foam-making equipment. Polaris has been designed to accurately and reliably deliver 1%, 3% or 6% or dual rate foam induction within Underwriters Laboratory (UL), Factory Mutual (FM) and EN standard limits, across a wide range of flows and pressures.

Wolf Safety (UK) has launched a new LED torch, and a retrofit LED unit for existing customers to upgrade their TS-24 / TR-24 and TS / TR-24+ ATEX Safety Torches.

The Geos emergency response service is now available to Iridium Extreme satellite phone customers. At no additional cost to customers, Iridium has integrated the Geos service into the SOS button on the Iridium Extreme. Launched in September 2011, the Iridium Extreme is an advanced, rugged satellite phone and is the first to offer an SOS button. 

Frankfurt airport in Germany opened its fourth, North west runway last October, enlarging the runway space of Germany’s biggest airport to approximately 220 hectares. To extend the emergency infrastructure, a new fire station has been built and Frankfurt Airport's fire brigade’s vehicle fleet has grown. Two of six new FLF Z8 XXL crash trucks from Albert Ziegler have now been delivered. 

Chirange Technologies Limited (CTL), located in Manchester, UK, has launched a mobile app for the rescue industries, Chirange Commander. The latest product offered in the line of Chirange products is the Chirange Incident Commander, an Android app which has been designed from the ground up to aid fire and rescue, police and SWAT units, as well as security professionals. The company has also launched a new website to support the introduction of the new incident command platform.

Chicago firefighter Michael Wielgat has invented a life-saving device that is set to revolutionise high-rise firefighting.

Illuminating helmet bands can keep firefighters safe during zero visibility, as Woodlawn Fire Department found out when it was called to a fire at a fast food restaurant. 

Norwegian airport operator implements alcohol-resistant fluorine free fire extinguishing foam concentrate following a major procurement initiative.

There is continually pressure on all emergency services to do more with less resources. When Philip Evans, from the London Fire Brigade’s Station Training Support and Performance Team based at Harrow, was tasked with improving the consistency, efficiency and delivery of training across the Brigade an unexpected benefit was a saving of hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.

UK command and control project branded a complete failure as wasted tax payers’ money reaches nearly half a billion pounds.

With oil exploration becoming increasingly complex the  approach towards safety is taking a decidedly holistic feel, as Jose Sanchez found out when he interviewed Graham Berry of Wild Well Control, on the eve of Offshore Europe 2011.

E-Semble has won a public bid to provide an Incident Command Simulator to the City of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (USA). This makes the City of Broken Arrow the first official Fire Service user in the USA.

XFlex is an innovative systems approach that uses different fabrics to achieve the same EN standard.

Tomorrow at the Offshore Europe 2011 Media Centre, Managing Director of the company’s newest European arm, will showcase the company’s dedicated emergency well response system designed to contain major subsea blowouts.

Key attraction at the Lion stand is the new generation of patented high-tech structural VForce firefighting suits.

The UK Health and Safety Executive issues safety notice regarding the Status Scientific Controls portable gas detector Mentor PGD2.

The new HDL106E LED emergency floodlights will be launched at the prestigious Offshore Europe exhibition in Aberdeen by Hadar Lighting, part  of the A-Belco Group.

Hans Hofer, aircraft recovery coordinator for Fraport AG at Frankfurt airport, is considered a specialist in the field of aircraft recovery. He reports about recovery standards at international airports and his opinion regarding various recovery tools. Helpful advice of airport preparation and the selection and use of recovery equipment will provide valuable support for your operations.

The SCA100DY/6 was developed for firefighter trucks in South Africa, and it comes with a 4,5kW 6HP Yanmar Diesel Motor.

“Our new range of High Strength cutting tools, really do represent the future of cutting,” says Reiner Antritter from Weber Hydraulic in Austria. “A bold statement, but after taking a closer look into the design and development of this revolutionary concept you can clearly see that we have something truly worthwhile to offer.”

Crowcon will be showing its new Gas-Pro confined space entry gas detector at the Offshore Europe show in Aberdeen between 6-8 September. 

A new total ‘flooding’ fire suppression system has been developed to provide fire protection for a wide range of high risk industrial environments, using a water-based technology which ensures little or no collateral damage.

The Automatic Fire Extinguishing System (AFES) will be unveiled at a major defence exhibition.

A new floodlight combining maintenance free LED technology and a self contained backup battery has been introduced by hazardous area lighting specialist Chalmit.

This Rosenbauer Panther, with a R600 pump and a RM 15 bumper turret with a capacity of 1500 lpm, is testing Dr Sthamer-Hamburg's MOUSSOL–FFAlcohol-resistant Fluorine-free Foam under freezing temperatures of -5 Celsius. The aircrash tender is now operational at Gatwick Airport. Watch the video!

Los Angeles-based EMSLED Tactical Inc. has announced the arrival of the Chameleon, a Mission Adaptable Rescue System (MARS). Winner of the 2010 EMS World “Innovation of the Year” it is designed as a modular, configurable, patient movement system.

The eDRAULIC battery-powered rescue tool series from LUKAS is the first complete mobile rescue set on the market, including cutter, spreader, combination tool and rescue ram. The choice between unlimited operation with power supply cable and battery operation allows high flexibility at the accident.

Naturvent wins ‘highly commended’ at the Product Excellence Awards for the Homebuilding and Renovation Show in the UK.

Up to 50% derived synthetic blending can now be added to jet fuel.

Rescue assist tools such as seatbelt cutters and hook and fork tools are often overlooked or  misplaced at the rescue scene. To solve this problem Holmatro has designed a Rescue Support Bag containing the most frequently used assist tools during vehicle extrication.

Following an order from the Ministry of Nairobi Metropolitan Development, Metz Aerials has delivered an L56 aerial ladder to the Nairobi City Council Fire Department in Kenya. Together with several Rosenbauer pumper trucks, this customized piece of equipment forms an integral part of the “Nairobi Growth and Development Strategy” that has been drawn up for the booming Kenyan capital. The aerial has an integrated elevator for three persons, which facilitates an extremely short rescue cycle during emergency operations.

Carrying out a rescue in the most dangerous confined space entry in the world presents one set of problems – but two sets of safety rules makes it even more complicated, writes Neil T Lipski of the National Tunnel Institute.

Pierce Manufacturing has launched new Type 1 wildland-urban interface firefighting vehicle that incorporates the patented Pierce Ultimate Configuration (PUC) technology.  The new apparatus offers enhanced emergency response performance for wildland and urban interface firefighting in regions of the country such as the West Coast, for example, where areas of housing are adjacent to undeveloped wildland vegetation.

In response to the cancellation of the FiReControl service in December 2010, Airwave, the leading provider of critical voice and data communications to public service organisations in the UK, has launched ControLink – a suite of voice and data propositions.

A portable wireless broadband base station that creates a private network for the emergency services in the event that the national telecommunications infrastructure fails during a major incident has been launched in the UK.

UK-research company Roke Manor Research has launched ‘Tactical Connect, a portable wireless broadband base station that creates a private network for the emergency services if the national telecommunications infrastructure fails during a major incident.

Firecom, a Canadian manufacturer of rugged and reliable team communication systems, has announced an upgrade program that extends wireless capability and benefits to thousands of its existing wired-headset users. Hands-free wireless communication headsets  improve safety, efficiency and productivity for users working in challenging environments, including emergency response, fire and public safety.

There are many benefits to installing a gaseous extinguishing system on a floating roof storage tank, yet it still feels like the industry's best-kept secret. Jose Sanchez de Muniain reports from StocExpo in Rotterdam.

Facility in Cordova (Illinois) to be expanded to meet market demand for the sustainable technology.

NICE Situator can help public safety operations enhance emergency preparedness, improve situational awareness and streamline incident response.

The Banshee Excel makes its debut in Vimpex's 21-year-old family of sounders, strobes, sounder strobes and accessories.

The Hitchin-based (UK) optical beam smoke detection company wins the International Achievement category of the Fire Excellence Awards 2011. 

The order is the optional part of a tender won by CeoTronics in September 2009 to supply digital radio systems to Berlin. 

Dehaco, the Dutch demolition rental specialists, were recently presented with a challenging enquiry from a contractor working at an industrial complex recently devastated by a fire.

Source: The BBC

The new Open-Area Smoke Imaging Detection (OSID) product was last night revealed as the overall winner, during the International Firex exhibition in Birmingham (UK).

Alec Feldman of Fulcrum Consultants (Dublin, Ireland) and author of the JOIFF Handbook on PPE to Protect Against Heat and Flame writes about some of the dangers that relate to PPE procurement.

The glass management product for patient and rescuer protection in extrication, Packexe SMASH is now also being used for entry into a high-rise glass building by a fire brigade within the UK.

Inertisation techniques used to extinguish fires in deep mines are blowing into road/rail tunnels, writes Ann-Marie Knegt. Researchers estimate that deep-mine coal fires contribute a staggering 2-3% to global CO2 emissions, and this includes 40 tonnes of Mercury released into the atmosphere per year(1).

There are some products in the market that claim to be both environmentally friendly and effective against class A and B fires. But how many products are there in the market that can do this, and also clean up after hydrocarbon spills, or even stimulate their natural biodegradation process in soil and groundwater? Jose Sanchez de Muniain talks to Ioannis Athanasiou, Technical Director of the Viennese company Bioversal International.

The document Urban search and rescue personal protective equipment specification for high dust and chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear environments has been compiled by the Health and Safety Laboratory.