To reduce false alarms According to Government figures*, the UK’s fire and rescue services attended nearly a quarter of a million false alarm incidents throughout the last two years, with the majority caused by faulty fire system apparatus. Yet, keeping thorough records of testing and maintenance of a property’s fire-safety system has been a legal obligation for domestic premises and houses with multiple occupants in England and Wales since the Regulatory Reform Fire Safety Order 2005 (RRFSO) was introduced. In response, Hochiki Europe, the leading manufacturer of life-safety solutions, has launched the industry’s most comprehensive fire system logbook for its customers. The new logbooks will provide guidance in line with the UK’s most recent legislation to help those responsible for the upkeep of fire safety systems to accurately record false alarms, as well as required maintenance and testing processes, ensuring compliance. The RRFSO is supported by BS 5839, a code of practice published by the British Standards Institute which recommends any owner of a fire detection system records all system events in a suitable logbook. Hochiki Europe’s new logbooks are the most up-to-date and compliant available in the UK today having been compiled by a team of BAFE consultants. The logbooks allow customers to monitor system activity, abide by UK legislation, and have their records to hand in the case of a health and safety audit. The A4 logbooks contain 36 pages of fire-system related forms and checklists in which users can record false alarms; tests and maintenance work; panel access codes and battery capacity. The new logbooks also provide written guidance for users around their responsibilities when facing false alarms, changes to the building, routine system attention, pre-alarms, and recommendations on how to properly investigate fire safety systems. Paul Adams, Deputy Marketing Manager at Hochiki Europe said: “Understanding the history of a fire-safety system and recognising patterns in its activity can be a crucial element in preventing fire-incidents. As shown by the BS 5839 code of practice, logbooks play an important role in fire safety and are required by law. By giving our customers the option to buy logbooks directly from us at the same time as their system components, they can save time and ensure that they are following the most up-to-date compliance practices.” For further information please contact Emma Sivakumaran on +44 (0)161 817 6600, email: [email protected] or visit www.hochikieurope.com.

K55 delivers ultra crisp thermal imagery and on-board video recording FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announces the addition of the new FLIR K55 to its suite of thermal imaging firefighting cameras. The K55 incorporates FLIR’s revolutionary Flexible Scene Enhancement (FSX) technology which produces ultra-crisp thermal imagery and is also equipped with on-board video recording, which is ideal for evidence gathering and training purposes. The newest member of FLIR’s K-Series family will allow firefighters to see even better in total darkness or in smoke-filled rooms. The K55 with FSX displays its ultra-sharp 320x 240 pixel thermal images on a large bright 4” LCD display, allowing firefights to navigate safely and make accurate decisions when attacking fires and searching for victims. Image details like edges and corners are enhanced and combined with the original image to create an image with more detail than ever. The FLIR K55 also has on-board video recording, making it an excellent tool for documenting what happens inside the fire and providing a valuable training aid for later review. The K55 also features onboard image storage for up to 200 thermal JPEGs, which can be reviewed later from the camera’s archive or exported via USB for reports. The K55’s intuitive and simple three-button user interface lets the firefighter access all of the camera’s controls, even while wearing heavy gloves. Different color modes allow the firefighter to adapt the FLIR K55 to the most demanding situation. The K-Series is also designed to operate in tough operating conditions; it withstands a drop from 2 meters on a concrete floor, is water resistant (IP67), and fully operational up to +260°C / +500°F. “With the K55, FLIR is continuing to provide innovative and affordable advances in thermal imaging technology for firefighting and public safety applications,” said Andy Teich, President and CEO of FLIR Systems. “This is another example of how our vertical integration, image processing expertise, and commercially developed, military qualified products can make a real difference to first responders around the world.” The K55 is affordable enough for agencies to equip every fire truck with a thermal imaging camera. The new FLIR K55 will be introduced at the Intersec Exhibition in Dubai and is available for purchase through established distribution networks beginning March 1st, 2015. The K55 also comes with FLIR’s exclusive warranty covering the full camera for two years and the detector for ten years. Visit www.flir.com/FIRE for more information on the new K55.

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Teaser: Atlanta, Georgia Website: http://www.iafc.org/micrositeFRIconf/

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In conjunction with Orion Security Solutions Apollo Fire Detectors and Orion Security Solutions are helping to ensure the safety of John Lewis staff following the company’s purchase and refurbishment of The Bala Lake Hotel and Activity Base at Snowdonia National Park. John Lewis Partnership (JLP) purchased the North Wales hotel in 2008, making it the fifth holiday club which offers subsidised holidays for the 82,000 employees of JLP, known as Partners, designed especially for those seeking more active breaks and families with young teenagers. The Bala Hotel features 24 rooms and 70 acres of grounds which offer a wide range of outdoor activities, including nature trails, a watersports club and a five-hole “pitch and putt” golf course. JLP has also invested heavily to provide additional recreational facilities such as a swimming pool, gym and sauna. As part of its Partner benefits programme, JLP aims to ensure that its employees have a healthy work-life balance by providing leisure activities and running its subsidised holiday centres. The Partnership owns four other holiday clubs – the Odney Club near Cookham in Berkshire, Brownsea Castle, Ambleside Park in the Lake District and Leckford Estate in Hampshire. Playing a significant role in the Bala Hotel’s refurbishment programme, Orion Security Systems was awarded the contract by JLP to design, supply, install, commission and maintain the fire detection solution for the premises. The hotel is a large traditional looking building, situated on a hilltop location which has two additional detached buildings at the rear providing additional accommodation. The main hotel was already protected by Apollo Discovery protocol devices, but the two additional blocks had a conventional system with wiring between them which had suffered damage. JLP was keen to avoid re-cabling at the remote site which would have involved extensive, disruptive and costly works to the hotel’s walkways to dig new system ducts. In response to this, Orion SS worked with Apollo to design a wireless solution, thus avoiding expensive re-cabling and allowing the hotel to remain in operation during the installation. The resulting Level 1 system features Apollo’s XPander wireless intelligent detector range which interfaces via Xpander weatherproof external aerials. Smoke sounders are fitted to all bedrooms which, along with XPander Manual Call Points, communicate with multi-alarm control panels to trigger emergency lighting throughout the hotel if activated. The system design also incorporates a phased block by block evacuation sequence in an emergency situation. James Joyce, Director of Fire & Safety at Orion, explains: “By using Apollo’s wireless XPander range we were able to provide a solution to the cabling issue to the remote blocks. This prevented any additional redecoration and allowed JLP guests to carry on enjoying their holidays with minimum disruption at the premises. JLP is committed to ensuring the safety of all Partners staying at The Bala Hotel, and this new fire detection system reflects that commitment.” For more information regarding Apollo products visit www.apollo-fire.co.uk.

Greater Manchester is one of the largest Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services in the UK Greater Manchester as one of the largest Metropolitan Fire and Rescue Services in the UK has embarked on the process of implementing a fully embedded coldcut™ cobra strategy as an essential part of its "future firefighting project". Greater Manchester is presently installing 44 Cobra units into all of its operational stations, making it the first Metropolitan Service in the UK to totally incorporate Cobra as an integral part of its front line firefighting capability. Greater Manchester has focused its approach on the application of new technologies and innovation as a means of achieving the challenging objectives of firefighter safety, public value and community protection, in an increasingly complex and hazardous world. The Cobra cutting extinguisher is a central tenet of Greater Manchester’s investment in new technologies and equipment, and its approach to the development of new operational processes and tactics. Cold Cut Systems highly values Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service’s approach to the development of its future firefighting project and its confirmation of the Cobra cutting extinguisher as part of this strategy. Cobra is an innovative, safe and efficient firefighting method, which beyond its present use in a wide range of municipal and industrial firefighting settings, is clearly highly applicable to the Metropolitan firefighting environment in the UK. Cold Cut Systems looks forward to supporting and working with Greater Manchester as it develops Cobra towards full implementation over the coming months. Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is one of the largest Fire and Rescue Service in the UK with over 2,500 members of staff and 41 fire stations. It covers an area of approximately 1,300 square kilometres and a population of 2.5 million. coldcut™ cobra Cold Cut Systems AB is world-leader in the field of Cutting Extinguishing. At present there are about 750 Cobra systems installed in everything from small vans to rescue service vehicles in more than 30 countries. The Cobra Cutting Extinguisher method allows the fire fighter to safely combat the fire from the outside of a building or structure. The ultra-high pressure lance creates a small hole through all known building and construction materials, and injects a very fine water mist into the compartment. The water mist (created by the >250 bar pressure) will rapidly cool any hot fire gases and extinguish or suppress the fire. Following operations can be performed in a safe and relatively cool environment. Experience and many independent research projects confirm the effectiveness in a wide range of operations from domestic houses to large industrial properties.

Active negotiations are underway with an oil exploration company in Russia Nitin Fire Protection Ltd (NFPL), an end-to end solutions provider in production and installation of the segment, is entering the Russian market, to cater to oil exploration units. Rahul Shah, executive director, said: “Active negotiations are underway with an oil exploration company in Russia, to be finalised very soon.” He said the order could be in the range of Rs 150 crore. NFPL is exploring growth opportunities outside the traditional markets like India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will shortly enter into an agreement with a power plant and a number of metro rail stations in Turkey, expected to fetch orders worth at least Rs 100 crore. Additionally, the company has stepped up penetration in the UAE. An Elara Capital report said the Middle East business, with around half of consolidated sales, has grown at a compound annual rate (CAGR) of 42 per cent over FY12-14 and was likely to do so at 22 per cent over FY14-16. After lower growth in FY12-13 due to economic slowdown, the region reported 75 per cent growth in financial year 2014, due to the low base effect and revival in the economy. The company has also won the bid to host EXPO 2020 in Dubai. This will add momentum to growth in regional operations, the report added. The current order book of the Middle East is Rs 5.5 billion, implementable until 2018. “We are planning to supply equipment from India to Russia and Turkey. We don’t have any plan to set up a manufacturing unit in these countries,” said Shah. The company has already secured safety equipment and installation orders worth Rs 300 crore from airports and refineries in the UAE. Also, orders received worth Rs 325 crore from various projects in India. With all these, the order book is set to swell to Rs 2,000 crore by the end of the current financial year and Rs 3,000 crore by 2015-16. The global fire and security market is estimated at $100 billion, with annual growth of 10 per cent. The company says it expects its top line and bottom line to grow by at least 20-25 per cent annually in the coming years.

Label: Offshore Title: The challenges facing fire protection in offshore wind farms Teaser: including financial investment and safety Label: Aviation Label: Interview Label: Data Centres Title: Selecting the appropriate suppression system for a data centre Teaser: for providing customer satisfaction Teaser: is crucial to avoid significant losses

 Modern data centres are characterised by spaces filled with ever-increasing numbers of server racks and various types of electronic equipment, and are regarded as mission-critical facilities that must maintain 24 x 365 business continuity. There was a time when temporary business interruptions were a minor and relatively inexpensive inconvenience to the operation of data centres. However, with the increasing reliance of society upon the interconnected global IT infrastructure for much of what we consider everyday life, the loss of data centre service often has a dramatic effect felt far beyond the affected business, impacting clients, suppliers, whole industries, and society at large. Data processing centres store data in the systems memory, and during an interruption only that data which has not yet been placed in permanent memory is lost – but there is much more than just data loss at stake. The uninterrupted use of computers and electronic equipment in modern data centres is critical. According to a 2013 Ponemon Institute report, the cost of data centre downtime is high – and getting higher. From 2010 to 2013, the average cost per minute of data centre downtime increased 41%, from $5617 (£3580) per minute in 2010 to $7908 (£5042) per minute in 2013. The total cost of downtime is not limited to revenue losses, but can ultimately also include : Productivity Losses: Numerous users across an organisation rely on IT-delivered services and applications and any downtime will greatly reduce their productivity, often resulting in work grinding to a halt Customer Disruption: Customers can suffer from disruptions in customer service and support systems, leading to dissatisfied customers who may take their business elsewhere Reputation Damage: Disruptions can negatively impact the reputation of the organisation, leading to a loss in future sales Isolation and Repair Costs: The cost of downtime also includes the costs to find and fix the problem Loss of Data and Records Lawsuits Costs in addition to the loss of revenue can be significant, as seen in Figure 1 below, which summarises the cost of a typical data centre outage. Fire protection options The high value and sensitivity of the electronic equipment found in modern data centres, combined with the consequences of system interruption, makes fire protection a critical component of any data centre risk assessment. Fires do occur in these types of facilities – as evidenced in Table 2, which includes a selection of data centre fires that have been reported within the last several years. Table 2. Data centre fires Date Location Data centre 2014 Thailand Cowboyminers 2014 South Korea Samsung 2014 Argentina Iron Mountain 2014 USA Iowa Legislative Building 2013 USA NSA Spy Centre 2012 Canada Shaw Data Centre A. Water-Based Fire Suppression Systems The primary objective of a sprinkler system is not fire extinguishment but fire control: Confining a fire to its point of origin (preventing fire spread) and controlling ceiling temperatures to prevent structural damage. Sprinkler systems use water, at a typical flow rate of 25 gallons per minute. Water has obvious disadvantages around electronics and electrical systems due to its electrical conductivity. In the event of activation, water damage to the facility and equipment can be substantial, often worse than the fire damage itself, and the cleanup required after sprinkler system activation can be extensive. Sprinkler standards such as NFPA 13 typically require a 30 minute supply of water, and it is common for the two heads nearest the fire to activate – this translates to 1500 gallons of water dumped on the facility’s electronic equipment. Sprinkler heads are activated by a thermally sensitive frangible bulb or fusible link which releases water only after the head reaches a preset minimum temperature, usually 135oF or higher. By this time fires are well-developed and considerable direct fire, smoke, and water related damage can be expected (See Figure 2). The extensive cleanup after a sprinkler system discharge, and resulting business interruption, will add to the business cost of a fire. Water is not a three dimensional agent, and cannot readily extinguish hidden or obstructed fires, such as an in-cabinet or in-rack fires. For these reasons, sprinkler systems are best suited for the protection of structures, not for the protection of mission-critical assets located within those structures. Water mist systems are a more recent entrant into the water-based fire suppression arena. Such systems generally require high pressure pumps and special nozzles to distribute a fine water mist into the protected space. Typical delivery rates for water mist systems are on the order of 8 gpm for high pressure water mist systems: A 30 minute discharge from the two closest heads would result in 480 gallons of water dumped on the facilities electronic equipment. Water mist primarily extinguishes via oxygen dilution: Steam produced from the mist near the fire displaces oxygen and puts out the fire. Water mist systems perform well on large energetic fires, but have exhibited poor performance on small fires. Water mist, like water, does not fully flood a space and as a result is not suitable for the extinguishment of hidden or obstructed fires, such as an in-cabinet or in-rack fires. While lesser in volume than sprinklers, these systems do leave residual water following system discharge, necessitating cleanup and added service interruption. Potential water damage to electronics and the incompatibility of water and electricity remain a concern. For these reasons water mist systems, like sprinkler systems, are not recommended for the protection of high value electronic assets and services located within a structure. Figure 2. Aftermath of pre-action sprinkler activation on an in-cabinet fire B. Clean Agents The primary objective of a gaseous clean agent system is to extinguish the fire quickly, limiting fire damage to the object(s) involved in the origin of the fire. Hence, the primary purpose of a gaseous clean agent system is to protect the valuable, sensitive and mission-critical assets within the enclosure. This is clearly fundamentally different from the primary objective of sprinkler systems, as illustrated in Figure 3. The primary advantages of total flooding clean agents are: Clean