Dual-zone protection allows operators to set the system to monitor two independent zones Protecting workers and equipment is not just a financial and regulatory necessity, but also an ethical one. The best way to fight fires on equipment is to prevent it from occurring in the first place. With this in mind Tyco Fire Protection Products has developed the ANSUL CHECKFIRE 210 electronic detection and actuation system. According to Tyco Fire Protection it has been "designed for mining vehicles and non-road mobile equipment, and alerts operators about potential fire hazards and actuates the fire suppression system if a fire occurs, helping to protect vital assets such as personnel and property operating in extreme environments" such as mining. CHECKFIRE 210 uses mining specific ANSUL fire suppression systems, including the ANSUL LVS vehicle fire suppression system which uses a wet chemical agent that provides not only fire suppression, but also a cooling effect on superheated vehicle surfaces while at the same time blanketing the fuel and cutting off oxygen to the fire, snuffing out the chance of reflash. Its A-101 fire suppression system uses FORAY dry chemical agents for Class A,B, and C fires; while its A-101/LVS twin-agent fire suppression system combines both dry and wet agents. "The CHECKFIRE 210 system will integrate seamlessly with current mining equipment, enabling operators to further strengthen their fire suppression systems with this detection and actuation technology," Tyco Fire Protection’s director of pre-engineered systems, Mark Neumann, said. He went on to say "the CHECKFIRE 210 system offers colour-coded, plug and play connectors for easier installation and an isolate feature that enables continuous detection and protection from actuation during maintenance. The fire protection system is also equipped with two independent detection circuits for different applications that allow the system to fit specific site hazards and machinery needs such as "single-, two-, and cross-zoned detection and discharge pressure feedback monitoring or alarm only." Dual-zone protection allows operators to set the system to monitor two independent zones, ensuring the system only activates when one zone detects a fire. Cross-zone protection is designed for operators that need to monitor more than one zone at the same time, and causes actuation only when fire affects both the outlined zones. "The features and enhanced interface are intuitive, which provides ease of use, which is important when a fire situation arises and time is of the essence," Neumann said. The system also features supervised plug and play circuits; automatic or manual actuation; an internal reserve power source; a compact display unit with two mounting options to fit machinery design; either linear detection for wider ranging hazard areas or spot thermal detection for targeting specific hazards in smaller areas; continuous system updates; and is FM approved and CE marked.

From less than Rs 20 of his own My father had a small firefighting equipment manufacturing firm Zenith Fire services. Since the age of eight, I started accompanying him to the firm’s manufacturing unit in Mumbai. As I grew, I began managing shifts at the unit during my school and college vacations. But, I was the youngest in the family and my eldest brother inherited the business. I thought about starting my own venture without any help from my family. But I did not have even Rs 20 to start out with. I took a loan of Rs 500 from some of my friends and started working at a friend’s auto garage. This was in January 1984. By then I had completed a diploma in mechanical engineering. While working with my father, I built useful contacts. One of them was a senior advisor to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). He told me about a maintenance contract for fire extinguishers at the department. His recommendation helped me win the contract. This was in April 1984. The contract required repair and maintenance of firefighting cylinders. DAE would transport the cylinders to the garage where I was working, I would repair the cylinders and they would be transported back. I employed three people to help me with the work. When we started off, I did not have the money to buy trolleys, pulleys or conveyer belts. I improvised with whatever equipment were available. For the rolling machine, we used a part of an old car. It cost me about Rs 1,000. A new rolling machine would have cost around Rs 45,000. Within 6-7 months, we had saved enough to buy a 1,200 sq. ft space at Ghatkopar for around Rs 20 lakh. The company was named Nitin Fire ProtectionBSE 2.86 % Industry. When we were not repairing power cylinders, we were busy manufacturing extinguishers. Based on our work for the DEA, we got a maintenance contract for ONGCBSE -1.35 % in 1986. It required complete maintenance of hose grills, engines and tanks at their plant. By end-1986, our turnover had crossed Rs 7 crore. In 1987, we decided to increase our manufacturing capacity and bought a 50,000 sq. ft space at Umargaon in Gujarat for Rs 1 crore. We employed some 25 people for manufacturing firefighting equipment at the facility. The headcount at Mumbai was still five. They were responsible for the DAE and ONGC maintenance contracts. We started offering end-to-end firefighting solutions like designing, manufacturing and maintenance of equipment for firefighting units including Goa fire force and Mumbai fire brigade in 1988. At that time, no company was offering fire detection equipment. We planned on getting into that segment but lacked the expertise. In 1989, we decided to join hands with someone who had the skill and know-how. We teamed-up with UK-based Apollo Fire Detectors, one of the largest manufacturers of smoke detectors, modules and notification devices. It was an exclusive tie-up and we continue to be the sole distributors of their devices in the country. We expanded from manufacturers of smoke detectors, modules and notification devices. It was an exclusive tie-up and we continue to be the sole distributors of their devices in the country. We expanded from manufacturing to marketing and distribution of firefighting equipment. Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/emerging-businesses/entrepreneurship/how-nitin-shah-built-a-rs-1000-crore-fire-protection-company-from-less-than-rs-20-of-his-own/articleshow/37833655.cms

The Indiana town has an ageing fleet An aging fleet in need of repairs has left Gary, Indiana with less than half its fire engines in service recently and has forced the department to rent an engine, but fire officials say they hope the situation will improve soon. The National Fire Protection Association recommends that a city Gary’s size – about 79,000 residents – have six engines. Gary has 11, but six have recently been offline for repairs. The department has rented an engine, but it has still found itself short of equipment, The Times reported. Hammond, by comparison, has about 80,000 residents and is running six engines and has three spares, Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Margraf said. The resource-strapped Gary department immediately called for additional resources after arriving at a blaze at an abandoned house June 16, Battalion Chief Donnie Williamson said. Gary sent two engines and a ladder truck to the fire, which threatened nearby buildings, but didn’t have enough trucks to comply with department policy. That requires two engines, a ladder truck, a rescue squad and a battalion chief to respond to an initial alarm. When a fire is upgraded to a box alarm, procedure calls for another engine, truck company and chief. Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and Fire Chief Teresa Everett told The Times in Munster that they’re aware of the department’s shortages. “That was one of the priorities of our administration coming into office, because we understood how outdated and inadequate the equipment was,” Freeman-Wilson said. The mayor said the department accepted an engine from the village of Glenwood in 2012. The engine was the oldest one the village had in surplus and is currently undergoing repairs, Everett said. Everett said the department hopes to have all its equipment repaired within 60 days. “Once we have everything repaired, we will be on target,” Everett said. “The ultimate goal is to get all of our apparatus repaired and not have to use a rental.” Despite a lack of equipment, the department has actually been providing more mutual aid to neighboring communities than it has received, Everett said. Since Jan. 1, Gary has requested mutual aid 26 times and provided it 34 times, she said.

Initiative replaces fluorine-based foam concentrates The Solberg Company, the world’s foremost innovator of firefighting foam concentrates and systems hardware announced today a program to replace fluorine-based foam concentrates in foam/water sprinkler systems with a high-performance environmentally sustainable firefighting foam concentrate for Class B fuel fires, while maintaining the critical product certification on the existing system. The Foam/Water Sprinkler System Upgrade Program utilizes RE-HEALING™ Foam, the world’s first UL Listed and FM Approved fluorine-free foam concentrate, which contains no fluorine or other organohalogens, whether surfactant or polymer based. Customers that currently have foam/water sprinkler systems that contain fluorine-based foam concentrates, that would like to replace this old technology with the latest advancements in firefighting foam agents, can now do so under this program without losing the product certification (UL Listing or FM Approval) on the existing installation, as a result of; their desire to improve their environmental responsibility, a foam/water sprinkler system discharge, or replacement of foam concentrate that has not passed its annual foam concentrate test as required by National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 11 – Standard for Low, Medium and High Expansion Foam. RE-HEALING Foam System Upgrade Program Certificate The program allows users of fluorine containing Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) foam/water sprinkler systems to upgrade to the finest, high-performing firefighting foam technology, RE-HEALING Foam while reducing the cost of system changeover, and maintain the existing system compliance certification as well. Details of the program are quite simple. When RE-HEALING Foam is purchased for a foam/water sprinkler system at standard market price, Solberg will supply to the customer, free of charge, a SOLBERG UL Listed and FM Approved standard proportioner, and a supply of automatic sprinklers that are also UL Listed and FM Approved with RE-HEALING Foam concentrate, allowing the customer to maintain the current listing or approval on the system. To obtain a copy of the Program Certificate, learn more about the RE-HEALING Foam System Upgrade Program, or schedule a site review of your existing foam/water sprinkler system, please contact your regional Solberg sales representative as found at http://www.solbergfoam.com/contact.aspx.

The fire engine will be formally launched by Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim The Pandeshwar Fire Service has procured a high-end fire engine. The engine is equipped with an aerial ladder platform able to reach buildings of 10-12 storeys and mounted on a Volvo chassis. The RLX range is one of four ranges of Bronto Skylift rescue and fire-fighting applications. The aerial ladder can reach a height of 32 m with a maximum outreach of 23 m, making it capable of covering the topmost floors of most buildings in the city. The engine has a water capacity of 3,800 litres/min.  The fire engine, which was earlier stationed in Bangalore, arrived on Wednesday June 25. It will be formally launched by Deputy Commissioner A B Ibrahim.

Scott Safety now offers SCBA, compressors, thermal imaging cameras and communications Over 65 years ago, Scott Safety introduced the first Air Pak SCBA to the fire services. Since that time, Scott Safety has continuously supported first responders globally with innovative products, smart solutions, and a dedicated level of support. Scott Safety now offers SCBA, compressors, thermal imaging cameras, communications, accountability, and personal location products for first responders, including fire-fighters, EMS, HAZMAT, and law enforcement applications. The new ProPak-f/ProPak-fx comes with a choice of 200 -300bar cylinders as well as the new high-pressure 379 bar cylinder technology. At 25% higher pressures than the standard 300 bar SCBA, these new cylinders offer increased duration with minimal increases in size and weight providing fire-fighters with a duration of up to 75 minutes and a convenient method of utilising an extended duration breathing apparatus without increasing user burden.

E2S has published a complete guide for easy specification and installation E2S has published a complete guide for easy specification and installation for their range of intrinsically safe sounders, beacons and combination devices. The guide is based on the ATEX certification but in general, the guidelines apply to other intrinsic safety standards including NEC and IECEx. Focusing on interface selection, the guide offers advice regarding the advantages and disadvantages of Zener barriers and isolation interfaces and provides the general entity parameters for E2S intrinsically safe products. Typical system diagrams detail how efficiently to employ different types of Zener barriers or isolators to control combination audio-visual signals and multiple alarm stages. Additionally, the article proposes suitable barriers for use with E2S intrinsically safe products which the company can source and supply as part of your product order. The intrinsically safe range from E2S includes audible and visual signals and manual call points suitable for use in Group II Zone 0 and Group I mining plus Class I Division 1 applications. The IS range features approval to ATEX, IECEx and NEC standards as well as Russian TR CU (EAC EX) certification. The guide can be downloaded from www.e2s.com/isguide.

The Solberg Company, the world’s foremost innovator of firefighting foam concentrates and systems hardware, has announced the company has achieved FM Approval on the company’s RE-HEALING™ RF3, 3% and ARCTIC™ 3×3% ATC™ foam concentrates. RE-HEALING Foam concentrate is a high performance fluorine-free foam concentrate for use on Class B hydrocarbon fuel fires. RE-HEALING Foam is also used to prevent re-ignition of a liquid spill and control hazardous vapors. The new FM Approval for RE-HEALING RF3, 3% foam includes bladder tanks, proportioners, foam chambers, foam makers and fire sprinklers. The FM Approval with multiple standard automatic sprinklers includes RELIABLE® F-1 upright and pendent style (5.6 and 8.0 K-Factors), RELIABLE Model G upright and pendent style (5.6 and 8.0 K-Factors), and the RELIABLE upright G XLO (11.2 K-Factor). “Advances in foam technology have completed another revolution of the fire science world. We have passed from protein to fluorine containing foam in the 20th century to high performance non-halide containing RE-HEALING foam for the 21st century” explained Solberg’s General Manager Steve Hansen. “All of the ingredients in RE-HEALING foam concentrates have been individually tested under the HOCNF protocol and are safe for use from the North Sea to the South Pacific. Every question that has been asked of RE-HEALING foam has been answered without a sacrifice in fire performance. From this generation of products we see a great beginning for the next generation of RE-HEALING Foams.” RE-HEALING RF3, 3% foam concentrate is both UL Listed and FM Approved for use in automatic sprinkler systems at exactly the same application rates and sprinkler operating pressures as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) concentrates. Equal system performance has been achieved with a completely fluorine-free concentrate that also happens to be high performance firefighting foam. “This is yet another singular milestone for The Solberg Company, achieving the world’s only FM Approved foam concentrate that is completely free of all fluorine, whether called fluorosurfactant or fluoropolymer. As with Underwriters Laboratories, this is the direct result of the hard work and dedication of all Solberg employees around the world. Solberg now offers the world’s only truly fluorine free foam concentrate that is both UL Listed and FM Approved, backed up by the world’s only Foam Concentrate Environmental Warranty.” stated Dennis Kennedy, Executive Vice President of Amerex Corporation, the parent Company of Solberg. In addition to the FM Approval on RE-HEALING RF3, Solberg also obtained FM Approval on ARCTIC 3×3% ATC foam concentrate, for use with foam chambers, foam makers, and the same sprinklers as identified for RE-HEALING RF3. ARCTIC foam concentrates are 2015 compliant to the U.S. EPA Stewardship Program on C6 fluorine chemistry. Based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with operations in Bergen, Norway and Sydney, Australia, Solberg (an Amerex Corporation company) has been involved with the manufacture of firefighting foams since the mid-1970s. Solberg’s unique technology and foam systems hardware is preferred by customers in the aerospace, aviation, chemical, defense, energy, fire services, marine, mining, oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, pipeline, solvent & coatings and utilities industries.

The Solberg Company, the world’s foremost innovator of firefighting foam concentrates and systems hardware, has announced the company has achieved FM Approval on the company’s RE-HEALING™ RF3, 3% and ARCTIC™ 3×3% ATC™ foam concentrates. RE-HEALING Foam concentrate is a high performance fluorine-free foam concentrate for use on Class B hydrocarbon fuel fires. RE-HEALING Foam is also used to prevent re-ignition of a liquid spill and control hazardous vapors. The new FM Approval for RE-HEALING RF3, 3% foam includes bladder tanks, proportioners, foam chambers, foam makers and fire sprinklers. The FM Approval with multiple standard automatic sprinklers includes RELIABLE® F-1 upright and pendent style (5.6 and 8.0 K-Factors), RELIABLE Model G upright and pendent style (5.6 and 8.0 K-Factors), and the RELIABLE upright G XLO (11.2 K-Factor). “Advances in foam technology have completed another revolution of the fire science world. We have passed from protein to fluorine containing foam in the 20th century to high performance non-halide containing RE-HEALING foam for the 21st century” explained Solberg’s General Manager Steve Hansen. “All of the ingredients in RE-HEALING foam concentrates have been individually tested under the HOCNF protocol and are safe for use from the North Sea to the South Pacific. Every question that has been asked of RE-HEALING foam has been answered without a sacrifice in fire performance. From this generation of products we see a great beginning for the next generation of RE-HEALING Foams.” RE-HEALING RF3, 3% foam concentrate is both UL Listed and FM Approved for use in automatic sprinkler systems at exactly the same application rates and sprinkler operating pressures as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) concentrates. Equal system performance has been achieved with a completely fluorine-free concentrate that also happens to be high performance firefighting foam. “This is yet another singular milestone for The Solberg Company, achieving the world’s only FM Approved foam concentrate that is completely free of all fluorine, whether called fluorosurfactant or fluoropolymer. As with Underwriters Laboratories, this is the direct result of the hard work and dedication of all Solberg employees around the world. Solberg now offers the world’s only truly fluorine free foam concentrate that is both UL Listed and FM Approved, backed up by the world’s only Foam Concentrate Environmental Warranty.” stated Dennis Kennedy, Executive Vice President of Amerex Corporation, the parent Company of Solberg. In addition to the FM Approval on RE-HEALING RF3, Solberg also obtained FM Approval on ARCTIC 3×3% ATC foam concentrate, for use with foam chambers, foam makers, and the same sprinklers as identified for RE-HEALING RF3. ARCTIC foam concentrates are 2015 compliant to the U.S. EPA Stewardship Program on C6 fluorine chemistry. Based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with operations in Bergen, Norway and Sydney, Australia, Solberg (an Amerex Corporation company) has been involved with the manufacture of firefighting foams since the mid-1970s. Solberg’s unique technology and foam systems hardware is preferred by customers in the aerospace, aviation, chemical, defense, energy, fire services, marine, mining, oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, pipeline, solvent & coatings and utilities industries.