SURREY FIRE SERVICE LAUNCHES YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

Surrey, British Columbia - September 2013 - I’ve got to hand it to the great (and forward thinking) people at the Surrey Fire Service (headed by Chief Len Garis) and the City of Surrey’s Mayor, Dianne Watts, who in partnership with the University of the Fraser Valley, the Surrey Fire Fighters’ Association, The John Jay College of Criminal Justice, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, ICMA TV and Global TVBC, have produced a series of videos highlighting Surrey’s HomeSafe Program.  As a result of this initiative (which was introduced in the Fall of 2008), a dramatic reduction of home-based fires has been realized.

The HomeSafe Program involves a free in-home inspection service to Surrey home-owners and is carried out by on-duty fire fighters under the direction of the Surrey Fire Prevention Office.  The home-owner is treated to a no-charge test of their smoke alarms as part of the inspection.  If the home isn’t equipped with one, the fire fighters will provide one free of charge.  The HomeSafe Program was conceived and designed to be easily adopted by fire departments around the globe.

KUDO’s to the City of Surrey, Mayor Watts, Surrey Fire Services and Chief Garis!

 

OCTOBER 9, 2013 TECHNICAL SEMINAR - ANOTHER RESOUNDING SUCCESS!

Vancouver, British Columbia - October 9th was, by all accounts, another very successful (although somewhat under-attended) CFAA technical seminar.  Two presentations by Paul Jewett of Mircom Technologies covered smoke detector sensitivity testing (required by both CAN/ULC-S5367 and CAN/ULC-S536 Verification and Testing Standards respectively), and helped to clarify the new requirement for intelligibility testing in the Verification Standard.  Gage Babcock’s Steve Coleopy provided insightful information regarding the integration of electronic door locking hardware and the challenges posed by the BC Building Code, while Don Brown presented us a glimpse into some of the

fascinating new technology that Siemens is introducing into the North American market which will help to virtually eliminate nuisance and false alarms.  Andrew Coles of Sereca Fire Consulting’s presentation covered computer modelling of smoke and heat behaviours in a fire that will allow a designer to address particular challenges posed by some of the new architectural marvels being constructed today.  Martin MacGregor of ASTTBC threw down the gauntlet and challenged all of us in British Columbia’s fire equipment service community to step up and add their voice to the discussion surrounding the proposed new electrical certification under consideration by the BC Safety Authority.  And Kidde Canada’s own Gary Darling served up an interesting talk on smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in a well received, highly entertaining fashion. The Justice Institute provided both the venue and catered the luncheon which everyone seemed to enjoy.  It was great to meet both Steve Clemens and Shelley Whetren who flew all the way out from CFAA’s head office to attend.

I was actually quite impressed by the contingent of Fire Prevention Officers from the City of Langley that attended.  A broad range of topics of particular interest to the AHJ community were covered, and I was somewhat surprised that more didn’t attend.  Let’s hope that we can improve on those numbers next year!

October 30th is the official date for the CFAA Capital Region Techincal Seminar in Ottawa.  To register, please visit the information page on the CFAA website!

 

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK’S AN EDUCATIONAL TREAT FOR CALGARY FAMILIES!

Calgary, Alberta - The Calgary Fire Department opened the doors for the public to tour the City’s fire stations today (October 5th, 2013) as part of the start of Fire Prevention Week there (October 6 - 12).  This year’s Fire Prevention Week focuses in on “Preventing Kitchen Fires” (we provided a link to a kitchen fire demonstration in our July 2012 Newsletter). 

Meanwhile, the search is on to find Calgary’s “Junior Fire Chief for a Day”.  I’m on the edge of my seat!

 

ULC HONOURS RICH MORRIS!

Toronto, Ontario - In a move that’s unprecedented in Canadian Standards Development, ULC has decided to honour Rich Morris, former Chair of the Standards Committee on Fire Alarm and Life Safety Equipment and Systems, who passed away on May 3, 2012, in a special dedication which will appear on many of the Standards currently in the publishing queue.  They include CAN/ULC-S536-13, CAN/ULC-S537-13, and CAN/ULC-S524-14 (to name a few).

“This Standard is dedicated to the memory of G. Richard Morris, Chair, 1989 - 2011 and member, 1976 - 2012 of the ULC Standards Committee on Fire Alarm and Life Safety Equipment and Systems.”

It is a fitting tribute to a man that had dedicated so much of his life towards helping keep Canadians safe.

 

SIEMENS CUTS 15000 JOBS!

Munich, Germany - Siemens has announced they will be cutting 15,000 jobs around the globe in an effort to match profitability with General Electric and ABB Ltd.  This represents 4 percent of the company’s global workforce.  What this means for employees in the North American Fire Alarm & Security divisions is too early to say.  We’ll try to update you as soon as we hear!

UPDATE! - October 20, 2013 - It’s doubtful that the North American market will experience any layoffs (at least in the Fire Alarm Division).  According to my sources, Siemens had engaged in some cost cutting measures a couple of years ago and the present staffing levels will remain largely unaffected by the announced layoff.  If anyone should hear differently, drop me a line!

 

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Tech-News & Views

October 2013