Today is not only the day to change our clocks, it's also the day to replaced smoke alarm batteries, according to an timely reminder from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as Daylight Saving Time ends.
As the weather grows cold and people start planning for the holidays, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have released two new research videos that illustrate the benefit of having sprinkler systems in homes. Scientists exposed two dry Christmas trees to an open flame in a living room mock-up built inside their laboratory and recorded the results.
Tonight's activities cap the three-day campaign teaming law enforcement with community organizations and volunteers. They're trying to stamp out the Halloween eve arsons that have bedeviled the Motor City for years.
U.S. Fire Administrator Gregory Cade and leaders from a host of agencies and companies are scheduled to speak at the Washington, D.C., event hosted by the Fire Protection Research Foundation.
Application procedures have been announced for the 2009 Harvard program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. The program is once again sponsored through a partnership between the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Fire Service Training Association/Fire Protection Publications (IFSTA/FPP), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the Department of Homeland Security - United States Fire Administration (USFA). Each organization will fund the tuition costs of two individuals for a total of eight fellowships.
CEO William Lambert announced "the strongest third quarter in MSA history," calling it "especially satisfying in the current economic environment." Net sales rose by 15 percent, and net income increased 7 percent.
Proponents say the new caucus is needed because a variety of committees oversee the issues facing the profession and federal funding for it.
This event at the Sheraton Station Square in Pittsburgh, Pa., looks at prevention of major injury categories, such as construction falls and health workers' needlesticks, and Hispanic worker injuries.
TOSHA's safety tips for National Fire Prevention Month include controlling combustible dust, ensuring exits are available and workers are informed about hazards, and keeping heat producing equipment clean and maintained.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has adopted two additional NFPA standards for first responders: NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents.
The meeting on Nov. 19 in Chicago is intended to ensure the investigation program meets the needs of stakeholders and how it can be improved to increase its impact on firefighters' safety and health.
Fall hazards, improper storage of compressed gas cylinders, restricted exit access, lack of machine guarding, inadequate fire extinguisher maintenance, and electrical hazards were among the unsafe working conditions OSHA found at Salmon-Challis National Forest.
The U.S. Fire Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have completed a report--titled "Technical Note 1499, Performance Metrics for Fire Fighting Thermal Imaging Cameras – Small- and Full-Scale Experiments"--that provides information on the research conducted as part of a project partnership on Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) imaging performance metrics and test methods.
Effikal LLC, of Orion, Mich., in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, has announced a voluntary recall of its Automatic Gas Vent Dampers.
The U.S. Fire Administration has issued a special report titled "Highway Vehicle Fires," as part of its Topical Fire Report Series, which examines the causes and characteristics of highway vehicle fires. An estimated 258,500 highway vehicle fires occur annually resulting in 490 civilian deaths, 1,275 civilian injuries, and $1 billion in property loss.
The new publication "is an essential resource for designers, builders, and others looking for reliable information on topics not covered in [ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.2-2007] or seeking to go beyond minimum for high performance construction," said committee chair Steven Emmerich.
"In the new era of triple bottom line accountability on financial, social, and environmental contributions, the need for energy vigilance and conservation is greater than ever," said IFMA President and CEO David J. Brady.
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board has released a new 23-minute safety video, titled "Half an Hour to Tragedy," based on the deadly propane gas explosion at the Little General convenience store in Ghent, W.Va., in January 2007.
"These citations address a variety of hazards which, left uncorrected, expose employees to potential falls, fire, crushing injuries, lacerations, amputations, being caught in the unexpected startup of machinery or not being able to exit the workplace swiftly in the event of an emergency," said Christopher Adams, OSHA's area director in Syracuse, N.Y.
Developed by the National Fire Data Center, the U.S. Fire Administration has issued a report titled Residential Structure and Building Fires that examines the causes and characteristics of fires occurring in residential structures and buildings.