Halloween Fire Safety: Costumes, Candy, Candles, Oh My!
About 10,100 fires were reported to local stations on Halloween from 2014 to 2016, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Don’t let those numbers spook you, though — there are plenty of things you can do to keep yourself…
Fire Prevention Week 2018: Look. Listen. Learn. Be Aware. Fire Can Happen Anywhere.
We’ve come a long way since the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, which killed hundreds of people and destroyed more than 17,000 structures. Fire prevention and protection technologies have evolved and improved drastically since the…
O, Christmas Tree – Protect Your Home and Family This Holiday Season
If you’ve been pining for the perfect tree since the moment you swallowed the last bite of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, we can’t blame you. Who doesn’t want to spruce up their home as the holiday approaches? But, if you’re…
Thanksgiving Cooking – The Dangers of Deep Frying Turkeys
In 2015, U.S. fire departments responded to about 1,760 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving Day, an increase from 1,550 in 2013. As the trend of deep-frying the Turkey Day gobbler continues to grow, so does the number of…
Fire Prevention Week 2017–Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!
According to a survey conducted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), nearly three-quarters of Americans have created an escape plan in case of a fire at home. However, less than half of those people have ever…
Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Fire Sprinklers
Once the correct fire sprinkler is chosen and installed, it must be inspected, tested, and maintained. Before we get into that, don’t forget to check out our posts “Choosing the Right Fire Sprinkler – Part 1” and “Choosing the…
Apartment Fires and Construction
This year alone, we've seen mid-construction fires at wood-framed apartment complexes in four cities: Maplewood, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; Overland Park, Kansas; and most recently College Park, Maryland. All four…
Annual Fire Pump Testing: A Few Important Tips
Fire pumps and associated equipment are required to be periodically inspected, tested, and maintained by NFPA 25: Standard for the Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems. Since the 2002…
Maintaining Fire Extinguishers in Reliable Working Order
By Mark Conroy From time to time, we like to share perspectives from members in our connected communities. We’d like to thank Mark Conroy for his tips on keeping portable fire extinguishers in reliable working order: Portable…
Spring Has Sprung – Fire Safety Tips for the Warmer Months
It’s easy to associate at-home fire protection with the colder months with the use of space heaters, fireplaces, decorative candles, and tangled strings of holiday lights. But, just because we’re less inclined to turn the heat…
What do you Need to Know about Portable Fire Extinguishers?
We've discussed different types of fire in a previous blog (classes A, B, C, D and K), each of which a unique fuel type and hazard characteristics, plus an ignition source, oxygen, and an uninhibited chemical chain reaction. So…
Back to the Basics: What is Fire?
As fire protection engineers we spend a lot of time talking about how to prevent fires and mitigate their damage. Technology has come a long way over the years and the profession is constantly evolving, but let’s take a moment…
Ringing in the New Year with Fire Safety
The New Year is almost upon us and this is the time when many of us resolve to make improvements in our lives. Most often, those improvements are focused on our health, which is definitely great, but we hope you will also…
Fatal Tank Explosion Caused by Hot Work
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) recently released its findings following their investigation into a fatal tank explosion that occurred on July 28, 2014 at the Omega Protein facility located in Moss Point, Mississippi. The…
Recent Industrial Dryer Fire: Top Lesson Learned
Last month, Kentucky firefighters responded to a fire inside a large, industrial dryer at the R.R. Donnelley plant located in Dannville. The dryer is used to dry ink on magazines after they are printed, using extremely hot air.…