Three Injured in Aerosol Paint Manufacturing Explosion
Three people were injured on March 6, 2013 after two explosions at a paint manufacturing facility. The facility manufactures marking paint, such as striping paint for parking lots. The first explosion occurred at Fox Valley…
Welding Sparks $500,000 Fire at Automotive Parts Supply Plant and Injures Three
Approximately 200 employees were evacuated from Sodecia Stamping Company, an automotive stamping plant and parts supply company, in Roseville, MI on March 5th when a two-alarm fire ignited. The fire resulted in three injuries…
When is it Time to Examine Fire Safety Procedures?
On December 26, 2012, an explosion at a leading flavor and fragrance company, Givaudan Flavors Corp., shook nearby businesses and scattered debris throughout the plant grounds. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. The…
Decrypting Amazon Web Services (AWS) for Fire Protection Analysis
Earlier this year, Phil Friday worked with Thunderhead Engineering’s Bryan Klein to pioneer a new IT strategy for running FDS and Smoke View in the Cloud. Thunderhead Engineering developed PyroSim, a graphical user interface…
Metal Dust Ignites Fire at Manufacturing Facility
Earlier this month, metal dust ignited and burned inside duct work at a RSA Engineered Products manufacturing facility. RSA designs and manufactures components and assemblies for military and commercial aircraft OE…
Gas Explosion at Medical Building in Spokane Injures One
Last week, one person suffered minor injuries after a gas explosion in the boiler room of a medical building located at QualMed Plaza in Spokane, Washington. The flash explosion blew the doors off of the entryway to the boiler…
Commercial Fire Protection Engineering with PyroSim
When planning a unique structure, building designers may find their plans depart from certain building and fire code regulations. A small complication or oversight in code compliance can throw everything off schedule and…
Enhancing FDS Analysis
New computing architectures allow sophisticated, powerful fire modeling simulations that are crucial for the future of fire safety. However, the computing resources that are needed to use these tools has historically been…
What’s Going on at SUPDET 2013 this year?
The 17th annual Suppression, Detection, and Signaling Research and Applications (SUPDET) symposium has been happening all week in Orlando. This year’s program has been addressing the latest on topics including: Detection…
10th Anniversary of Station Nightclub Fire
February 20th, 2013 marks the 10-year anniversary of the tragic Station Nightclub fire that killed 100 people and injured 200. The fire is one of the most deadly nightclub fires in the history of the United States.…
Collaborating with Fire Protection Contractors via the iPad
When we inspect a new construction site for fire alarms and sprinklers, we are a tool in the fire protection contractor’s arsenal. Our comments help insure the fire alarm and sprinkler contractors produce a fire safe, code…
Using iPad’s Bluebeam App for Fire Protection Inspections
The iPad can be an incredibly useful tool for fire inspections and fire testing, but it requires some customization first. Through experimentation, collaboration, and experience with the iPad, we have unlocked more of the…
Build-Up Suspected in Peanut Roaster Fire
In December, firefighters in Blaine, Washington responded to a fire inside a large roaster at Golden Nut Company. The facility manufactures peanut butter. The fire department, located across the street from the Golden Nut…
Touting the iPad for Fire Alarm and Fire Suppression Testing and Inspections – Part 2
We rolled out iPads to key staff-members in 2012, and Jim Tuten received one of them. Jim opted to use the mobile device for his on-premise fire alarm and fire suppression inspections. The mobile device saves time and…