Sprinkler News
BAFSA Golf Day Results
Many thanks to BAFSA Golf Club Captain David Robinson for this report of another very successful day. This will be the last event organised by David who intends to devote his time to his many other interests. Martin Hartley from Argus will be organising the 2011 event which till take place at Shrigley Hall on 16 June.
BAFSA’s 10th annual singles Stableford 4 ball golf competition and team trophy was competed for by 8 teams (of 4), a good turnout in the present climate with the teams representing installers and suppliers to the fire sprinkler industry.
Weather conditions were warm and sunny.
The prestigious BAFSA team trophy was competed for by:-
Argus, Hall Fire Protection, Armstrong Priestley, Tyco, Shawston, Victaulic, Booles and Ashworths.
Scores were down on previous years with prizes presented by Martin Hartley (BAFSA Vice Chairman)
The team trophy was won by Armstrong Priestley( for the 3rd time in 10 years) with a score of 89 points (2 counting), with Ashworth’s in 2nd place with 85 points), Victaulic were in 3rd place with 84 points) and Booles in 4th on 82 points.
Posted on: Friday 9 July 2010
Safety Alert
An NFPA safety alert relating to the use of antifreeze has been posted in the Members' Area.
Posted on: Wednesday 7 July 2010
Sprinklers prevent spread of fire at Broughton Retail Park store
Sprinklers prevent spread of fire at Broughton Retail Park store
Date: 25/6/2010 12:18
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service is highlighting the benefits of sprinkler systems after a fire at a store on Broughton Retail Park yesterday was prevented from spreading (Thursday 24 June).
Crews from Wrexham and Deeside, with assistance from an appliance from Cheshire, were called to the store at 08.00hrs and used two sets of breathing apparatus and two hose reel jets to deal with the incident.
The fire affected the ground floor fitting rooms of the two storey building and the fire damage was limited to the light fitting and light smoke damage to the fitting room cubicle.
The sprinkler system activated automatically to prevent the spread of the fire which has since been determined was caused by a faulty electrical light fitting.
Kevin Brain from North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "This incident clearly highlights how sprinkler systems can stop a fire in its tracks - saving lives and protecting property.
"The faulty light fitting began to overheat causing a fire to break out. As the fire intensified and the temperature increased, the automatic sprinkler system was activated and effectively extinguished the fire. Without the system, the fire could have spread quickly and caused the complete loss of stock in the store, substantial damage to the building and adjacent buildings, as well as endangering lives.
"Automated fire sprinklers offer excellent protection. Smoke alarms have saved lives on numerous occasions although the alarm raised depends upon the ability of the individual to escape the property.
"Sprinklers attack a fire in its very early stages and can prevent it from spreading and causing injury or loss of life and damage to the premises.
"The systems are incredibly sophisticated and cases of false activation are extremely rare. Although stock at the store was damage by water from the sprinklers, in fact, the water released by a sprinkler generally causes much less damage to a building and its contents than the amount of water used by firefighters tackling an advanced fire, not to mention the damage that would be caused by the smoke.
"And of course, had this store not been protected by sprinklers, the building may have been severely damaged causing the store to close with the loss of numerous jobs and livelihoods."
Posted on: Monday 5 July 2010
Lord Harrison's Bill for Domestic Sprinklers Reintroduced
Lord Harrison’s re-drafted Private Members Bill which fell when Parliament was prorogued was re-introduced last week.
The aim of the Bill now is for the Government to assess the impact of sprinklers for residential use (cost/benefit, environment etc). This will be interesting to watch to gauge support in the new Parliament for the Bill. At first sight it seems difficult to argue against the measures proposed but the Government may try to avoid considering the issue on the grounds of cost of the assessments themselves.
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldbills/007/11007.1-i.html
Posted on: Tuesday 8 June 2010
Updated on: Thursday 10 June 2010
Legal Requirements for Business Stationery
A recent reminder of the things which must be included on business letterhead, invoices etc as well as websites and emails is forwarded for your information.
Do you know what information on your business should be shown on your letterhead and web site?
The zeal with which the recently ejected Labour government made new law in its 13 years in power means that lots of people end up breaking the law without realising it. One example is the law relating to your letterhead (law which derives mainly from the Companies Act 2006).
A sole trader can trade under his own name or can choose a different business name. If not using his own name, he must include his name and the business address on all letterheads, invoices, etc.
For a partnership business all letterheads, order forms, receipts and invoices must include the names of all partners and the address of the main office, or if there are lots of partners it is acceptable to state where a list of partners may be found.
If trading as a limited company, the letterhead must include:
Full registered company name
Company registration number
Place of registration (ie England/Scotland/Wales/NI
Company registered address, and the address of its place of business, if different.
There is no need to include the names of the directors on the letterhead for a limited company, but, if included, all directors must be named. (There is also. apparently, still a requirement to show the nationality of any directors who are not British. It's not wholly clear if this is not contrary to EU law !)
These requirements apply equally to printed stationery and electronic versions. Also, invoices and receipts should include the VAT registration number, if registered.
Finally, if you have a web site, the same rules apply. So, don’t get caught out for the sake of doing a quick check that your stationery and web site are compliant.
Posted on: Wednesday 26 May 2010
Sky Diving for Charity
Peter Kemp, MD of BAFSA member Ultra Suppression Systems is strongly involved with the charity PACE which assists children with cerebral palsy and their families.
To raise funds for PACE, Peter is arranging for his Technical Director, Nick Ketteridge to be thrown out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane - fortunately, however for Nick, he will be attached to a parachute.
Sponsorship for this worthy cause and to support Nick's daring feat can be made through:
Posted on: Sunday 23 May 2010
EU Construction Products Regulations
The latest draft CPR (attached to the article) is in fact a Compromise Proposal from the Presidency of the Council of the European Union that will be submitted to the Competitiveness Council of the European Union.
An informed source tells BAFSA 'We are still far from the end of the legislative process and even more from the implementation.. The second reading in Parliament will start after formal adoption of the Council Common Position and the final voting is not expected before 2011".
A copy of the currentProposal can be downloaded via the link below.
Posted on: Friday 21 May 2010
Kent County Council Pledges to fit Sprinklers to all New Schools
New schools in Kent are to be fitted with sprinkler systems, following a decision by Kent County Council to improve fire safety.
The move will see officials from Kent Fire and Rescue service working with council planners and architects to encourage the installation of systems in all new or large renovation projects. It comes less than five years after a ‘devastating’ fire at Lympne School, near Folkstone, which saw more than 200 children evacuated and the building gutted.
Chief Fire Officer Charlie Hendry, who has been leading a campaign by the fire service called Safer with Sprinklers, said: “We saw the devastating effects of fire when a blaze destroyed Lympne School near Folkestone in 2006.“No-one was hurt but precious schoolwork and an important community resource were lost, causing a huge amount of upheaval and upset. It has only been within the last year that the children have been able to get back to normal in their new school.
“Existing protocols suggest that local authorities ‘should’ rather than ‘must’ consider sprinkler systems and so the council’s approach is a tremendous development, sending out a clear signal to other local authorities that sprinkler systems are a vital fire safety measure.”
Last year, nearby Medway Council made it mandatory for all new schools in the area to be fitted with sprinklers. www.info4fire.com/news-content/full/kent ... nklers-in-all-new-schools
Posted on: Tuesday 18 May 2010
Sprinkler Focus Issue 3
The latest edition of the BAFSA Technical Newsletter is now available for download.
Posted on: Thursday 13 May 2010
BAFSA Spring Members' Meeting/Seminar 12 May
The presentations from the Spring Members' meeting held in Liverpool on 12 May can now be downloaded from the Members' Resources Area
Posted on: Thursday 13 May 2010