HAVIS-SHIELDS EQUIPMENT CORP. and LEDCO-CHARGEGUARD® have merged to form HAVIS, a single company that will provide solutions incorporating both Fleet and IT mobile environments. Havis will offer a complete line of products that maximize mobile worker productivity with safety standards and quality. A newly aligned inside and outside factory sales team, fully-integrated Web site, and new logo were launched on June 1, 2009. Havis’ two production facilities will be maintained. The Michigan location will center on docking station design, while the Pennsylvania location will focus on mounting, lighting, and transport products. www.havis.com. (800) 524-9900.
MUTUALINK, INC. will provide a consortium of 22 hospitals and health facilities in northern New Jersey with a new multimedia interoperable communications sharing system as part of its all-hazards preparedness initiative, which includes pandemic situations. The system will enable the hospitals and public safety and law enforcement agencies to communicate with each other over disparate radio and telephone systems and share direct live video feeds. The network is being funded by grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for pandemic planning under the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006. www.mutualink.net. (978) 392-0040.
THE CHLORINE INSTITUTE, INC. (CI) has launched a major initiative to provide a vast majority of its informative technical publications free to key chlor-alkali industry stakeholders through CI’s online bookstore. The five newest titles added for free download this quarter are Guidelines for the Safe Motor Vehicular Transportation of Chlorine Cylinders and Ton Containers, Recommendations to Chlor-Alkali Manufacturing Facilities for the Prevention of Chlorine Releases, Explosive Properties of Gaseous Mixture Containing Hydrogen and Chlorine, Hydrochloric Acid Storage and Piping Systems, and Packaging Plant Safety and Operational Guidelines. www.CL2.com.
The CENTER FOR LIFE SAFETY EDUCATION (CLSE) has released three new complete segments of the Fire Sprinklers 200 Series as well as the first installment of its new 300 Series, Fire Sprinklers 301. CLSE’s Fire Sprinklers Series provides affordable, easy-to-access online audio seminars designed to assist inspectors and plan reviewers in understanding fire sprinkler system installations how they are designed, how they should follow NFPA standards, and how to ensure that they meet the goal of good fire protection. The new seminars are available online at www.clse.org.
PIERCE MANUFACTURING has launched a dedicated Web site on 2010 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) engine emission standards. The site is a resource for fire departments and municipalities to review the new emission standards, selective catalytic reduction technology, and the Pierce solution to meet the new requirements. The new standards require an approximately 83-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide. As part of its solution, Pierce has entered into a strategic relationship with Daimler for the supply of 2010 EPA emissions-compliant Detroit Diesel DD13 diesel engines. www.piercemfg.com.
Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta joined Denis Leary of THE LEARY FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION, FDNY Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano, and the FDNY Foundation to dedicate the FDNY’s new high-rise simulator. Equipped with mock residential, office, and commercial floor layouts, the simulator produces real-life fire and building conditions to help firefighters improve their skills in high-rise building firefighting and in performing rescues under extreme conditions. The 4,000-square-foot structure, located at the FDNY Fire Academy on Randalls Island, features several real-life functions, including a fire and flashover simulator, a central smoke system, mock elevators and stairways, and a simulated fire command station. www.learyfirefighters.org.
The CENTER FOR DOMESTIC PREPAREDNESS (CDP) has partnered with the CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC) to deliver the inaugural Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) introductory-level course at the CDP. The three-day EHTER course includes presentations by environmental experts from around the U.S. and specialists from U.S. Public Health Service and the Food and Drug Administration. Round-trip air and ground transportation, lodging, and meals are provided at no cost to responders, their agency, or jurisdiction. http://cdp.dhs.gov. www.cdc.gov. (866) 213-9553.
The ASSOCIATION OF AIR MEDICAL SERVICES (AAMS) is conducting a public education campaign regarding air medical transport safety, particularly in rural and other underserved areas. AAMS has offered several proposals to make medevac flights safer in response to an increase in fatal medical helicopter crashes. Among these are a requirement to use night-vision goggles or similar enhanced-vision systems for all medical night-flight operations, or to conduct operations strictly under instrument flight rules in a timeline established by the Federal Aviation Administration and in coordination with air medical service providers. AAMS is also recommending that Congress expedite funding for hospital helipads, enhanced off-airport weather reporting, and global positioning systems technologies. www.aams.org.
