|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Air Up There: Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Clause
|
In the spirit of the season, we bring you, without commercial interruption, a letter written by eight year old Virginia O'Hanlon to the New York Sun and the response to that letter printed in an editorial on September 21, 1897. The work of newsmen Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial. We hope you find in it, as we did, a bit of comfort and inspiration.
"Dear Editor:
I am eight years old.
Some of my friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, "if you see it in The Sun it's so.
Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?
Virginia O'Hanlon, 115 West Ninety-Fifth Street"
VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
|
|
|
|
UTC Embarks on $1.5 Billion Cost Cutting Plan
|
 12/11/15
By Ted Mann
The Wall Street Journal
After a turbulent first year leading United Technologies Corp., Chief Executive Greg Hayes on Thursday laid out a three-year, $1.5 billion cost-cutting plan in the hope of reversing a stock slide that has slashed the company's market value by about a fifth.
As part of the plan, which would run through 2018, the company UTX is taking aim at "high-cost" locations with an eye to consolidate manufacturing facilities, Hayes said.
The move comes after a bruising first year at the helm for Hayes, who took over after the abrupt retirement of former CEO Louis Chenevert about a year ago.
United Technologies cut its profit targets this summer in its airplane-systems business and at Otis, where sales fell far more sharply than expected in Europe.
The rest of the article can be read
here.
|
Lawsuit Claims Sprinkler Cover-up
|
12/7/15
Business Wire
MIAMI -- Attorneys Ervin Gonzalez and Patrick Montoya, partners at Colson Hicks Eidson, and Steven Siegfried and Stuart Sobel, partners at Siegfried, Rivera, Hyman, Lerner, De la Torre, Mars & Sobel, along with Alton Hale, Jr. have filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Miami on behalf of two Miami condominium associations concerning defective fire sprinkler systems and a national cover up over a significant life safety issue in multi-unit condominiums in Florida and across the country.
Gonzalez, Montoya, Siegfried, Sobel and Hale believe that the problem is nationwide and that monetary damages arising from the claims will exceed $1 billion. The 56-count lawsuit filed against a dozen manufacturers, suppliers and distributors seeks compensatory, incidental and consequential damages.
According to the complaint, fire sprinkler systems containing CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinal Chloride) pipes are incompatible with an array of basic construction products and unsuitable for use in fire sprinkler systems. The resin used in the CPVC pipe breaks down when exposed to common construction materials like antimicrobial or, anticorrosion chemicals, pesticides, termiticides, joint compounds, cutting oils, fire retardation materials, and other products. The metal pipes that are joined to the CPVC pipes typically contained these antimicrobials and anticorrosion chemicals.
Click
here for more information.
|
Orr Partners with Notifier for Mission Critical Business
|
12/7/15
PRNewswire
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- ORR Protection Systems will represent the NOTIFIER brand by Honeywell Fire Systems in a national program for mission critical markets such as telecommunications and data centers. This expanded campaign builds upon ORR's previously-established utilization of NOTIFIER products in the Chicago, Atlanta, and Louisville markets.
The nationwide partnership expansion with NOTIFIER showcases ORR's commitment to providing premier fire protection through a robust product offering in addition to its industry-leading design, installation, inspection, and service programs. ORR Protection Systems values its long-standing relationship with Honeywell Fire Systems and is proud to represent NOTIFIER fire alarms in all existing and future mission critical opportunities.
Click
here to read the rest of the story.
|
Ferguson Fire Acquires Action Fire
|
 November 2015
The Wholesaler
Ferguson Fire & Fabrication announces the acquisition of Action Fire Fab & Supply, Inc. in an asset transaction completed Nov. 16, 2015. Ferguson Fire & Fabrication will conduct business from the former Action Fire Fab & Supply location as Ferguson Fire & Fabrication.
Action Fire Fab & Supply was established by fire protection contractor Ted M. Bolls, Sr. and his wife in 1986 in Fremont, Calif. They relocated the business to Tracy, Calif. in 1990 after building the current facility.
Ferguson Fire & Fab's District Manager George DiMatteo said company officials began acquisition negotiations back in June, a few months before Bolls passed away on Sept. 27.
Read the rest of the article by clicking
here.
|
UTC Saves Its Aerospace Business
|
12/14/15
By Duncan Amos
Bloomberg
United Technologies Corp. announced Dec. 10 a $1.5 billion restructuring plan to be implemented through 2018 to reduce costs. But not all of the company's divisions will suffer.
From the Hartford Courant: "Gregory Hayes, chief executive of Farmington, Conn.-based UTC, said Connecticut will escape closures because the restructuring is aimed at businesses with production facilities outside Connecticut: elevator, fire suppression, security and air-conditioning systems."
United Technologies sold helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. this year to Lockheed Martin Corp. The deal, which closed in November, transferred more than $3 billion a year in obligations, pushing United Technologies out of the top 10 - down to the 15th-largest prime federal contractor.
It plans to keep one of its largest subsidiaries, aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney, which has production facilities in Hartford, Conn.
|
Supplemental Fire Suppression in Modern Resiliency Planning
|
12/14/15
By MDM Publishing Ltd
International Fire Protection Magazine
Most developed countries have created or adopted a fire code for industrial and commercial buildings. The premise of most code is both simple and essential: protect life and structure.
But is meeting fire code enough? For some businesses which utilize equipment that is readily replaceable and can tolerate some downtime, perhaps it is. However, many forward-looking companies that are taking a closer look at their operations as part of a best practices or business continuity exercise have found that code simply isn't enough to protect them from catastrophe. Either downtime or the loss of specific equipment could be crippling, placing the future of the business in question, so they are actively seeking supplemental solutions to further mitigate their risk.
With many businesses never reopening after a fire, an important part of planning for the future is making sure enough attention has been paid to protecting assets. For a company to remain viable it must not only be able to survive an incident but also be resilient enough that the damage caused is not catastrophically expensive and any downtime is minimal.
Read the rest of the story by clicking
here.
|
Amerex Expands Space
|
|
|
|
An expansion is coming for Trussville-based Amerex Corporation. File photo
|
12/7/15
By Chris Yow, Editor
Trussville Tribune
TRUSSVILLE - Trussville's Amerex Corporation broke ground earlier this year to expand their storage space at their location on U.S. 11. The company said the building will be in front of the mail facility and will also include new offices, along with the storage space.
The building will be a 40,000 square foot space and will house some of the materials brought into the facility through their receiving department, rather than storing the product outside and awaiting their move inside. It will also allow the company to bring in raw materials directly inside the facility.
Click
here to read the entire article.
|
Halon Discharge Causes Evacuation
|
12/7/15
By Trey Schmaltz
WBRZ
BATON ROUGE - Firefighters specializing in dealing with hazardous materials spent Monday night ventilating parts of the State Capitol after an apparent malfunction of a fire suppression system.
Initially, fire crews were dispatched to the capitol when alarms sounded that a Halon device was triggered. Halon is a liquified, compressed gas that stops fire by chemically blocking combustion. Halon is used in areas where water or foam could damage assets being protected - computer equipment or communication devices. Once Halon evaporates, no residue is left behind.
The rest of the story can be read here.
|
Tyco to Divest Australian Fire Business, Expand in Middle East
|
 12/4/15
PRNewswire
CORK, Ireland -- Tyco today announced that it has made an additional investment in its Tyco UAE joint venture with local partner Suwaidi Engineering Group and, separately, has reached a definitive agreement to sell its fire detection and protection business in Australia to Evergreen Capital, L.P.
Tyco UAE is a leading provider of fire, security and integrated solutions and services in the UAE and also has operations in Qatar and Oman, serving customers in the oil and gas, transportation, banking, commercial and other sectors in the region.
"The Middle East represents an attractive opportunity for growth for Tyco," said Tyco Chief Executive Officer George R. Oliver. "This expanded investment will allow the joint venture to fully leverage Tyco's product portfolio, service capabilities and global account base to enhance the solutions it offers customers throughout the Middle East region."
As a result of the investment transaction, which has been completed, Tyco will fully consolidate the financial results of Tyco UAE into its Rest of World Integrated Solutions & Services segment, which is expected to add approximately $130 million in revenue on an annualized basis.
See the rest of the article
here.
|
American Pacific Receives National Performance Improvement Honor
|
 12/9/15
PRNewswire
CEDAR CITY, Utah -- American Pacific (AMPAC Specialty Chemicals) is pleased to announce it has been recognized for exemplary efforts in improving its environmental, health, safety and security by the Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates (SOCMA), a trade association representing specialty chemical manufacturers.
AMPAC Specialty Chemicals participates in SOCMA's ChemStewards® program, which encourages companies to operate their facilities in an environment that guarantees safety and environmental compliance to all stakeholders.
AMPAC was presented a Silver Performance Improvement Award at SOCMA's 94th Annual Dinner on December 7 in New York City. This is the second year AMPAC has received a Silver Performance Improvement Award. Frank Casperson, Director of Safety & Environmental Engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the awards dinner.
Read the rest of the article
here.
|
Argus Fire Appoints New Associate Directors
|
12/3/15
By MDM Publishing Ltd
International Fire Protection Magazine
Leading independent fire protection and detection specialist Argus Fire has pumped up its investment in design and installation expertise by appointing its first two associate directors. Dale Kinnersley and Matthew Gwynne, who are both based at the company's offices in Stourbridge, have been promoted to Associate Technical Director and Associate Project Director respectively.
With 25 years' experience in fire protection design, Dale Kinnersley from Stone in Staffordshire joined Argus Fire in 2007 as design manager and was promoted to senior design manager in 2011.
He is now running a design department that in only four years has grown by 50% to one of the largest in Britain with 23 highly qualified designers.
His responsibilities include ensuring that all contracts meet the highest design standards and all staff are fully trained and accredited, as well as providing technical support to clients and consultants.
Click
here to read the full story.
|
Passive Fire Protection in Building Design (UK)
|
12/9/15
Adam Bannister, Editor
IFSEC Global
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) is supporting research into the contribution of various types of passive fire protection systems to a building's overall resilience in the event of a fire.
The project, which will be conducted in collaboration with built-environment education charity BRE Trust, is a response to numerous calls from fire protection professionals for greater recognition of the benefits offered by BREEAM assessment schemes.
A range of factors will be examined, including the cost of installation of fire protection systems in commercial buildings and the overall costs resulting from fires within such buildings, including those arising from environmental impacts, societal impacts, property damage and business interruption.
Click
here to read the full article.
|
Eight Emerging Data Center Trends to Follow in 2016
|
12/15/15
By Robert Gates, News Writer
SearchDataCenter
Most data centers will be able to reduce physical space by at least 30% in the next five years, one of several emerging data center trends through 2020.
Increased density, virtualization, moves to colocation facilities and cloud computing are all impacting operations inside the data center, according to Henrique Cecci, a research director at Gartner Inc., based in Stamford, Conn.
Data center managers must step out of their comfort zone and think about higher density and its impact on power, cooling and space -- and always about security.
Read the rest of the article
here.
|
United Technologies Talks Plans for New Center in Palm Beach
|
|
|
|
This rendering provided by United Technologies shows what the Center for Intelligent Buildings on the Briger Tract in Palm Beach Gardens will look like.
|
12/17/15
By Sarah Peters
PalmBeachPost
Palm Beach County business leaders will get to hear more about the $115 million investment and job-generator United Technologies is building on the former Briger tract in Palm Beach Gardens.
Bob McDonough, president, UTC Climate, Controls & Security, will speak at the Business Development Board's breakfast at the Kravis Center Thursday morning. He'll talk about the UTC Center for Intelligent Buildings that Palm Beach Gardens City Council welcomed earlier this year.
Click
here to read more about this.
|
Video of the Month
|
|
|
|
Christmas Tree Fire Safety
|
|
Most Popular Stories from November 2015 |
These are the stories in our last issue that got the most clicks. If you haven't already, check them out!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
