Briefs

VA approves grant for new fire system WASHINGTON - Massachusetts will be the recipient of a Department of Veterans Affairs grant that has been conditionally approved to outfit the Chelsea Soldier’s Home with a new fire alarm system. The grant will pay for 65 percent of the fire alarm system’s total cost, which is about $10.7 million, but will be awarded only after the state meets certain federal guidelines within 180 days. Fire extinguisher pilot begins SALT LAKE CITY - The first installation of electronically monitored fire extinguishers has begun at the University of Utah here to replace the need for monthly visual inspections of the fire extinguishers. Seven fire extinguishers equipped with the EN-Gauge monitoring capability were installed in Chapel Glen, a student residence hall. Overall, the university has nine million square feet on campus to be inspected. Fire extinguisher manufacturer Amerex co-sponsored the launch of the EN-Gauge product along with MIJA Inc., maker of EN-Gauge. NFPA, county officials team up for smoke alarm program TCHULA, Miss. - Officials from the National Fire Protection Association and the Mississippi High-Risk Fire Safety Task Force are working together to provide smoke alarms to more than 9,000 homes. The effort comes one year after six children were killed in a house fire in Holmes County, one of the most impoverished areas of the nation and an area that has been hard hit by fire deaths in homes without working smoke alarms. The effort by the NFPA and the Mississippi High-Risk Fire Safety Task Force will put a smoke alarm in every home in the county.