Udec Corporation

Historical Moment: 1999 Inchon Karaoke Bar Fire

Fire swept through a four-story building crowded with diners and drinkers, killing at least 55 people, many of them teen-agers on October 30, 1999. Over 80 people were injured.

Most of the victims - mainly high school students were out enjoying themselves at after school festivals - were trapped in a billiard parlor on the third floor, or inside a second-floor bar that illegally catered to underage drinkers.

The fire started in the basement that was undergoing renovations. Workers broke a light bulb, sending sparks into open tins of paint thinner.

The 20-year-old building apparently had no sprinklers and fire alarms and the flames quickly spread. Hundreds of people were trapped on the top two floors. There were few emergency exits and many of the windows were blocked.

Flames raced through a narrow corridor, burning plastic furniture and carpets. Everyone in a ground-floor restaurant got out of the building. But more than 120 people in upper floors were trapped, killed by the toxic gas that quickly filled the building.

When fire engines finally arrived at the scene, it took only 40 minutes to put out the blaze. However, many of those who survive were unable to breathe on their own. One doctor was quoted as saying their lungs had simply burnt out.

The building was in an entertainment district in the center of Inchon, South Korea’s third largest city. A report on state-run television said it was about 20 years old and lacked basic fire prevention systems, like sprinklers.

President Kim Dae-jung ordered a tightening of safety regulations for clubs and bars. The tragedy has once again highlighted South Korea’s lax safety standards.

Are you aware that not every exit sign, emergency light, or emergency light fixture is safe? Just because you can see an exit with the light shining, doesn’t mean it works with the power off.

UDEC’S auto-test is the difference between safety and Russian roulette with the lives of the people inside your building. Auto-test makes emergency lighting easy, but more important; it is the safest way to ensure emergency lighting is there when it’s needed.

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Completely self-contained. Fully Automatic Operation.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique

Historical Moment: Ohio Fraternity House Fire

A fire started by a cigarette thought to have been extinguished, re-ignited during the night, damaging a fraternity house and killing a 19-year old resident.

A campus security officer responding to an early morning disturbance call at a nearby fraternity house notice the smoke coming from a second floor window. He reported the fire to his dispatch center, which notified the fire department.

The guard entered the smoky building, heard the fire alarms operating, and started the evacuation of the students, who heard the alarms, but were not leaving the building.

Three minutes later the fire department arrived, to find smoke and flames coming from the rear of the building. Assured by the fraternity staff that everyone had been evacuated, the firefighters started the battling of the flames. The attack crew reported severe heat and smoke as low as 6+ inches from the floor as they advanced to the origin of the fire, and knocked down the blaze.

A primary search of the fire floor revealed one student dead in a bathroom a few feet from an enclosed exit stairwell.

The fire’s origin was in a room in the middle of the second floor, two rooms away from the one in which the student who died was sleeping. Earlier that night in the first room, the residents had extinguished a small fire at one end of the couch, which was caused by careless smoking.

An hour and a half later, the room’s resident woke to find the fire had re-ignited. He left his room and returned with a fire extinguisher, which didn’t work. Leaving his room again, he left the door open.

The student who was two rooms away tried to escape to the nearby stairwell, but succumbed to the heavy smoke. His elevated blood alcohol level was 0.15, which investigators believed played a role in his death.

The building had passed previous inspections, meeting all safety requirements for fast evacuation.

Are you aware that not every exit sign, emergency light, or emergency light fixture is safe? Just because you can see an exit with the light shining, doesn’t mean it works with the power off.

UDEC’S auto-test is the difference between safety and Russian roulette with the lives of the people inside your building. Auto-test makes emergency lighting easy, but more important; it is the safest way to ensure emergency lighting is there when it’s needed.

UDEC’S Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Dual Beveled Integral Incandescent Heads
Completely self-contained. Fully automatic operation.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. Udec Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions with 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

Historical Moment: The 1957 Katie Jane Nursing Home Fire.

A fire, considered the worst ever at a U.S. nursing home, killed 72 patients at the Katie Jane Nursing Home in Warrenton, Missouri on February 17, 1957.

It started on a Sunday afternoon in a linen closet on the first floor of the annex, one of two buildings housing 149 people. The cause of the blaze still remains a mystery and not known if arson, outdated electrical equipment, or a resident’s smoking was responsible.

It was a Sunday afternoon when a niece visiting her uncles noticed smoke drifting by their room. The woman went to investigate and saw fire shooting out of a wall near the closet. She immediately ran through the building, screaming “Fire!”, but when she returned to help rescue her uncles, it was too late. The dense smoke was too much.

Although townspeople ran to help, the building went up in flames too fast. Screams and cries of elderly patients trapped in the home were quickly stilled by flames which engulfed the 2-1/2 story brick building within minutes.

Police and firemen reported that the two-story brick buildings were engulfed in flames by the time they arrived at the scene within 20 minutes; their efforts too futile to make a difference. They determined that the fire was aided by the wood in the building, which was more than 50 years old and “dry as a tinderbox.”

The home had no evacuation plan, no alarm system to warn residents, no fire escapes and no sprinkler system. Bed patients were housed on upper floors and some of the patients were locked in their rooms. The conditions were commonplace at nursing homes at that time.

Reports claim that the owner Woodrow S. O’Sullivan, who was devasted at the loss of life, ran a good facility.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

Udec’s signs.Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Explosion Proof Emergency Lights
Lamp compartment is factory sealed from wiring chamber, eliminating on-the-job sealing.

Model 13EPXS

Optional Exit Sign fits over explosion-proof light

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. Udec Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions with 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exi

Historical Moment: The 1996 Ozone Disco Fire

March 20, 1996 was a night of fun celebrating the end of the school year when the worst night club fire in the Philippines took the lives of over 150 young people.

The Ozone Disco Pub in suburban Manila was a place where upper middle-class teens went to be seen. It was jammed that night with almost 400 celebrating college and high school students and the staff serving them.

There was food, drink and a tiny dance floor wedged between the disk jockey’s station and the bar. It was just after midnight, and the dancing and drinking were in full swing when sparks flew from the disk jockey’s booth. Other survivors thought it was an explosion from the kitchen, but they all agree that next there was the darkness and the smoke.

When everything went dark, and the young customers realized that there was a fire and only one way out — they panicked and stampeded for the exit.

One female survivor described the scene later. “Suddenly the lights went out. I thought it was a gimmick, but then suddenly somebody shouted ‘Fire!’ All I can remember is that there was panic…and a lot of pushing and shoving.”

The heat from the blaze was so intense that many bodies were reported to be charred and fused together. Authorities and family members attempted to identify the badly burned bodies from bits of jewelry and shoes.

Hermilo Ocampo, one of the owners, said the disco had a safety certificate from the Bureau of Fire Protection. He suggested that the high toll might have been caused by the panic triggered by the heavy smoke, making it difficult for people to find the exit.

Safety officials said the club had been approved for the maximum of 35 people, and the emergency exit was blocked by a new building next door. They confirmed that Phillipine club and restaurant owners often found it cheaper to bribe officials than to honor building regulations.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

Udec’s Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Emergency Lighting Units
Emergency and economical unit with “EZ” install back plate feature has modern appearance and low maintenance. Optional Self Diagnostic/Self Test feature offers the ultimate in worry free maintenance and reliability.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. Udec Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

Historical Moment: 2005 Zhongshan Christmas Fire

A Christmas celebration turned into a tragedy when 26 people were killed and 11 injured in a bar fire in Zhongshan City of south China’s Guangdong Province.

Over 100 to 200 people were in an illegally-opened bar, inside the Tandao Western-style restaurant, when the fire broke out shortly after 11:00 p.m. The unlicensed bar occupies the first two floors of a five-storey building and was not equipped with any fireproof devices. The extremely narrow outlet was responsible for people not getting out safely.

Fireman rushed to the scene within three minutes of the fire’s outbreak, but the quick response was too late for the victims. The devastating fire was put out in about five minutes by 20 firemen.

Eyewitnesses disagree to the cause of the fire. Some cite a gas explosion in the kitchen as the cause, while others thought a short circuit in the wiring ignited the fire.

Many of the dead appeared to have died of smoke inhalation. 25 people were found dead at the site and the other died at a local hospital.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

Udec’s Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Halogen Emergency Light Fixture with Battery Backup - Smart Choice Udec’s auto test feature uniquely lets everyone know that there’s trouble. Each month and annually they are automatically tested as required by the codes. A steady led light tells you that each fixture is ok or a blinking light signals trouble!

Emergency light fixtures and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

Historical Moment: The 2001 Tokyo Parlor Fire

A mah-jongg parlor exploded in the early hours on the morning of September 1, killing 44 people in “The Sleepless Castle,” a garish area of all-night gambling and sex shops in downtown Tokyo.

The explosion occurred at about 1 a.m. when an employee of the Ikkyu mah-jongg parlor opened the door of the establishment. Mah-jongg is a popular table game in much of East Asia and sometimes involves gambling.

The explosion happened at an hour when Tokyo’s most famous red-light district is heavily packed with revelers. Witnesses said they heard a loud bang and saw smoke billowing from the building, which houses several other clubs and restaurants.

It was unclear how many people were inside the mah-jongg parlor where the blast occurred on the third floor of the four-story building. Some people fled to the roof where they were plucked off to safety.

Emergency crews quickly cordoned off the area as hundreds of onlookers crowded around. The fire was put out after about five hours. The explosion tore open a hole measuring 6 inches by 5 feet in the side of the building, whose tenants include a casino and an adult club advertised with gaudy red-and-pink signs on the front.

For years, Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district has been the center of the city’s mizu shobai, or sex entertainment industry. The area’s narrow streets are crowded with small bars, restaurants, strip clubs, massage parlors and gambling establishments.

One man who works near the site of the disaster said, “There are many old buildings that aren’t properly maintained, it’s inevitable.”

The fire occurred on Tokyo’s annual disaster preparation day, when the self-defense force, fire department and police performed huge drills aimed at readiness for earthquakes.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most. Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives.

UDEC’s Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Compact with Remote Capability - Plain Vanilla Choice

UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: 1986 Pesticide Warehouse Fire

An early morning fire Maple Leaf Farm Supplies Limited pesticide warehouse situated on Main Street, Canning, Nova Scotia. A large variety and quantity of agricultural products including pesticides, herbicides, fumigants, and fertilizers were stored in the building along with seed grains, seed and table potatoes, propane cylinders and miscellaneous farm machinery.

The pesticides were stored in a variety of metal, plastic and paper containers. A large number of propane cylinders and two of gaseous methyl bromide were also present; the contents of the latter were not released during the fire.

An estimated 1.2 million litres of water was used during firefighting operations. The water, contaminated from the pesticides at the fire’s site, passed over adjacent residential properties and into a farmer’s pond, eventually finding its way into the Habitant River via drainage ditches and storm drains.

Vegetation and large numbers of worms were killed in the path of the water: fish and invertebrates died in a local farmer’s pond as well as downstream in the Habitant River. A trench was dug to intercept contaminated runoff and wash water during the cleanup phase; however, this trench was constructed after the bulk of fire-fighting water had left the site.

Municipal and Kings County officials were promptly advised, and they invoked the County Emergency Response Plan, which had been thoroughly tested only days before the fire. By 0300 hours, an evacuation of local residents by firefighters and the RCM Police was underway, including a senior citizens home that was situated very close to the fire site.

Following the evacuation, access to the entire area was restricted to those involved in responding to the incident. Residents living closest to the fire site were not permitted to return to their homes for six days

A potentially hazardous and deadly situation was adverted because of implemented safety equipment and procedures being correctly tested and used.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

UDEC’s Featured Product: Udec Classic Systems Central Power: Open Reflector Type Area Light

The UDEC Open Reflector Type Area Light provides evenly distributed illumination for energy conservation, night/security and emergency lighting.
Emergency light fixtures and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: The 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club Tragedy

The Beverly Hills Supper Club in Northern Kentucky is one of the United States deadliest nightclub fires where 167 persons died and over 130 were injured on May 28, 1977.

On a warm Memorial Day weekend in Southgate, Kentucky, a fire broke out at the crowded Beverly Hills Supper Club, once called the “Showplace of the Nation”. More than 3000 patrons, along with the 182 employees, were there that weekend.

The fire broke out about 9 p.m. in an unoccupied reception room. Two waitresses looking for tray jacks found the room filled with dense smoke hanging near the ceiling and notified management immediately.

Management instantly called for emergency help and the first fire engine arrived within three minute, already being in the area. However, the fire spread so rapidly that a full evacuation of the sprawling, crowded building was not possible.

The fire roared down a corridor and exploded into the Cabaret Room, where the evening’s scheduled headliner act was just beginning. Although the act was interrupted by the warnings of a teenage bellboy, who witnessed the fire’s onset, some patrons still hesitated thinking that it was part of the act. Later, bodies of six patrons were found still sitting upright in their seats.

What caused the fire remains inconclusive, but the factor most often cited is aluminum wiring. The majority of the deaths are blamed on poorly marked exits, flammable carpeting, and seat cushions that emitted toxic fumes when burned.

It soon became evident that the nightclub’s owners had no comprehension of the need to have code-compliant wiring or non-flammable materials used in the construction and decoration. A lack of a sprinkler system and audible automatic fire alarms added to the dangerous conditions.

Although these basic safety standards were required by law, they had not been installed nor were enforced by the local fire department. The club’s owners claimed to be unaware that it did not meet fire code requirements.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.
UDEC’s Featured Product: Emergency Lighting Fixtures Accessories: LED Retrofit Kits

Hardwire Units Kits come complete with mounting bracket & double face tap.
For 120V or 277V applications; 2.8 Watts per kit.

Emergency light fixtures and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: The 2004 Paraguay Supermarket Fire

The Paraguay supermarket fire on August 1, 2004 was one of the countries worst disasters in decades. Over 400 people died, including numerous children and entire families.

The supermarket, located in a working-class neighborhood, was a three-story Ycuá Bolaños supermarket and commercial complex with offices, a restaurant, and an underground parking garage.

A faulty barbecue chimney in the food court that leaked hot flammable gases into the ceiling, which ignited, is believed to be responsible for the fire. The fire burned for seven hours before firefighters were able to extinguish it. Firefighters found the main doors shut when they arrived.

Later, volunteer firefighters and several survivors of the fire alleged that, when the fire broke out, doors within the complex were deliberately closed and locked, even though there were customers inside, under the direction of the father-son mall owners to prevent looting. The complex also lacked emergency exits as well.

The mall owners and a security guard were eventually found guilty of culpable homicide and were sentenced to seven years in prison in a second trial. The first trial’s ruling - that was later annulled - minimized the crimes committed by the mall owner and enraged the survivors and relatives of the tragedy, causing demonstrations of such magnitude that they became known as the “Tuesdays of Rage”.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

UDEC’s Featured Product: Udec Classic Systems Central Power: Decorative Area Light for Office

The Edge Lit LED Exit Sign is ideal for architectural applications where an aesthetic and low profile appearance are desired to enhance interior spaces. LED’s cast a brilliant red or green illumination on letters embedded inside the acrylic face. LED indicator light and test switch.

Emergency lighting and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: Emergency Light Fixtures and the 2004 Bangladesh Factory Stampede

A fire alarm started a stampede that killed six women in a Bangladeshi clothing factory on May 3, 2004.

The women were crushed to death when hundreds of people rushed for the exits during the fire alarm. The fire, caused by a transformer exploding, was soon put out, but caused workers to panic and jam firewalls.

One worker stated that “trying to get out was terrifying; no one really knew what to do.” At least 35 people were also injured in the stampede in the six-story building in Dhaka’s Mirpur district.

Accidents in Bangladeshi clothing factories used to be commonplace until a few years ago, but with the introduction of new safety measures the situation has improved immensely.

Bangladesh earns around $5 billion a year in clothing exports. The industry employs nearly two million workers, most of whom are women.

It’s impossible to avoid every calamity or accident, but prevention and safety are our top concerns. UDEC Emergency Lighting provides quality lighting when you need it most.

UDEC’s Featured Product: Emergency Light Fixtures: Dual Beveled Integral Incandescent Heads
Completely self-contained; fully automatic operation; compact low-profile design in neutral finish.

Emergency light fixtures and exit signs are about saving lives. UDEC Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.