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.

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

Completely self-contained. Fully Automatic Operation.

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

Historical Moment: 2007 Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia

An off-campus 64-unit building was destroyed by fire January 13, 2007. Nine residents died as a result of the fire, including three Marshall students.

Dispatchers were called to the scene of a fully-engulfed building at 11:02 p.m. The Huntington Fire Department rescued 24 people before the flames were extinguished.

The fire, which started at about 11 p.m., engulfed the Emmons Jr. building, and firefighters fought for hours to save the building. Their efforts were futile, as they had to stop combating the fire when they realized the building might collapse.

Since the third, fourth and fifth floors were collapsed and dangerous to the safety crew, firefighters brought in engineers to build support beams to allow them to search through the rubble safely.

An electrical engineer from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigated the remains of the building yesterday to determine the cause and origin of the fire, but foul play was not suspected.

Smoke detectors were not present in several apartments and fire extinguishers were only located in some hallways.

As a result of the fire, three of the nine that died are Marshall students. 12 Marshall students were displaced and forced to seek residency within university housing. Other students who were victimized by the blaze blaze went to live with friends or have moved back home.

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 Lighting Fixtures Accessories: Fluorescent Emergency Lighting Ballasts

The BAL fluorescent emergency Ballast allows the same fixture to be used for both normal and emergency operation. In the event of a power failure, the BAL switches to the emergency mode and operates one or two of the existing lamps for a minimum of 90 minutes.

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: 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 2005 Shantou Hotel Fire

A fire engulfed the Huanan Hotel in Shantou on June 10, 2005. It killed 31 people, and left 21 injured of which four were seriously injured. Authorities describe it as one of the worst blazes in the China’s southern Guangdong province since 1994.

According to an investigation report, the disaster was caused by sparks from the electric wires on the ceiling in a room on the second floor, kindling the combustible goods nearby.

The blaze broke out shortly after noon at the hotel located in a downtown district of Shantou city. The fire engulfed the top three floors of the four-story hotel at a trade center in the downtown area.

“Many rooms were gutted,” said an officer on duty at the Chaonan district fire brigade, who refused to give any further details. Firefighters put out the fire in three hours. It is unclear how many people were in the hotel at the time of the fire.

Guangdong governor Huang Huahua was quoted as saying by the Nanfang Daily newspaper, “The incident on June 10 was the most serious fire accident in our province in recent years. This lesson of blood serves as a reminder that we cannot be complacent over work safety issues.”
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 Lightprovides evenly distributed illumination for energy conservation, night/security and emergency lighting. Model 8R and 14R Series.

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: 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: 1980 MGM Grand Hotel Fire

An early morning fire on November 21 broke out in The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel and casino had over 5000 tourists and employees inside the 26-story luxury resort with 2000 rooms. The fire claimed 87 lives and injured 785 people.

The fire, caused by an improperly grounded electrical wire that apparently smoldered undetected for hours, was first detected by a hotel employee. Once the fire burst into flames, it moved so rapidly that it spread through the casino at 15-19 feet per second. It spread to the lobby, fed by wallpaper, PVC piping, glue, and plastic mirrors, materials which created toxic smoke and fumes.

The hotel’s fire sprinkler system performed properly, helping to keep the fire out of the high rise hotel area. The fire sprinkler system within the casino and restaurant area kept the fire contained while the firefighters extinguished the fire in those areas.

However, it was the openings in vertical shafts, i.e. the elevators and stairwells, and seismic joints that acted as chimneys and spread the toxic smoke and heat all the way through the 26th floor. While most of the fire damage occurred in the casino, the majority of the deaths were on the upper floors where the victims died from smoke inhalation. Most of the deaths occurred in the stairwells, where the doors locked behind each person.

Guests only learned of the fire upon actually seeing smoke or hearing the warnings from other guests. The hotel’s alarm system was destroyed before fire alarms could activate. Fire doors had recently been installed, but only after complaints from firefighters attending a convention.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) studies show that in this fire the hotel occupants did not exhibit panic behavior. Instead, many took rational steps to preserve their lives, such as putting towels around doors to block out smoke, notifying other occupants, offering refuge in their room, and using wet towels for their face.

The MGM Grand eventually paid $223 million in legal settlements. The hotel and casino was repaired and then sold to Bally’s Entertainment which changed the name to “Bally’s Las Vegas.

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 Corp. offers powerful, safe, unique solutions and 40 years of experience of emergency lighting and exit signs.
UDEC’s Featured Product: Exit Signs: LED Exit Signs - Edge-Lit Recessed

How do know if an exit sign is working? You don’t—because no one notices if they are on or out! UDEC’s auto-test exit signs automatically test each sign as required by the codes each month and annually.

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: The 2004 República Cromagnon Fire
Argentines awoke on New Year’s Eve to scenes of horror on television: Pictures flashed of dazed, sobbing survivors from a nightclub fire, blackened by soot, outside the club or in hospitals. Others were frantically searching for loved ones, and  fainting, wailing  parents guarded charred bodies lined up outside on the club’s sidewalk.

 4,000 fans at a New Year’s Eve concert by the band Los Callejeros, nearly three times the building’s capacity of 1500 people, fought to reach the exits after a flare ignited the foam ceiling, sparking a blaze that killed 175 people and injured another 714.
 
Four of the six emergency exits were found padlocked or wired shut to prevent people from entering the club without paying. Instead, the barred exits prevented the young adults from leaving the building as burning debris fell on them.
  
Before the concert, the rock band playing at the club warned the crowd not to shoot flares because of the fire hazard. People attending rock concerts in Argentina frequently set off flares and fireworks. But during the first song, a flare was fired, turning the club into a blazing inferno.
 
The fire tore through the concert hall in the working-class neighborhood of Once, filling the club with thick, choking, black smoke. Several small children and babies, found in a makeshift nursery in the women’s bathroom upstairs, were also killed in the fire. 

One of the club’s barman said that a flare fired a week earlier in the same club caused a small fire that was quickly extinguished. It later became known that República Cromagnon was overdue for a fire hazard inspection since late November 2004.  

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: Exit Signs: Self Luminous Exit Signs

These exit signs are entirely self-powered and do not rely on electricity, back-up batteries or generators for its illumination. It can be mounted anywhere without wiring or outlets, and needs no maintenance and is specifically constructed to resist tampering and vandalism and can withstand explosive, corrosive, humid or other harsh environment.

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

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: Fraser Pier Fire (Ocean Park, CA)

A fire broke out at Fraser’s Million Dollar Pier in Ocean Park on September 3, 1912.

The fire started by someone carelessly tossing a smoldering cigarette in some bedding in the Japanese servants’ quarters in the basement. A strong late afternoon breeze fanned the flames and within minutes cries of “Fire!” came from a dozen different directions.

Sparks, leaping two hundred feet high, showered down like a fiery bath over the flimsy paint canvas and light wooden grill that adorned the pier’s attractions. Over a thousand visitors were still on the pier heading for the two main exits when the Skating Rink caught fire, blocking one of the exits. 

Fire companies’ efforts amounted to a few puny streams of water until Venice’s high pressure system was used. The Los Angeles Fire Companies speedy arrival only 27 minutes later did little to control the blaze.

Panic on the pier erupted. People, including owner Fraser and his young son, reached the docks and escaped by boat. Other’s leapt into the sea.
 
The fire totally destroyed the pier, all the amusements and five square blocks of the business district. All 225 structures burned, two people died, several were missing, 75 people were injured and 800 people were homeless. The loss was set at $2,000,000 with little of it insured.
 
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 Lighting Fixtures Accessories: Fluorescent Emergency Lighting Ballasts

The BAL fluorescent emergency Ballast allows the same fixture to be used for both normal and emergency operation.

In the event of a power failure, the BAL switches to the emergency mode and operates one or two of the existing lamps for a minimum of 90 minutes.

The unit contains a battery, charger and inverter circuit in a single package. The BAL can be mounted in the wireway or on top of the fixture, and is UL Listed for factory installation or retrofit applications.

All Ballasts are Standard with Dual 120/277 Volt Input.

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

UDEC: LIGHTING THE WAY TO SAFETY
Historical Moment: Coney Island’s Dreamland Fire

On May 27, 1911 at two in the morning, opening day for Coney’s new Dreamland Hell Gate Attraction was only a few hours away. Several lights bulbs burst, buckets of tar were accidentally tipped over, and Hell Gate exploded into flames.
 
The fire spread quickly to the rest of the park, but fortunately for the fire companies at the scene, the wind’s direction calmed the fire that had the potential to destroy the rest of the park.
 
All of Dreamland was destroyed, along with Coney Island icons like Thompson’s Scenic Railway, and the Iron Tower.  Dreamland’s lathe & plaster structures were so flammable that it caused the Dreamland tower fire to be exceptionally bright. People in Manhattan could see the tower fire during a period where the city’s buildings averaged only ten stories tall. 

It is believed that William H. Reynold’s greed was the undoing of the park. He set down Dreamland so fast that the city did not have time to pull up their fire hydrants. The firemen reported serious issues of low pressure, assumed to have been caused by the dozens of hydrants leaking water amongst the ruins. 

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: Light Fixtures: Incandescent Emergency Light Fixture with Battery Backup

• Universal Voltage of 80 VAC up to 300VAC; ceiling or wall mount; Two adjustable; halogen; glare-free light heads; Rechargeable; maintenance-free;  replaceable 6-volt; 4.5-ah lead calcium battery provides 90 minute of emergency operation; Push button test switch and charge rate indicator included; White injection molded thermoplastic housing; Unit snaps together for easy installation. Quick wire connection; UL listed for damp location; UL 924; NFPA and NEC approvals; Warranty; Email or call for quantity discounts.

(Incandescent Emergency Light Fixture w/ Battery Backup & Remote Control Test
Remote Control Option: Conduct testing for 30 seconds or 90 minutes by selecting the test time on the remote control.)

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