Posted on 11/08/2003 6:46:57 AM PST by doug from upland
NOTE TO ADMIN MODERATOR -- please do not see this as a commercial for my company. It truly is newsworthy. I am not expecting this report to lead to business with other FReepers. Thanks.
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Nick Ashton, president of SSAF, is on a plane right now on his way to Baghdad. His mission is to help prevent loss of life and injuries. The killer is glass.
Here is his latest bulletin: CLICK.
From a report about the bombing of the U.N. in Bagdad is the following from the AP --
UNITED NATIONS -- Senior U.N. officials must share responsibility for serious lapses and "inadequate precautions" that caused unnecessary injuries in the bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, a confidential internal report says for the first time.
The highly critical report, obtained late Friday by The Associated Press, said World Health Organization medical authorities estimated that "perhaps as many as 80 percent of the injuries and perhaps some deaths were caused by flying shards of glass" from windows that did not have shatter resistant film. The Aug. 19 truck bombing outside U.N. headquarters in the Canal Hotel killed 22 people and wounded more than 150.
In late June, the United Nations finally decided to get shatter resistant film for the windows but a U.N. official turned down an offer from the WHO to pay for immediate installation because competitive bidding already had started, the report said.
--end of excerpt--
That is what we do. I'm in charge of sales in the U.S. for SSAF, although I have been busy on the phone trying to spread to word to those doing business in Iraq. We manufacture and install the world's state of the art product. No other comes close to our level of protection.
Gary Blake, CEO of the company in England, has been in Baghdad for a few weeks. He has MS and operates from a wheelchair but his passion for saving lives required him to be in Baghdad. SSAF did a job for a major news organization that was finished just before the U.N. bombing. Our project did not lose a pane of glass.
I was asked if I wanted to make the trip to Baghdad, but I declined. Besides the danger, which was not a very attractive part of the offer, it is actually more important that I am here on the phone and in front of my computer.
SSAF is doing work with the government and commercial enterprises in Iraq. We hope to save lives because we know that the terrorists are not going to stop until many, many more of them are eliminated. God bless George W. Bush for having the vision to fight and stand his ground in this war for our survival.
Our company began over three decades ago in England because of the IRA bombings. We protect many major buildings in London. We survived the Bishopsgate Bombing in 1992. That 2,000 truck bomb did damage to 76 buildings and put 500 tons of glass on the London streets.
Even a 100-pound car bomb can do great damage. When placed on a narrow street, such as some streets in London and New York, such a bomb can take out glass for about 28 floors.
On 9-11, the government was worried that car bombs would be taking out airport terminals. The concern was a 400-lb car bomb. On that day, any vehicle parked within 300 feet of the terminal, was moved further away. For many months, airports had to hire engineering firms to prove that they could allow parking within 300 feet and such a bomb would not take down the terminal.
In Ontario, CA, the airport from which I fly, the short term parking is only 150 feet away. The two terminals are new and contain and extraordinary amount of beautiful glass. From 150 feet, a 400-lb car bomb would have a kill and maiming zone that far, far exceeds the counters, which are only about 50 feet from the front of the building. In the early '70s, a small bomb placed in a locker at LAX killed a few people and took off the leg of one man. We interviewed him. He still has some glass embedded in his body. Glass injuries are horrific. Glass is a favorite weapon of the terrorists.
We are working on several projects in New York. The challenge is convincing building owners and facility managers that they need to be doing something to better protect tenants and visitors. In a time when money is tight for them, they don't want to spend it.
Nick is hoping to have time to send back regular reports. If they are newsworthy, I will share them with you.
The good news is that we have been spreading the word. Other parts of the world have known for three decades about the importance of hardening a building and protecting the glazing. SSAF protects most of the American military bases in the European theatre. Fortunately, Americans here are finally waking up to its importance.
Godspeed, Nick. Be safe.
Because the jobs are so small, it is not cost effective to do it on a residence. We usually fly our people in to do major work. (Although they did do a residence in Florida last year for about $3,000 because one of trained installers was in the area. The shutter company wanted something like $14,000.)
On the major work we do, depending on circumstances and whether special equipment is needed, the cost will be around $11 per foot. We are able to sustain the hit from a 500-lb car bomb from a distance of 111 feet.
The good news for building owners, besides protecting lives, is insurance savings, including terrorism insurance.
We also have a special film that will keep keystrokes and info from being stolen through the glass. Anyone can do that at most businesses with equipment that is not really that expensive.
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