2019 MAY 28 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Engineering Business Daily -- Hale Products Inc. (Collegeville, Pennsylvania, United States) has been issued patent number 10,286,237, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx editors.

The patent’s inventors are Laskaris, Michael A. (Collegeville, PA); Smith, Alan (Ocala, FL).

This patent was filed on April 22, 2015 and was published online on May 27, 2019.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: “This invention generally relates to improving fire suppression systems and techniques and, more particularly, to integrated controls for a fire truck water pump and/or a drive transmission for a fire truck to reduce the occurrence of human error and to improve the efficiency of extinguishing fires.

“Fortunately, over the past 20-30 years, the total number of structural fires per year has declined. However, the total number of firefighter deaths and the amount of money lost as a result of fires has not experienced the same decline. In fact, approximately the same number of firefighters die per 100,000 structural fires currently as in years past. As there may be many reasons for this increase in firefighter casualties, one cited problem is a lack of real world experience for firefighters due to fewer occurrences of fires. While increasing the frequency of training is, of course, part of the solution, additional training alone will probably not solve all of these problems. Training inexperienced firefighters on emergency procedures and operations does not truly mimic the urgent, often confused and conflicting information present at an evolving emergency scene.

“At a typical fire, quick and efficient pump and foam system operations are a necessity and are not something to be left to chance, particularly in view of the real possibility of human error. Unfortunately, human error is most likely to occur when time is most critical, that is when the fire truck first arrives at the scene of the fire and the pump must be set up. Another factor in the effectiveness of fire suppression is that the size of fire-fighting crews has been noticeably downsized in recent years, due in part to economic conditions. In some areas, fire-fighting crews that previously included 4, 5 or 6 firefighters have been reduced to only 2 or 3 individuals in recent years. Due to such manpower decreases, each firefighter must be as effective and as efficient as possible. It is often the case that the initial actions of the fire-fighting crew on the scene of a fire can determine the entire success or failure of the operation. Therefore, removing non-value added tasks and the associated opportunities for defect or error can be a real improvement in the effectiveness of firefighters.

“Conventional fire trucks or other fire suppression systems include a fire pump panel that allows a firefighter to select the exact system parameters for which to fight the fire, such as pump speed and pressure, foam type and foam-to-water ratio. In operation, the firefighter is required to independently select the pump pressure or speed, then independently select the foam type, turn the foam on to release the foam into the water flow, and finally select the desired foam percentage in relation to the water flow. As is well known by those skilled in the art, this process can be relatively time consuming in an emergency and may prevent the firefighter from focusing on more critical needs. Also, this multiple selection process provides an opportunity for human error in selecting the wrong operating settings, especially if the firefighter is relatively inexperienced and is facing high stress due to the emergency situation.

“While industry testing and anecdotal experience has shown that foam and a compressed air foam system (CAFS) shorten fire suppression times and can decrease water usage and physical stress on firefighters, the increased workload at the pump operator panel can be problematic. For instance, compressed air foam streams that are inappropriately adjusted at the pump operator panel can be less effective, and can even place the fire suppression team at greater risk if the output fire suppression stream has too little water content. Accordingly, the set up and operation of firefighting systems on a fire truck may be a source of error or problems that can have an impact on fire suppression and operator safety.

“Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional pump control panel for fire suppression systems, generally designated 61 is shown. With such conventional pump controls the user or firefighter specifically select at least three separate parameters before beginning to extinguish the fire. For example, the conventional pump control panel 61 may include a pump pressure/speed selector 60, a separate foam type selector 62, a separate foam on/off switch 64, and a separate foam percentage selector 66. As discussed above, the process of choosing the appropriate parameters can be complicated and time consuming for firefighters during an emergency. In some instances, firefighters may completely forget to select a certain parameter, such as activating the foam on/off switch 64, resulting in a very inefficient and unproductive fire suppression technique. Alternatively, a user or operator may inadvertently select the wrong combination of water and foam flow, thus needlessly jeopardizing his or her own health and safety and the health and safety of others. Further, countless hours are invested each year into teaching firefighters to quickly and accurately select the appropriate parameters for a given fire. However, despite this investment, firefighters continue to erroneously select the proper settings. Further, when compressed air systems are added to the foam system to create compressed air foam, which has been shown to be more effective at extinguishing fires than foam systems, operation of the system becomes even more complex because the operator must determine whether air injection should be on or off and must make wet vs. dry adjustments.

“Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a firefighter with the opportunity to chose from at least two predetermined established conditions of flow and pressure for the water and foam to meet the specific requirements of each fire by a one-touch activated sequence.”

Supplementing the background information on this patent, NewsRx reporters also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Briefly stated, the present invention is directed to an integrated operator interface for a fire suppression system. The fire suppression system includes an engine, a water source, a water pump, a foam system and a compressed air system. The integrated operator interface includes a control panel including a plurality of one-touch activation controls. Each one-touch activation control is configured to cause the output of a predetermined fire suppression fluid from the fire suppression system and cause a predetermined increase in engine speed resulting in an associated increase in water pump pressure. The predetermined fire suppression fluid comprising a predetermined flow of water, a predetermined type of foamant, a predetermined concentration of the predetermined type of foamant, and a predetermined flow of compressed air.

“In a further aspect, the present invention is directed to a fire suppression system comprising a foam proportioning system that includes at least two types of chemical foamants, a selector valve for selecting one of the at least two types of chemical foamants, a foam pump in fluid communication with the selector valve for supplying the selected chemical foamant to a discharge unit, and a foam controller operatively connected to the foam pump and the selector valve. The fire suppression system further comprises a water source connected to the foam proportioning system for mixing water with the selected chemical foamant to form a foamant mixture, a compressor system including an air compressor and an air ratio control throttling valve, and a system controller operatively connected to the foam proportioning system, water source and air compressor. The compressor system is configured to inject compressed air into the foamant mixture for forming a predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition. The system controller includes a one-touch activation control for activating (i) the foam controller to configure the foam pump and the selector valve, (ii) the compressor system to configure the air ratio control throttling valve, and (iii) the water source to provide a predetermined water flow, in order to establish the predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“We claim:

“1. A fire suppression system comprising: a foam proportioning system that includes: at least two types of chemical foamants, a selector valve for selecting one of the at least two types of chemical foamants, a foam pump in fluid communication with the selector valve for supplying the selected chemical foamant to a discharge unit, and a foam controller operatively connected to the foam pump and the selector valve; a water source connected to the foam proportioning system for mixing water with the selected chemical foamant to form a foamant mixture; a water pump in fluid communication with the water source; a compressor system including an air compressor, an intake throttling valve and an air ratio control throttling valve, the compressor system being configured to inject compressed air into the foamant mixture for forming a predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition; an engine; and a system controller operatively connected to the foam proportioning system, the water pump, the air compressor and the engine, the system controller including a one-touch activation control for (a) activating (i) the foam controller to configure the foam pump and the selector valve, (ii) the compressor system to configure the air ratio control throttling valve, and (iii) the water pump to provide a predetermined water flow, in order to establish the predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition, and (b) causing a predetermined increase in engine speed resulting in an associated increase in water pump pressure.

“2. The fire suppression system of claim 1, wherein the predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition is established to suppress a fire type selected from the group consisting of a trash/brush fire, a structural fire, a car fire, a flammable hydrocarbon liquid fire, a flammable polar solvent fire, and an exposure fire.

“3. The fire suppression system of claim 2, wherein the predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition comprises a predetermined flow of water, a predetermined type of foamant, a predetermined concentration of the predetermined type of foamant, and a predetermined flow of compressed air.

“4. The fire suppression system of claim 1, wherein the one-touch activation control includes a symbol that corresponds to the predetermined compressed air fire suppression fluid composition that is established to suppress a fire type selected from the group consisting of a trash/brush fire, a structural fire, a car fire, a flammable hydrocarbon liquid fire, a flammable polar solvent fire, and an exposure fire.

“5. The fire suppression system of claim 4, wherein the symbol is selected from the group consisting of a trash can, a fuel station, a flame, an automobile, a building, and an exposure.

“6. The fire suppression system of claim 2, wherein the controller includes a plurality of one-touch activation controls, each one-touch activation control having a symbol that corresponds to a fire type selected from the group consisting of a trash/brush fire, a structural fire, a car fire, a flammable hydrocarbon liquid fire, a flammable polar solvent fire, and an exposure fire.”

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: Laskaris, Michael A.; Smith, Alan. Integrated Controls For A Fire Suppression System. U.S. Patent Number 10,286,237, filed April 22, 2015, and published online on May 27, 2019. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10,286,237.PN.&OS=PN/10,286,237RS=PN/10,286,237

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)

Freedom Lifetime CITs will combine target date investing with lifetime income options from Nationwide^® and New York Life^®, aiming to help many Americans retire with greater confidence

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Target-date pioneer and industry leaderⁱ Fidelity Investments^® today announced plans to launch Fidelity Freedom^® Lifetime, a suite of target date collective investment trusts (CITs) with a built-in guaranteed income option*. This retirement solution will be available to employers and plan sponsors on Fidelity’s recordkeeping platform in early 2027.

Freedom Lifetime will leverage Fidelity’s time-tested target date strategy that has helped millions of Americans save for retirement for more than 30 yearsⁱ, combined with the option to convert a portion of an employee’s target date balance into guaranteed lifetime income*. The Freedom Lifetime suite will include a strategic allocation to an insurance pool through Nationwide and New York Life — two highly rated insurers with deep expertise in delivering guaranteed income solutionsⁱⁱ. This exposure will allow employees participating in employer retirement plans, particularly those nearing and in retirement, to elect to receive a guaranteed lifetime income stream* designed to create predictable income throughout retirement.

“Increasingly, employees are looking for more clarity in their retirement income streams,” said Molly Cunningham, head of Workplace Lifetime Financial Help. “In designing Freedom Lifetime, our priority was to maximize the value of lifetime income while keeping the participant and plan sponsor experience simple and easy to adopt. Along with Fidelity’s deep target date and asset management expertise, employees can benefit from Fidelity’s integrated and holistic support including education, tools, and dedicated live, one‑on‑one support to help employees create a retirement plan that fits their goals.”

“Nationwide is pleased to extend our strong ongoing relationship with Fidelity by serving as an insurer on Fidelity Freedom Lifetime, which marks an important step forward in expanding access to retirement income solutions for America’s workers,” said Kevin Jestice, president of Retirement Solutions at Nationwide. “As a protection company with 100 years of experience safeguarding people and businesses, and more than a decade of experience with lifetime income solutions specifically designed for use within employer-sponsored retirement plans, we’ve seen how essential these offerings are as more employees approach retirement and look to turn savings into dependable income for a dignified retirement.”

“For more than 180 years, New York Life has helped individuals turn savings into lasting financial security,” said David Cruz, head of Institutional Annuities at New York Life. “As the largest mutual life insurance company in the U.S.ⁱⁱⁱ, we’re proud to bring our deep expertise in guaranteed income solutions to Fidelity Freedom Lifetime, an important step in expanding access to retirement income for employees. With our long-term focus and experience delivering income for life, we are excited about this opportunity to help employees turn their savings into income that they can depend on throughout retirement.”

Freedom Lifetime will utilize a blended investment approach, investing in a mix of active and index underlying funds​, including the insurance pool, while employing active asset allocation across different asset classes.​ The series will offer competitive pricing, with asset-based pricing dependent on share class and vintage. The portfolio management team for Freedom Lifetime will include long-tenured target date co-portfolio managers Andrew Dierdorf, Brett Sumsion, Finola McGuire Foley, and Cait Dourney Earle, who collectively have more than 85 years of experience at Fidelity and are grounded in the firm’s unparalleled global research organization.

“Fidelity’s deep research and capital‑markets expertise allow us to build the diversified Freedom Lifetime portfolios that are paired with the purposeful design of meeting predictable income needs,” said Andrew Dierdorf, co-portfolio manager of the Fidelity Freedom Lifetime Suite. “This offering provides access to guaranteed income to help keep employees on track toward their retirement goals.”

Employees will also have access to a digital experience that is fully integrated through Fidelity’s record-keeping platform. This experience will provide users with the ability to model scenarios to illustrate potential income in retirement and, when eligible to purchase lifetime income, obtain real-time guaranteed income quotes, which allows them to take action to convert a portion of savings into lifetime income.

Fidelity’s Retirement Income Products and Solutions

As a leading workplace benefits provider, Fidelity offers a variety of options designed to help employees better manage the transition from saving for retirement to living in retirement, which includes retirement investment selections, flexible withdrawal strategies, and managed account and guaranteed income solutions. ​In 2024, Fidelity introduced Guaranteed Income Direct, a new solution allowing employees to convert all or a portion of their retirement savings – from a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) – into an immediate income annuity to provide consistent, pension-like payments throughout retirement.

Fidelity’s Target Date Platform

Fidelity helps more Americans with retirement than any other company^iv and its target date solutions are designed to help investors grow their retirement savings during their earning years while also helping to provide income and stability through their retirement years. Fidelity offers a range of active, index and blend target date solutions totaling more than $770 billion in assets^vi. To learn more about Freedom Lifetime, visit https://www.fidelityworkplace.com/s/freedom-lifetime.

About Fidelity Investments

Fidelity’s goal is to strengthen the financial well-being of our customers and deliver better outcomes for the clients and businesses we serve. Fidelity’s strength comes from the scale of our diversified, market-leading financial services businesses that serve individuals, families, employers, wealth management firms, and institutions. With assets under administration of $17.9 trillion, including managed assets of $7.0 trillion as of March 31, 2026, we focus on meeting the unique needs of a broad and growing customer base. Privately held for 79 years, Fidelity employs more than 80,000 associates across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. For more information about Fidelity Investments, visit https://www.fidelity.com/about-fidelity/our-company.

About Nationwide

Nationwide, a Fortune 100 company based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified financial services and insurance organizations in the United States. Nationwide is rated A+ by Standard & Poor’s. An industry leader in driving customer-focused innovation, Nationwide provides a full range of insurance and financial services products including auto, business, homeowners, farm and life insurance; public and private sector retirement plans, annuities and mutual funds; excess & surplus, specialty and surety; and pet, motorcycle and boat insurance.

For more information about Nationwide and Nationwide’s ratings, visit www.nationwide.com or Company Ratings -- Nationwide.

Nationwide, Nationwide is on your side and the Nationwide N and Eagle are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. © 2026

About New York Life

New York Life Insurance Company (www.newyorklife.com), a Fortune 100 company founded in 1845, is the largestⁱⁱⁱ mutual life insurance company in the United States and one of the largest life insurers in the world. Headquartered in New York City, New York Life’s family of companies offers life insurance, disability income insurance, retirement income, investments, and long-term care insurance. New York Life has the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer from all four of the major credit rating agencies.^v

Investing involves risk, including risk of loss.

Unless otherwise expressly disclosed to you in writing, the information provided in this material is for educational purposes only. Any viewpoints expressed by Fidelity are not intended to be used as a primary basis for your investment decisions, are based on facts and circumstances at the point in time they are made, and are not individualized or particularized to you, your plan, or your plan’s participants or beneficiaries. Accordingly, Fidelity and its representatives are not acting in a fiduciary capacity, and nothing in this material constitutes impartial investment advice, under or within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, both as amended, or any regulations or other guidance thereunder. Fidelity and its representatives may have a conflict of interest in the products or services mentioned in this material because they have a financial interest in the products or services and may receive compensation, directly or indirectly, in connection with the management, distribution, and/or servicing of these products or services, including Fidelity funds, certain third-party funds and products, and certain investment services.

No target date investment option is considered a complete retirement program and there is no guarantee any single investment option will provide sufficient retirement income at or through retirement. Principal invested is not guaranteed at any time, including at or after the pools’ target dates. In order to provide an income stream, there is no or limited access to assets rolled over to purchase individual retirement annuities from the Insurers. Annuity guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Investment performance of the Fidelity Freedom Commingled Pool products depends on the performance of the underlying investment options and on the proportion of the assets invested in each underlying investment option. The investment risk of each Fidelity Freedom Commingled Pool changes over time as its asset allocation changes. These risks are subject to the asset allocation decisions of the portfolio manager. Pursuant to Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company's (the Adviser) ability to use an active asset allocation strategy, investors may be subject to a different risk profile compared to the commingled pool's strategic asset allocation strategy shown in its glide path. The commingled pools are subject to the volatility of the financial markets, including that of equity and fixed income investments in the U.S. and abroad, and may be subject to risks associated with investing in high-yield, small-cap, commodity-linked and foreign securities. Leverage can increase market exposure, magnify investment risks, and cause losses to be realized more quickly. The Adviser may buy and sell futures contracts (both long and short positions) in a commingled pool in an effort to manage cash flows efficiently, remain fully invested, or facilitate asset allocation.

*Certain Fidelity Freedom Lifetime collective investment trusts (CITs) include allocations to group annuity contracts issued to Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company by the insurers during accumulation. This annuity allocation provides plan participants with the option to elect to receive guaranteed lifetime income at retirement age from selected insurers through the purchase of rollover individual retirement annuities. Both the group annuity and individual annuity contracts are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurers.

Any rollover individual retirement annuity is opened directly with each insurer pursuant to their respective new account opening procedures. Assets used to purchase the income stream will no longer be liquid.

This investment option may not be available in all states or territories.

Neither FIAM nor FIAM TC ("Fidelity") are insurance companies and make no guarantees as to the contractual obligations of each insurer. Insurers are not affiliated with each other or with Fidelity and its affiliates.

The Fidelity^® Freedom Lifetime Commingled Pools are commingled pools of the FIAM Group Trust for Employee Benefit Plans, and are managed by Fidelity Institutional Asset Management Trust Company (FIAM TC), a trust company organized under the laws of the State of New Hampshire.

The Fidelity^® Freedom Lifetime Commingled Pool is not a mutual fund.

Fidelity Institutional Asset Management (FIAM) includes the following entities that provide investment services FIAM TC and FIAM LLC, a U.S. registered investment adviser. Fidelity Asset Management Solutions (FAMS) provides a broad array of investment solutions with its Global Institutional Solutions (GIS), Global Asset Allocation (GAA), and institutional equity, fixed income, high income, and alternative asset management teams through FIAM LLC, FIAM TC and Fidelity Diversifying Solutions LLC.

FIAM products and services may be presented by Fidelity Distributors Company LLC, Fidelity Institutional Wealth Adviser LLC, or Fidelity Brokerage Services, LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC, each a non-exclusive financial intermediary that is affiliated with FIAM, or Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and FIL Limited, all of which are compensated for such services.

Certain data and other information in this report were supplied by outside sources and are believed to be reliable and current. However, Fidelity cannot verify the accuracy of such information, and such information is subject to change without notice.

Fixed annuities available through Guaranteed Income Direct are issued by third-party insurance companies, which are not affiliated with any Fidelity Investments company. A contract’s financial guarantees are solely the responsibility of and are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Income annuities available as plan distribution options are selected by the plan’s fiduciaries and sold and issued by third-party insurance companies which are not affiliated with any Fidelity Investments company. Fidelity Health Insurance Services, LLC (“FHIS”) may receive a fee from the issuing insurance company; however, FHIS does not directly or indirectly solicit, negotiate, or sell any annuities available as plan distribution options. A contract’s financial guarantees are solely the responsibility of and are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Pension benefits are guaranteed by the plan sponsor unless the sponsor transfers the liability to a third-party insurance company. Unlike pensions, annuities must be purchased and have associated costs and expenses.

The third parties mentioned herein and Fidelity Investments are independent entities and are not legally affiliated.

A link to third-party material is included for your convenience. The content owner is not affiliated with Fidelity and is solely responsible for the information and services it provides. Fidelity disclaims any liability arising from your use of such information or services. Review the new site's terms, conditions, and privacy policy, as they will be different from those of Fidelity's sites.

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ⁱ Fidelity's Freedom Funds are an industry-leading target date strategy based on AUM market share of the target date fund industry at #2 overall target date and #1 blend target date share, according to U.S.-based target date retirement assets under management (mutual fund + CIT) as of CY 2025, Sway Research. ​Fidelity has over 30 years of target date experience and innovation, with over $770B in AUM as of 12/31/2025 and 18k plan sponsor clients and 7m+ in shareholders invested - shareholders include DC (including TEM) participants and retail investors on Fidelity’s platform only, based on Fidelity internal analysis, as of 06/30/2025.

ⁱⁱ Nationwide and New York Life are two experienced, and highly rated insurers based on their stability, claims-paying ability and overall financial strength: Nationwide Life Insurance Company, with over 100 years’ experience, is rated A+ by S&P Global ratings, the fifth highest of 21 ratings. Affirmed: 04/12/25. New York Life Insurance Company and New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation, with over 180 years’ experience, has received the highest financial strength ratings currently awarded to any U.S. life insurer by A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s (Aa1), and Standard & Poor’s (AA+). Source: Individual Third-Party Ratings Reports as of 9/30/25. There is no guarantee that current ratings will be maintained.

ⁱⁱⁱ Based on revenue reported by Fortune 500 ranked within Industries – Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual), Fortune Magazine, June 3, 2025. For methodology, please visit https://fortune.com/ranking/fortune500/2025/#methodology.

^iv Based on two surveys: The PLANSPONSOR Magazine 2025 Recordkeeping Survey (© Asset International Inc.), based on defined contribution plan assets administered and number of participants of recordkeepers, as of 6/10/2025; and The Cerulli Report – U.S. Markets 2024, based on an industry survey of firms reporting total IRA assets administered Q4 2023.

^v Individual independent rating agency commentary as of 10/28/2025: A.M. Best (A++), Fitch (AAA), Moody’s Investors Service (Aa1), Standard & Poor’s (AA+).

^vi Fidelity data as of December 31, 2025.

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