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John F. Gore

John Francis Gore (March 27, 1926 – November 23, 2016) was an American Army major general. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and with the Connecticut National Guard in the Korean War. His career would culminate with being appointed as the Connecticut Adjutant General in 1982 but would be forced to resign in 1985 amid various scandals.

Military career
Gore enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in West Haven, Connecticut, in 1943 at the age of 17. He served with the First Marine Division in Okinawa and China during World War II. He was discharged as a corporal in April 1946 and returned to Connecticut. Three years later, John enlisted in the Connecticut National Guard in 1949 and was assigned to the 745th AAA Gun Battalion. The unit was called to active service in 1950 during the Korean War. Upon demobilization, Gore returned again to Connecticut and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. He served in several battery officer positions before being transferred to the 43rd Infantry Division. 2LT Gore was assigned to the Aviation Company, where he first attended the Infantry Officers’ Basic Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by Army Primary Flight Training Course at Fort Rucker, Alabama. Upon receiving his Army Aviator Wings, he served in various aviation positions in the Connecticut Army National Guard.

In 1972, Gore was reassigned to the headquarters as the military support plans officer and promoted to lieutenant colonel. He then served as the military personnel officer (MILPO) and the state aviation officer, where he was promoted to colonel in 1976. In 1979 he was appointed to the position of assistant adjutant general and promoted to brigadier general, serving under Adjutant General John F. Freund.

Service as adjutant general
Major General Freund reached his mandatory retirement age in April 1982 and left the Connecticut National Guard. Governor William A. O’Neill appointed Gore to replace him, and he was promoted to major general that August. His tenure would be marked by heroism and scandal.

Medal of Valor
On Sunday, April 8, 1984, at 2:41 pm, a civilian aircraft contacted the air traffic control tower in Groton, Connecticut, and reported three men clinging to a capsized boat west of Fishers Island, New York. Simultaneously, General Gore's UH-1 “Huey” helicopter – code name ‘Fury 76’ – was inbound to Lawrence Memorial Hospital on a medical emergency. Upon hearing the Air Traffic Control Tower's radio transmission, General Gore's crew completed their mission and then diverted to the site of the capsized boat. Fury 76 was not equipped with any rescue lines and had to hover over strong turbulent waters with sea waves of three to four feet. The crew was able to rescue the three survivors and flew them to Groton-New London Airport. For their bravery and disregard for their own personal safety, the six crew members of Fury 76 were awarded the Connecticut National Guard's highest military award – The Medal of Valor.

Scandal and resignation
During his tenure as adjutant general, Gore became romantically involved with a subordinate officer, which is forbidden by army regulation. After a thorough investigation, General Maxwell R. Thurman, vice-chief of staff of the US Army, severely reprimanded General Gore for an “open and improper relationship with a female subordinate.” The reprimand further stated that General Gore committed an “inexcusable failure to maintain high standards of personal conduct and judgment expected of a general.”

The report was forwarded to Governor O”Neill, who then called Gore to his office to discuss his options. A year prior to the release of the report, Gore had stated to the Governor that if his personal life ever began to interfere with his duties as adjutant general, he would resign. On February 5, 1985, Gore provided the Governor a one-sentence memo:

“Dear Governor O’Neill:

Please accept my resignation as The Adjutant General of the State of Connecticut effective at the close of business on Thursday, 7 February 1985.”

Governor O’Neill appointed John T. Gereski as his successor to fulfill the remainder of General Gore's term.

Personal life and death
John Francis Gore was born on March 27, 1926, in New Haven, Connecticut, to George F. Gore and Irene S. Gore. In addition to his military career, Gore was a member of the Connecticut State Police while serving as a traditional “once a month” drilling National Guardsman from 1955 to 1964 before working for the National Guard as a full-time soldier. He married Georg C. Meyers on October 10, 1969, in New London, Connecticut. The two were divorced as a result of his inappropriate relationship with Second Lieutenant Elizabeth A. Wysocki, whom Gore would marry on November 2, 1984, in Norwich, Connecticut, while still serving as the adjutant general. He had two children from his first marriage: Marilyn and John, Jr.

Gore died in Crossville, Tennessee on November 23, 2016, at the age of 90.

title: John F. Gore


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Kidde

Kidde is a brand subsidiary of Carrier Global that manufactures and distributes fire detection and suppression equipment, as well as smoke and CO alarm units. Kidde is one of America's largest manufacturers of smoke alarms and fire safety products. Kidde is headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina.

History
The company was founded by Walter Kidde in 1917 in the United States. The founder was of Czech ancestry, and unrelated to the Danish author Harald Kidde.

1900s
Walter Kidde founded Kidde Inc. in 1917 with $300 he had in savings. In 1918 the company, then known as Walter Kidde & Company, purchased the rights to the "Rich" system; a way to detect fires on board ships.

1920s
In 1923, Kidde purchased the patent rights for a siphon device that allowed quick release of carbon dioxide, improving the function of fire extinguishers. In 1924, the company produced the first portable carbon dioxide fire extinguisher and in 1925 it installed the first built in industrial fire extinguishing system. In 1926, Walter Kidde & Company partnered with the Navy to design a system to protect airplane engines against fires.

1930s
The company established a British operation at Northolt in 1935 as its first overseas operation. The company further expanded to Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.

1940s
When Walter Kidde died in 1943, his son John took control of the company. At that time, the company employed over 5,000 people, and was producing over $60 million of war supplies.

1950s
At the end of WWII the company saw a significant drop in sales. In the 1950s, the company diversified into machinery and tool manufacturing, siphon devices for consumer and medical uses, and aircraft accessories.

1960s–1970s
Robert L. Dickinson was named president of the company in 1961. In January 1964, Fred Sullivan, officer and director of the Litton Industries, succeeded Dickinson as president and later succeeded John Kidde as chairman. From 1964 to 1968, Kidde grew from $40 million in annual revenues to $400 million. In 1966, Kidde was named to the Fortune 500 list at position 283. In 1968 the company was incorporated as Kidde & Company, Inc.

Kidde acquired the Spartus Corporation, a Louisville, Mississippi–based maker of clocks and camera equipment, in 1970 for $24 million (equivalent to $ million in ).

1980s
In May 1987, John Kidde died. In August 1987, Kidde was purchased for $1.7 billion by August Hanson Industries, the United States arm of Hanson Trust of the United Kingdom. In August 1988, Hanson sold most of the Kidde fire protection business to Pilgrim House Group, a firm based in the United Kingdom involved in electrical products and fire protection.

Included in the sale were Walter Kidde North America Group, Fenwal Inc., and Kidde's Fire Protection Group Europe. During the Kidde acquisition process Pilgrim House was purchased by Williams Holdings plc, an industrial management firm. In 1989, it merged with Graviner (another Williams Holdings business) to form Kidde Graviner.

1990s
In 1990, subsidiary Walter Kidde Aerospace Inc. opened a Production and Technology Center, for $4 million. By that time, Kidde products were found in aircraft such as the B-2 Stealth Bomber and 747-400 airliners. In 1993, it acquired Dunford Hepburn. In February 1997, Williams Holdings purchased Chubb Security plc.

In 1996, Kidde International purchased Santa Barbara Dual Spectrum (SBDS) from Hughes Aircraft. SBDS subsequently operated as a division of Kidde Technologies.

In March 1999, Kidde recalled 2 models of Carbon Monoxide Alarms, that were alarming late or not alarming at all. ~1 million (+650 thousand NightHawk brand, +350 thousand LifeSaver brand) units were recalled. Units from November 8, 1998, and March 9, 1999, are affected.

2000s
In March 2000, Williams announced the breakup of the company. Now an independent entity, the firm adopted the name Kidde plc in September 2000. In October 2000, Kidde announced it was going to demerge from Chubb plc. Kidde plc listed on the London Stock Exchange in November of that year.

In December 2004, Financial Times reported Kidde as "the market leader in residential fire protection in the United States." In April 2005, United Technologies Corporation finalized its acquisition of Kidde and place the company under its new Fire & Security brand. The move re joined it to its former sister company Chubb Security, and several other brands to create UTC Fire & Security.

In July 2005, Kidde recalled 10 pound industrial fire extinguishers with Zytel valves due to discharge issues, manufactured between 1999 and 2000. 470 thousand units were recalled. 3 injuries were reported due to extinguisher failure.

In 2009, Kidde Acquired the company FireX, which was owned by Invensys Controls.

In March 2009, 9 models of Kidde XL fire extinguishers manufactured from October 2007 through April 2008 were recalled due to failure of operation. ~167 thousand fire extinguishers were recalled.

In July 2009, Kidde recalled a Dual-Sensor smoke alarm model PI2000, due to possible failure of alarm. Models made from August 2008 and May 2009 are recalled. ~94 thousand units were recalled.

2010s
In April 2013, Kidde expanded its Worry-Free product line to include UL-listed carbon monoxide (CO) alarms.

In September 2014, Kidde recalled 3 models of smoke alarm (i12010, i12010SCO, and KN-COSM-IBA) for failing to alert buyers of emergency after a power outage. Models made from December 18, 2013, to May 13, 2014, are affected. 1.2 million (+112 thousand in Canada) were recalled.

In February 2015, Kidde recalled 31 models of extinguishers with Zytel valves due to the valve not fully opening, causing the extinguisher to not discharge properly. Affected models were made from July 23, 2013, to October 15, 2014. 4.6 million (+175 thousand in Canada) extinguishers were recalled.

In November 2016, Kidde recalled over 3.6 million (+1.5 million in Canada) NightHawk model KN-COSM-IB combination smoke alarms due to the 7 year "end of life" signal timer being restarted when the battery was replaced, meaning that the alarm cannot signal that its sensors have expired. Models manufactured from June 2004 and December 2010 are affected by the recall.

A year later in November 2017, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall notice for 134 models of Kidde fire extinguishers citing failures to discharge correctly when used. As many as 37.8 million extinguishers could be covered by the recall notice. Even extinguishers dating back from the 70's. One death has been reported due to extinguisher failure.

Not too long later in March 2018, Kidde recalled their 2 Dual-Sensor Smoke Detector models, PI9010 and the PI2010. The reason for the recall was a yellow cap left on one of the sensors that could fail to alert buyers of the alarm of a possible fire. 452,000 units in the US and about 40,000 units in Canada were affected in the recall. The recall affected units of the 2 models manufactured from September 2016, through January 2018. No injuries or accidents were reported because of the yellow cap before the recall.

2020s
In May 2021, Kidde announced a recall of their TruSense line of alarms due to the alarms not detecting smoke until fatal levels. 226 thousand units have been recalled. On May 14, 2023, Kidde-Fenwal filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Locations
Kidde is headquartered in Mebane, North Carolina. Kidde Canada (formerly Pyrene Company or Chubb Security) operates under Kidde Fire Safety North America and is located in Toronto, Ontario. Kidde Aerospace is located in Wilson, North Carolina.

Awards and recognition
In September 2017, Kidde was ranked among the top manufacturers of carbon monoxide alarms. Kidde's fire blanket was also ranked a "top player" in the industry by the Global Fire Blanket Market. Kidde carbon monoxide alarms are included in the "Carbon Monoxide Alarms industry" report of 2017 to 2022.

source: wikimedia

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Kidde