Fire News
This News Section is written and maintained by: Jewel Creative Ltd
September '10
Crews battle car plant blaze amid chemical and oil alert
Firefighters spent 10 hours battling a blaze at a car parts factory destined to close at the end of this year.
The fire at the Linamar plant in Jersey Marine, near Swansea, took hold just after midnight on Wednesday 8 September in the two-storey building and was “well alight” when crews arrived.
Assistant county commander for Swansea, Gary Williams said:
“Our first priority was to contain the flames and ensure that they did not spread to a nearby building which contained chemicals and oil.
The crews worked extremely hard through the night in difficult circumstances to contain the fire and minimize the risk.”
Appliances from Swansea Central, Morriston, Neath and Port Talbot attended the incident, along with the turntable ladder and foam tender
from Morriston and an environment unit from Llanelli.
There were no injuries reported to the 30-strong workforce or to firefighters.
The plant – which previously belonged to Ford – employed around 1,000 people at its peak.
Source: Info4Fire
Restaurant owner fined for ten breaches of Fire Safety Order
August '10
A restaurant owner has been fined £15,000 for ten breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 following a serious fire.
When crews arrived at the China Wok restaurant in Stokesley, north Yorkshire on 24 January, they found a fire on the ground floor of the premises. Two people who were trapped on the upper floors were rescued by firefighters and taken to hospital.
Following the fire, investigations found that the owner, Mr Shun Lin Lam, had failed to address a number of fire safety deficiencies and allowed people to sleep in the premises, despite not having an adequate means of escape, a fire alarm, a fire detection system, any emergency lighting or fire extinguishers.
Mr Lan pleaded guilty to the breaches at Northallerton Magistrates Court on Monday 2 August.
Ms Karen Galloway, prosecuting, said the decision to prosecute was not taken lightly. “The responsible person is always in a position of authority; their lack of actions should have been foreseeable to prevent, in the event of fire, persons being put at risk of death or injury.
The contraventions in this case were serious and would have continued had the fire authority not acted immediately by serving a prohibition notice on the responsible person.”
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said that in imposing the fine, the magistrates stated there was a balance to make. On the one hand, two lives could have been lost inside a property which was a fire hazard and where little money had been spent for a very long time. On the other hand, the defendant had not wilfully refused to do the upgrade works required and had fully co-operated with the courts and fire authority, but had been ignorant of fire safety regulations.
Source: Info4Fire
July '10
New workplace fire safety qualifications unveiled Three new fire safety in the workplace qualifications have been introduced by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health.
The CIEH Level 1 award provides a basic understanding of workplace fire safety and prevention; the Level 2 award in fire safety principles aims to enable candidates to become fire safety wardens in their workplaces; and the Level 3 award is designed for those candidates who may go on to to carry out fire risk assessments.
“Businesses can suffer catastrophic damage as a result of a fire,” said Des Hancox of the CIEH. “Apart from the human risks associated with fires, organisations often experience prolonged disruption to daily activity and incur significant costs – not to mention the potential for reputational damage.”
The qualifications are accredited by OFQUAL and are part of the institute’s 50 qualification training programmes delivered through a network of trainers.
Source: Info4Fire
June '10
Enforcement notice details wide-ranging fire safety breaches at CLG headquarters
Info4fire can today reveal that the London headquarters of Communities and Local Government – the government department that steers fire safety policy in England and Wales – has been served with an enforcement notice under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
In a damming critique of the building’s fire safety arrangements, an inspector from the enforcing authority, the Crown Premises Inspection Group, states:
“The concepts of ‘responsible’ and ‘competent’ persons, and the duties placed upon those persons under the Order, appear not to be understood within CLG premises”.
The notice, served on 16 February on the then secretary of state for Communities and Local Government, John Denham, details numerous shortcomings in fire safety measures and management at CLG’s Eland House premises in Victoria. It lists alleged breaches of 13 of the 15 Articles of the Fire Safety Order that impose duties on the CLG, as the responsible person, including:
Introducing a fire load in the atrium which was not considered in the building’s fire engineered design, by installing a cafeteria which, it is said, may lead to “uncontrolled fire spread throughout the building”
An unsuitable and insufficient fire risk assessment
Failing to nominate competent persons to help the responsible person discharge his duties
Failure to adequately maintain the fire alarm system, interconnections between fire safety systems, and smoke vents throughout the building
Lack of evidence of adequate training and provision of essential fire safety information to staff In an apparent reference to other CLG premises, the inspector goes on to say: “At present there is a lack of national policy, guidance and ownership of fire safety management across the CLG estate.”
Details of the inspection and the enforcement notice have come to light under a Freedom of Information request made to CLG by an individual linked to the fire safety industry.
“Unacceptable” policy
Other deficiencies found include an “unacceptable” policy that no one should use portable fire extinguishers in the building; the inability of the building to support the phased evacuation strategy; no adequate arrangements to ensure visitors and contractors are accounted for in an evacuation; and shortcomings in the means of escape for the number of people likely to occupy the building.
Although Eland House is categorised as Crown premises, it is still subject to safety legislation including the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, and enforcement procedures are similar to those of other premises. However, Crown Immunity means the responsible person cannot actually be prosecuted for offences.
The enforcement notice also reveals that the contracted facilities company, having some control of the premises, was sent a copy of the notice. However, it makes it clear that although the company is considered a ‘nominated competent person’, they had not been provided with sufficient means to undertake this role.
Responding to the revelation of the enforcment notice, a CLG spokesman said:
"Following the remodelling of parts of the interior of Eland House, the Department requested that the Crown Premises Inspection Group (CPIG) audit the facility to review the impact that the changes had on the fire safety of the building. The CPIG made a number of recommendations in the form of a Crown Enforcement Notice which was issued on 16 February 2010. The Department has accepted these recommendations which are now in the process of being fully implemented."
The enforcement notice is dated 16 February 2010 and relates to a fire safety audit which was carried out on 26 November 2009. Ironically, the Crown Premises Inspection Group comes under the remit of the government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, whose unit is itself based at Eland House.
In January, it was revealed that the Fire Service College – an executive agency of CLG – had not carried out a valid fire risk assessment at the time of the fire which destroyed an appliance bay at its Moreton in Marsh premises.
Source: Info4Fire
April '10
Fire rips though south London school
A fire in a south London school that saw around 50 people evacuated from homes around the area is now under investigation.
Crews were called to Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Temple Grove primary school, formerly Monson primary school, in New Cross around 3pm on Tuesday.
It took 50 firefighters from across the capital to get the blaze under control by around 9pm, a spokesman from London Fire Brigade said.
The three-storey building, empty of pupils due to Easter holidays, is thought to have been under refurbishment. All floors were considerably damaged, and the roof and second floor "badly damaged."
It is not known yet how the blaze started but an investigation is underway. It is thought that a gas propane cylinder was involved in the fire.
March '10
Hotel company convicted of fire safety offences
A company that owned a London hotel has been ordered to pay more than £21,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to six offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Malfax Investments Limited, which owned the Averard Hotel on Lancaster Gate in Bayswater, was sentenced this week at Westminster Magistrates Court.
The hotel was inspected by fire safety officers in April 2009, when they found a number of failings including inadequate fire detection and alarm system, problems with the external means of escape and inadequate and defective fire doors. As a result of these deficiencies, the officers issued an enforcement notice detailing the issues and when they needed to be resolved.
The company disclosed a fire risk assessment that was prepared in January 2008. Although it detailed a number of failings and advised steps they needed to take to address them, said London Fire Brigade, the company failed to act on the findings and implement any of the actions required.
The hotel closed shortly after the enforcement noticed was issued.
“The general public should feel safe from fire when they are staying at a hotel and the responsible person must make sure their premises comply with the regulations,” said London Fire Brigade’s assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation, Steve Turek.“All premises owners and operators must undertake a fire safety risk assessment. Although this was completed in this case, it is no use if the responsible person does not act on its findings.”
Source: Info4fire
January '10
Tower block fire risk assessment register for England
Plans for a national register of tower blocks in England, to include the date of the last fire risk assessment for each block, have been unveiled today by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA).
The social housing regulator’s national register will hold details on ownership, the number of properties, and the age of each block. It will also list the date of the last fire risk assessment and the date the next one is due.
The register will include all buildings of six storeys or more (excluding basements) that house social tenants. The TSA will begin collecting data from housing associations in February and the register is expected to be available in the summer.
“The health and safety of tenants is obviously of paramount importance to housing associations and their tenants," said Phil Morgan, the TSA's executive director of tenant services. "That is why the TSA is proposing to include health and safety in its new standards for social housing landlords, which come into force from April, and by developing a new national register of tower blocks.
“The register will be a valuable tool, allowing us to build up a comprehensive picture of tower blocks in England. It will allow us to work with landlords to ensure that they are fully complying with their responsibilities to carry out risk assessments and taking appropriate action, so that tenants are properly protected from the risk of fire.”
Following the fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell, the TSA wrote to all housing associations asking them to check the fire safety of their tower blocks. They were asked to inform the authority if they owned any housing with similar 'scissor block' design features which were of concern. The Communities and Local Government department (CLG) wrote to all local authorities asking for similar information.
Five housing associations have reported that they have a total of six blocks with a similar design to Lakanal. The associations are:
• Amicus Horizon
• Gentoo Sunderland
• South Yorkshire Housing Association
• Paragon Community Housing subsidiary - Richmond upon Thames Churches Housing Trust
• Whitefriars Housing Group
All five associations have responded with plans or action taken to address any fire safety issues. According to the TSA, all the associations have up-to-date fire risk assessments, and the tenants who live in the six blocks have been notified and will be kept informed. The TSA is continuing to work with the five landlords on the issues raised.
Source: FSE
