Latest News & Events
Here are the latest news items, public announcements, and press releases from Safety Management (UK).
March 10
Toxic gas escape on River Humber
Four workers were hurt when a toxic gas cloud escaped at a plant on the banks of the River Humber.
Described as "serious", the incident took place at 0030 GMT at the Cristal Global plant, North East Lincolnshire. The men, who suffered burns and toxic inhalation, were taken to hospital after titanium tetrachloride escaped at the plant near Grimsby.
Phil Leake, from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, said the escape occurred after an explosion in a chemical vessel at the factory. Source: BBC
Fire Safety Fines
The Fire Service are continuing to prosecute anybody found in contravention of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. The following two examples show what can happen if you fail to comply with a fire risk assessment:
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February 10
Heater Caused Blaze
The cause of a fire in Exmouth which spread to neighbouring properties in a parade of shops has been identified as a halogen heater which ignited combustible material.
Around 100 firefighters tackled the blaze on 28 January, which spread to properties on both sides of the shop and to a number of flats. The heater was situated in the stockroom of the Bargains Galore shop in the town centre.
Easily Overlooked - During these cold months, it is to be expected that people will use a variety of heating appliances to keep warm. The most important thing is to ensure they are stored correctly, away from combustible materials .
Property Developer Disregarded Safety
A Bradford developer who failed to attend to the required standards of safety for its workers has been fined £10,000 with £10,000 costs by Hull Magistrates Court.
Inspectors found a list of misdemeanours breaching safety law at HQ Leisure Limited's site in Albion Street in Hull in October 2007. Scaffolding was dangerous and had not been properly inspected; roofing materials were being bombed from a 15-metre high platform at the roof eaves into an area where other contractors were working below; unsuitable ladders were being used to access upper floors; insufficient and unsecured boards were being used in the roof space, leaving workers at risk of falling through the ceiling joists; voids created by the demolition of a rear extension had not been guarded to prevent falls out of the building; and no toilet or proper washing facilities were provided.
Free Fire Safety Log Book
We have just launched our re-designed fire safety log book for 2010.
It is designed to assist you in complying with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO) by acting as a record of the testing of fire safety features and equipment contained within your premises, along with a programme of fire safety training for your staff. The information contained is for your guidance only and should form part of your fire risk assessment, also required by the RRO.
Download your free copy here
Landlord prosecuted for fire safety breaches in HMO
Camden Council has fined two companies and their director a total of £32,400 for managing an unlicensed house of multiple occupation (HMO) which posed a fire risk to tenants. The prosecution, which took place on 29 September, is the first of its kind where defendants have been convicted of a ‘failure to take measures as are reasonably required to protect the occupiers of the HMO from injury'.
The three-storey town house in Swiss Cottage, North London, was let to seven tenants and had missing doors, no fire detection or alarm systems, and no fire doors to prevent the rapid spread of fire.
Commenting on the case, councillor Chris Knight from Camden Council said that the safety of tenants in the borough is a priority and that dangerous or illegal practices that are potentially life-threatening for tenants will not be tolerated.Back-up Alarm Saves 100 Lives
Two men who set fire to Novas Scarman's flagship hostel Arlington House are due to be sentenced for arson.
In June 2008, the pair disabled the hostel's fire alarm and climbed through a window to the staff office, where they started a fire. A back-up alarm sounded, and the London Fire Brigade was able to put out the blaze, potentially saving the lives of 100 men asleep in the hostel at the time. When the police arrived at the scene, they arrested Mr Coster and Mr Chaproniere. Stephen Coster, 29, and John Chaproniere, 39, were found guilty of arson recklessly endangering life at Blackfriars Crown Court last month. They will be sentenced on 16 and 23 February respectively.
Detective Femi Omole of Camden Police said: ‘Arson is a serious offence and since attempts had been made to silence the fire alarms, the potential loss of life could have been horrendous. I am very pleased with the guilty findings.' Source: Inside Housing
Fire Alarms & Emergency Lighting
No FRA before Fire Service College blaze
The Fire Service College had not carried out a fire risk assessment under the Fire Safety Order at the time of last year’s fire which destroyed 11 fire engines and the appliance bay they were kept in.
In response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the college has revealed that the last fire risk assessment on the part of its site which includes the appliance bay was in December 2004 – under the previous Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997.
Commenting on the absence of a fire risk assessment, a Fire Service College spokesperson said: “The Fire Service College was in the process of conducting a comprehensive series of risk assessments across the whole site, at the time of the fire.” Source: Info4fire
Firefighting Robots
Engineers at Sheffield Hallam University have been working with firefighters from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue to design firefighting robots.
The robots, called Guardian and Viewfinders, have been funded by the European Union and are in the final testing stages. They are able to navigate and search urban areas, such as warehouses and factories, during large-scale incidents. The machines have laser-range, radio signal and ultrasound sensors, which connect to a wireless ad-hoc network and forward data to a human operator and a control station. Source: Sheffield Hallam
Illegally Stored Aerosols
A Leicestershire haulage firm has been fined for illegally storing large quantities of aerosols.
Coalville Magistrates' Court, sitting on 8 January, heard that AM Widdowson & Son Ltd had stored large amounts of aerosols, which contain liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for around seven months. The firm began storing the chemical at its depot in Hilltop Industrial Estate site, Leicestershire after winning a contract to transport the products.
The HSE was notified in July 2008 that the company was storing far in excess of the legal limit of aerosol products. HSE inspectors visited the site and estimated that around 500 tonnes – 10 times the legal limit – were being stored at the site. Source: SHP
January 10
Chinese Restaurant Fined £7000
A former restaurant manager has been ordered to pay over £7,000 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation following a prosecution by the London Fire Brigade.
Mr Wei Chen who was managing Kan's Chinese and Thai Cuisine at the time of the breaches admitted guilt on 10 contraventions of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. In June 2007, visiting fire inspectors discovered a number of fire safety breaches and an enforcement notice was issued requiring Mr Wei Chen to remedy the faults by 11 April 2008. A further inspection took place on 29 April 2008 and all of the fire safety breaches were still evident. These included no fire warning system, no fire exit signs and inadequate fire safety training to staff. There was also no fire risk assessment done for the premises.
Tower Block Register
BBC Radio 4 recently aired a programme on high rise fire safety. If you missed it, it is well worth 25 minutes of your time: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00pky9h
A register of residential tower blocks in England is to be set up after the Lakanal House fire in south London killed six people, including three children. More details
Andigestion Remedy
We have just carried out Spillage Training at Holsworthy Biogas Plant, the UK's first, and most productive, centralised anaerobic digestion power station.
The site, at Chilsworthy in West Devon, provides a renewable and environmentally sustainable source of energy. Organic commercial wastes are processed at the plant, producing renewable energy and a valuable fertiliser. More details
Amatoya - Firefighter of the Future
Futuristic firefighting buggy with water cannons
If the fire brigade is ever struggling to attract new recruits, perhaps it might want to put a picture of this Amatoya concept on its recruitment poster. It'll easily be the most effective campaign since Uncle Sam's 'I Want YOU' was deployed during the two World Wars. More details
Large fire at South Yorks school
More than half of a school in South Yorkshire has been destroyed by a large fire.
Around 60 firefighters tackled the blaze at Campsmount Technology College in Norton near Doncaster. Only the gymnasium, library and a number of classrooms were left intact.
Richard Chandler, area manager for South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told
BBC News that the fire spread rapidly through a large part of the school. "We
were looking at flames up to about 100ft into the air, a thick black smoke
plume probably rose up to 300ft into the air.
"There's an awful lot of twisted metal, there's an awful lot of ruined classroom
equipment and probably across quite a large part of the site, there's very little
apart from the steel structure that stands." Source:
FSE
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