A.M. Fire Consultants News

Bonfire Night fires

Admin1 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:05:29 +0000

The number of fires on Bonfire Night could rocket (excuse the pun) this year due to Guy Fawkes Night falling on a Saturday.

The top seven Bonfire Night tips are:

Attend organised displays - they are much safer than holding your own.
When building a bonfire only use wood and paper. Do not use tyres, plastics, pressurised gas cylinders (full or empty) or anything highly flammable or explosive.
Never use flammable liquids to start a bonfire.
Never leave bonfires unattended. If it has to be left, extinguish it with plenty of water.
Make sure bonfires are properly extinguished before leaving them.
Light bonfires well away from sheds, fences, bushes, trees etc.
Ensure spectators are kept at a safe distance from the bonfire.

The top five tips for firework safety are:

Keep fireworks at a safe distance away from naked flames, and in a non combustible container with a lid while waiting to be used.
Light fireworks at arm’s length using a taper and stand well back.
DO NOT HOLD FIREWORKS ONCE LIT.
Never go back to fireworks once they have been lit. Even if a firework has not gone off it could still explode.
Ensure spectators are kept at a safe distance from the fireworks.

2,000 homes in Greater London lost to fire each year

Admin1 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:09:25 +0000

Over 2,000 homes across London are being lost to fire each year according to new figures released by the London Fire Brigade, causing an estimated £120 million worth of damage and adding to the housing shortage across the capital. A severe fire is categorised as a fire which has rendered a property uninhabitable for any period of time. It will have caused damage to more than 5 metres of the house and taken firefighters more than 45 minutes to bring under control. Some houses may be uninhabitable for just a few days but in many cases, it takes people months or even years to move back in. In the worst cases, homes are completely destroyed.

If you love your home:

get a working smoke alarm
never leave cooking unattended
switch off all electrical appliances when not in use
NEVER smoke in bed
if candles are used for decorative or religious purposes ensure they are placed in substantial holders, are not placed near combustible materials and are extinguished when not supervised.

Further research carried out showed that:

21% of severe fires were caused by electrical faults
16% were caused by cooking being left unattended
10% were caused by careless disposal of cigarettes

AM Fire Consultants advise on fire safety at the St Botolph Building.

Admin1 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:41:40 +0000

AM Fire Consultants have been instructed by Knight Frank LLP, the managing agents, and Minerva, the owners of the newly constructed 600,000 sq. ft. St Botolph Building, Houndsditch, London EC3.

AM Fire Consultants now advise on all matters relating to:

fire safety compliance
fire risk assessment; landlord’s and common parts
co-ordination of tenants’ fire risk assessments
formulate phased fire evacuation procedure
supervise phased fire evacuation drills
provide training to security staff and tenants’ fire wardens
produce fire strategy drawings
produce fire safety manual
formulate bomb, chemical & biological emergency & evacuation procedures

The building has 16 floors and approximately 2500 people will work in the building when fully let.

Tottenham youths to get firefighting experience

Admin1 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:33:08 +0000

Young people in Tottenham, one of the areas worst affected by August’s civil disturbances, will experience what it is like to be a firefighter, as they take part in the London Fire Brigade’s youth programme.

Teenagers taking part in the scheme, known as the Local Intervention Fire Education (LIFE), will learn to use ladders, breathing apparatus and hoses as well as developing casualty rescue techniques. The scheme is designed to improve young people’s discipline, confidence and team-building skills.

The week long LIFE scheme was originally set up in Tower Hamlets in 2002 to reduce anti-social behaviour directed at fire crews. The programme is targeted particularly at young people aged between 13 and 17 who have either offended or are not succeeding in main stream education. Participants may also be suffering from low self esteem or have been victims of crime.

Since it began, nearly 5000 young Londoners have benefited from the LIFE programme and there are now 12 LIFE centres across the capital taking referrals from organisations such as schools and working with young people from almost all London boroughs.

The LIFE centres are based in Barking, Dagenham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Islington, Brent, Sutton, Lambeth, Bexley and Camden. The success of LIFE in London has paved the way for similar schemes across the UK and seven other fire and rescue services are now using the scheme. It is also being adopted by the New Zealand fire service.

Residential property managing agents fined

Admin1 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:27:39 +0000

Douglas and Gordon Ltd, who manage a block of flats in Gloucester Terrace, West London, were fined £100,000 and ordered to pay costs of £12,880 By Southwark Crown Court after admitting to multiple breaches of the Fire Safety Order 2005.Among other breaches, the company did not act on the recommendations of a fire risk assessment carried out for them. The fire service was altered to the breaches after an inspection of the property following a fire in one of the flats. Steve Turek, assistant commissioner for fire safety warned people who own or manage residential or commercial properties that they should ensure the adhere to fire safety laws and regulations and take their responsibilities seriously.

Nuclear emergency

Admin1 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:11:50 +0000

One worker died and four others were injured in a fire and explosion at a radioactive waste management treatment plant in Southern France.

The authorities said there was no risk of radioactive contamination at the site near Nimes. It is understood that the blast happened in a furnace used to burn waste, including fuels metals, tools and workers clothing, which had been used in nuclear energy production but had only very low levels of radiation. No structural damaged was reported at the site, which does not house any nuclear reactors.

Electric blanket tests

Admin1 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 11:01:34 +0000

UK fire services are calling on people to get their electric blankets tested as the colder months approach. Regular tests are needed to ensure that blankets remain in good condition and their built-in safeguards work properly, to prevent shocks, burns and fires caused by overheating. Last year Oxfordshire Fire Service reported that 40% of those tested failed.

Most fire services offer free testing of blankets. Go on-line to find the contact details of your local fire brigade.

Fire risk assessor jailed

Admin1 — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:00:01 +0000

In a landmark case a hotel owner and the the fire extinguisher engineer who carried out the fire risk assessments at The Market Inn and The Dial Hotel in Mansfield, were both jailed for 8 months.
The fire risk assessor overlooked a number of essential fire safety deficiencies which potentially would have left occupants seriously at risk had fire broken out.

Hotel group fined for fire safety contraventions

Admin1 — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:20:00 +0000

The Hallmark Hotel Group, which owns the Belfry House Hotel in Wilmslow, Cheshire, was fined more than £127,000 after a judge ruled that guests at the luxury hotel were put at “substancial risk” because of serious breaches of fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order.

The failures were identified by local firefighters who were carrying out a familiarisation visit at the hotel. Fire safety officers were called in to carry out a full inspection of the hotel which was also undergoing refurbishment.Numerous failings were identified, including the fire alarm not working, breaches in fire resisting walls, inadequate fire risk assessment, poor staff training, conflicting fire exit signage. As the deficiencies were considered so serious that life would be at risk in the event of fire, a ”prohibition notice” was served on the day of the inspection which prohibited use of residential and common parts of the building. The notice was withdrawn after 4 days as remedial work had been carried out and new procedures put in place.

The Hallmark Hotel Group was fined £25,000 for each of the 3 offences and ordered to pay costs of £52,585, Judge Elgin Edwards said “For people who run hotels, fire safety is particulary important. This company carried on trading and taking guests when quite clearly the guests were put at substantial risk”.

China; scaffolding fire

Admin1 — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:01:03 +0000

Flames spread up scaffolding in a fatal high-rise residential appartment building fire in Shaghai, China. The fire claimed the lives of 53 people and injured 90 others. The blaze began when when building materials caught fire and spread rapidly to bamboo scaffolding and flammable nylon netting which covered the building.
It is reported that welders, who did not have proper work licences, caused the blaze. Some residents escaped by climbing down sections of the scaffolding before being rescued by fire crews. Attempts were made to rescue other residents by helicopter from the roof. More than 100 fire appliances were used to fight the fire which was extinguished after more than 4 hours.