Fire in changing room of Welsh football club
It has been reported that the dressing room facilities of Merthyr Tydfil FC were severely damaged in a fire over the weekend.
The two-storey room at Penydarren Park, home to the Toolstation Western League Division One club, caught alight in the early hours of Sunday morning. Emergency services attended the scene at around 1.50am following reports of a fire.
South Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to the fire which was prevented from spreading further by the firefighters.
Fire crews from Aberdare, Merthyr and Rhymney tackled the blaze at the stadium and the flames were eventually brought under control by firefighters.
A spokesperson for the fire service has revealed that they are not treating the fire as suspicious.
Merthyr Tydfil had an away game at Devizes on Saturday, so the ground had not been used over the weekend.
The fire just goes to show that a blaze can happen anywhere so it is important to have fire safety measures in place at football grounds such as this as well as other sports clubs. This way, you can better protect those that attend these kinds of facilities and better prepare for the eventuality of a fire such as this one.
Manchester MP advises against cuts to fire service
MP Tony Lloyd has risked the wrath of the fire authority by questioning the wisdom of job losses due to recent budget cuts, warning that this could pose a ‘serious risk’ to the safety of the public.
The Fire Brigades Union expect around 150 jobs to be lost after a reduction in the Greater Manchester budget. The number of firefighters employed on 999 fire engines may also be dropped down considerably.
Labour MP Mr Lloyd said:
“It is clear these cuts cannot be implemented without serious risk to residents and will put in jeopardy the brigade’s ability to respond to real emergencies.
“Senior people in the fire service share the concerns I have. I unashamedly have links with lots of trade unions and if they bring issues of public concern to me I will raise them.”
However, Councillor Paul Shannon (Liberal Democrat), Chairman of Greater Manchester’s Fire and Rescue Authority, has responded by saying:
“I question Tony Lloyd’s sincerity as he’s not even picked up the phone to the chief fire officer or me to raise his concerns. The fire authority is picking up the pieces following Labour’s recession.
“The broad future strategy was agreed unanimously, with all-party support – including 14 Labour councillors.
“Tony Lloyd should apologise for his scaremongering and irresponsible comments.”
More arrests after construction site fire
It has been reported that a fourth person has now been arrested in connection with the huge blaze which swept through a building site in Hampshire on Friday evening.
The boy, aged 12, joins three other 15-year-olds who have also been arrested on suspicion of starting the fire that devastated the flats and caused danger to firefighters tackling the blaze.
Over 100 firefighters were needed on the scene after the flats, still under construction, on Gershwin Road, Basingstoke, were set alight.
Home evacuations from nearby properties were also required due to the ferocity of the blaze, with around 40 residents kept away from their properties until Saturday evening.
The four boys have been bailed until the 3rd of November as an investigation is launched into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
A witness, who saw two young people fleeing from the site earlier, has now come forward to police and is helping them with their enquiries.
This fire was just another incident surrounding the controversial use of timber frame constructed buildings.
Chief officer John Bonney, of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said:
“When these buildings catch fire the actual structure burns. It often leads to total collapse and that puts the safety of our firefighters at risk.”
Changing room fire at Dundee hospital
Following a blaze which began in a changing room at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, hundreds of people had to be evacuated from the building on Thursday morning.
It was thought that a discarded cigarette may have been to blame for the fire which was one of the worst in the hospital’s 36 years of operation.
However, a spokesperson for NHS Tayside said, “The cause of the blaze is not known at this stage and investigations are ongoing.”
Tayside Fire and Rescue Service were on the scene at around 11:40am when a person reported that they had seen smoke. The fire began in the nurses changing room on the fifth level of the building.
The blaze was brought under control by firefighters and it has been confirmed that nobody was injured.
The site manager at the hospital, Brian Main, said:
“Firefighters attended the fire and quickly extinguished the blaze. The damage has been extensive and the changing room gutted, but thankfully no-one was injured.”
People were evacuated from the building once the alarm was set off and staff and patients had to wait for two hours before being told it was safe to return inside the hospital.
An investigation has now been launched into the fire to determine the exact cause.
New kitchen fire safety initiative launched in London
It has been revealed that London Fire Brigade has planned a series of events in the Wandsworth borough of the capital to highlight the fire risks associated with the kitchen, where 60 percent of fires in the home begin.
This comes following recent research which showed that there have been around 700 kitchen fires in the Wandsworth area since 2005.
These fires injured over 100 people and there was also one fatality and so the firefighters of Wandsworth has planned the COOKSAFE initiative to show local residents how they can take greater care when working in the kitchen.
These London Fire Brigade events will be taking place through London to highlight the important risks associated with kitchen fires.
However, it is not just households that need to consider fire safety while in the kitchen. Many businesses which run catering and food services require a busy kitchen environment to carry out their work.
This type of work can be fraught with danger and so it is important to ensure the necessary fire safety equipment is correctly installed and up to date. It is also imperative and a requirement by law that procedures are in place should a fire break out on these premises.