Stock destroyed in Peacocks clothing shop fire in Oswestry

Staff at a Peacocks fashion store in Oswestry have had to throw away hundreds of items of brand new clothing after a serious fire swept through the premises last Saturday (4th September).

The incident occurred in the middle at the night, with fire fighters estimating that the fire started at around 11pm on Saturday night. Fire alarms sounded, and store manager Wendy Ellis was called to the scene.

The cause of the fire is believed to be arson, as it was found that the contents of bins at the back of the Cross Street premises were set on fire. Although no one was injured in the fire, the store and its stock did sustain significant damage.

Thankful that fire alarms gave an early warning of the incident, Ms Ellis explains what happened, saying:

“The fire didn’t go onto the shop floor but 500 garments had to be destroyed because of smoke damage.

“If you think each garment has got to be about £10 to £15 each that is rather a lot of money.

“If the fire had got into the building who knows what could have happened. It is not worth thinking about it.”

Fire and asbestos close Fife primary school

Following a serious fire last week, a primary school in Fife has been forced to temporarily close after fire crews found asbestos in the walls of the building.

The fire started at Tulliallan Primary School last Monday30th August at around 2.40am, in an external wall cavity. Three fire engines rushed to the scene from Dunfermline, using four pumps, two hose reel jets, thermal imaging equipment and a special decontamination unit to tackle the fire.

The location of the fire meant it was difficult for firefighters – even those with specialist fire safety training for this kind of situation – to access it safely. Nevertheless, the fire was eventually extinguished.

The fire service have confirmed that although no classrooms sustained any significant damage during the incident, there was extensive smoke damage to some parts of the building.

Pupils at the school enjoyed a day off whilst fire crews were on the scene, but the discovery of asbestos within the building has meant that the school will be closed for at least a week whilst health and safety checks are carried out.
The senior education manager for Fife Council, James McKinstry, explained:

“As with most buildings of this age, the school does contain asbestos, which will require to be carefully managed in the clean-up operation.”

South Devon housing association protects tenants with fire safety training

A housing association in Teignbridge has partnered with the local fire service to undergo fire safety training, in order to protect the residents of their buildings.

As part of a pioneering new scheme, staff at Teign Housing have now been given the skills to conduct at least a basic fire risk assessment of tenants’ homes. This will allow them to recommend that safety measures such as fitting fire alarms and planning escape routes be taken by residents.

Teign Housing made the decision to get involved in the scheme after two children were killed in a fire in Torquay, in a property without fire alarms fitted. The residence was managed by Riviera Housing Trust, who later revealed that 25 per cent of their properties were not fitted with fire alarms.

Teign Housing, who has always placed a great importance on smoke alarms, is the first housing association to take part in such a partnership scheme. The CEO of the company, Mike Hanrahan, explained his motivations for getting involved, saying:

“Prevention is always better than cure.

“Fire safety has always been a priority for us, and all of our properties have hard wired smoke alarms fitted as standard.

“But after a number of fatal fires, both locally and nationally, it made us think about what else we could do to prevent a tragedy like this.”

Horwich waste recycling plant targeted in third arson attack

A waste recycling plant in Horwich, Greater Manchester has been set alight in what police believe is the third arson attack on the premises in the last few years. The fire, which started at Armstrong’s Environmental Services in the early hours of Tuesday (31st August) morning, caused massive disruption in the local area and firefighters are reportedly still on the scene.

Bolton CID are now attributing the cause of the fire to arsonists, who they believe set hundreds of tonnes of plastic waste on fire in a storage warehouse between the hours of 11pm on Monday night and 2.15am Tuesday morning.

The fire spread rapidly, causing thick billowing smoke to issue from the building. It is not yet known whether the premises was fitted with fire alarms, or any other fire safety or prevention equipment.

Local roads were closed to allow the emergency services to access the Mansell Way facility, and more than 40 firefighters were on the scene at the height of the blaze. It is likely that the fire service will remain at the scene until the end of the week.

A spokesperson for Bolton CID has commented on the incident, saying:

“This fire is being treated as malicious and we are keen for anyone with information to get in touch.

“It has caused a lot of disruption locally and caused massive inconvenience for residents and the firm itself.”