Lyme Regis Football Club damaged in fire
A football club in financial difficulty, and which could ill afford to have any more bad luck after three fires in eight years, has suffered yet another blaze on its premises last Sunday afternoon.
It has been revealed that the cost of the damage to Lyme Regis Football Club is around £5,000 and it could have been even worse.
Club treasurer Teresa Evemy, who only lives a short distance away, managed to sound the alarm when she spotted the fire.
Two fire crews from Axminster and Lyme Regis attended the fire at the ground, which was due to undergo renovations.
Club chairman Howard Larcombe said of the current situation:
“It will set us back but as always we will bounce back and get there in the end. It will set us back a few weeks and a few thousand pounds.
“It’s a job to say when it will be finished with the fundraising issues. We need all the help we can get now.
“We’ve got lots of fundraisers coming up and we are asking people to give generously.
“The doors had blown open on the metal container, there was thick black smoke and flames billowing out, you couldn’t go anywhere near it. The fire brigade were there within two or three minutes but there was nothing they could do to salvage anything.”
There was an arson attack on the club eight years ago but this incident is not being treated as suspicious.
Exploding cigarette lighter warning
A cigarette lighter bought at a Gloucester shop exploded causing a fire. The owner of the lighter was woken by a loud bang when the lighter exploded.
The Hailu lighters cost £2.50 and are approximately 16cm long and 4cm wide.
At least 4 other lighters have been sold. Anyone who has bought one of the lighters is urged to take it to a Trading Standards office.
‘Are you sitting comfortably’ campaign shows sofa safety puts lives at risk
Research carried out on sofas at a testing centre in the Netherlands has found that 25 out of 27 European Union member states do not meet the required fire safety standards.
One sofa manufactured in the Netherlands burnt so fiercely that the test centre had to be evacuated demonstrating the seriousness of the problem. Some sofas tested reached life threatening heat density within 2-7 minutes of ignition. Sofas made in the UK did not reach this level of heat density for around 20 minutes.
A campaign titled ‘Are you sitting comfortably’ has been launched across the European Union in an attempt to highlight the risks to other countries. The campaign includes a website that offers an interactive tool allowing people to watch how fast their country’s sofa burnt in comparison to sofas in other EU countries.
It is important to remember that buying your sofa in the UK does not guarantee that it adheres to the required safety standards because buying in the UK does not necessarily mean made in the UK. Consumers are encouraged to check the permanent safety label which is usually found under the sofa cushions.
Former fire chief, Robert Graham MBE said “We are calling on EU decision makers to put a Europe-wide single fire safety standard in place – the same fire safety standard that already exists in the UK and Ireland. We all deserve to be safe”.
Gas cylinder fire causes County Down home evacuations
This week, 10 families who live in Millisle, County Down have had to be removed from their homes after a blaze tore down a garage in the neighbourhood.
As a fire safety precaution, an exclusion zone was set up around the building, along with road diversions, while the residents took refuge in a nearby community centre.
Two oxy-acetylene cylinders were found within the structure and the quick response from the fire service, with their five appliances, was said to have prevented any further danger.
Councillor Jonathan Bell commended the 25 firefighters from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service for their actions in bringing the situation under control.
He said:
“The fire this evening concerned a garage and acetylene used for welding which has highly explosive qualities.
“Once again it is our police and fire service which we depend on for their expertise in times of emergency.”
The assistant group commander for Bangor, Stephen Boyd, said:
“There was a large domestic garage destroyed by fire. We are not treating the fire as suspicious — it was started accidentally.
“The road will be closed until 8pm on Wednesday night and we have to wait for the oxy-acetylene cylinders to cool down before they are safely removed.”
Three arrests made over Eastbourne retail park fire
It has been confirmed that three teenage boys have now been arrested on suspicion of arson after a blaze which tore through four stores at a retail park in Eastbourne, East Sussex on Saturday night.
Sussex Police have stated that the two 17-year-olds and one 16-year-old, all residents of the area, were arrested on Tuesday and bailed until the 20th of January.
Over 80 firefighters attended the scene at the Crumbles Retail Park, in Sovereign Harbour, at around 8:30pm where they fought to control the blaze. It was eventually extinguished at 2pm the next day.
The damage to the shops may run into millions of pounds as the fire crews were unable to prevent structural and smoke damage to the buildings.
The fire crews from across the Sussex region were called to Boots which was the first shop on fire, with smoke seen coming from the roof.
Evacuations then began at nearby Asda and Next in the retail park to get shoppers away from the danger.
An East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson said: “An investigation has concluded the fire is most likely to have been caused by a deliberate act.”
Detective Inspector Paul Phelps added:
“The police investigation has now concluded and we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the fire.
“The case will be submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service for their consideration.”