Investigation begins into Wimblington factory blaze
An inquiry has now been given the go-ahead to start following a fire which badly damaged a plastics factory in Wimblington, Cambridgeshire last Wednesday afternoon.
Firefighters were called to Plasgran in Manea Road just after 3pm and still remained at the scene over 16 hours later as they attempted to extinguish the flames.
A number of roads in the area were closed until around lunchtime on the Thursday, as the fire service worked through the night in order to tackle the fire.
The 75 firefighters on duty, with their eight appliances, managed to prevent the fire from spreading to other properties in the vicinity and by 11pm the situation was described as being under control.
The fire was initially reported by workers who were having a break when they noticed that a unit had been ignited.
The owner of the factory, Carl Waters, attended the scene with his father-in-law, former councillor Pop Jolley, who came to see how much damage had been done to the premises.
Steve Robinson, the incident commander of Cambridgeshire Fire Service, said the building, which was filled with plastic material, was now a total loss and that the cause of the blaze is now under investigation.
Protecting the guests staying at your establishment
Whether you are the owner of a small guest house, with sporadic bookings, or a large bed and breakfast, where people are frequently checking in and out of the premises, you still need to ensure that the fire safety protocols which are in place are adequate for your business.
The best way to ensure that you are keeping up to date with current regulations regarding fire safety and provide for the customers who come to stay with you and rely on your fire procedures, is to send your staff on an appropriate ‘Fire Safety in Guest Houses’ training course.
The challenges faced by businesses in this sector are different to those in other hospitality industries and unique to this situation, so it is necessary to make sure that you are fully prepared for all eventualities, including the threat posed by fire.
As there will always be a varying number of people on the premises at any one time, staying as guests and not employees, you need to put in place an effective system for checking that everyone is accounted for in the event of a fire evacuation.
By sending your employees on such a course, you can make sure that come the end of the training, these new fire wardens will be well-versed in fire safety procedures and how to deal with such an emergency situation.
Welsh homes all set for new fire sprinkler systems
The Welsh Assembly are expected to pass a measure later this year which would see all new properties in Wales installed with automatic sprinkler systems for fire safety.
The measure is under consideration for Welsh law and would include care homes and university residencies as well as new-build houses in the country.
Vale of Clwyd AM Ann Jones, who put forward this new proposal and is now looking for support, said:
“After three years of campaigning and scrutiny we have seen a compelling moral and technical case for this life-saving device which has been working for decades in, amongst other places, cities in the USA and Canada.
“With sprinklers fitted, new homes in Wales will be amongst the safest in the world and that will go for new care homes and university accommodation too.
“Over 100 people have died in house fires in Wales since 2004 and we now know that sprinklers could have saved many of these lives.”
The three fire and rescue services in Wales have backed the new measure, which has also received encouragement from the Fire Brigades Union, the National Fire Sprinkler Network and the Chief Fire Officers Association (UK).
Despite the general consensus, there have been a number of questions raised through the consultation process, with the National House Building Council (NHBC) remaining neutral on its position.
Fire Awareness Training with Extinguishers – Birmingham
Good training worth doing and recommend to others, very interesting and good practical activity worth doing – Sophie Mangara
Very good and opened my eyes – Thomas Callum
Very good training, has been very informal and useful on practical tasks – Adrian Green
The videos were very good as it shows the impact that people have if they react in the wrong way, it makes you very aware of hazards you may have in your home – Laura Bayliss
A very good eye opener and has made me more aware of potential hazards but educated me of how to deal with a fire and prevent furure fires happening, the training is important both in the work place and in the home, important elements of fire safety will be used during practice – Heather Turner
Good, interacting to every day working practice – Jasbir Mangara
Fire awareness is always relevant and you forget how much little mistakes can cause so much risk, now I can implement this knowledge both at home and work! – Natalie Duffus
Raised my awareness even more, excellent – Patrick Linton
The effectiveness of fire evacuation training
Many people would view the evacuation of a building as a straightforward procedure. However, the reality of the situation means that there are plenty of things you have to consider. It is certainly not just telling people to leave the building in an orderly fashion.
Another important point to make is that evacuation tests are a legal requirement for any fire safety strategy. This will be part of a fire risk assessment, which is key to ensuring the safety of your employees and any visitors to the premises.
Fire wardens should be trained in carrying out these evacuations according to an efficient evacuation plan. On the fire evacuation training course there will be scenarios to implement which makes it all the more real and allow your fire warden to learn how to approach any problems that could occur, as well as the dangers to keep an eye out for.
Your organisation should already be carrying out evacuation drills on a regular basis, but it is necessary to do this in the right way. If you have any disabled people or those with mobility issues on your premises, the course will also help you to ensure they are aided during the evacuation procedure.
The course will be conducted by those with experience in the fire service and so you can rely on them to give your business the most suitable training it requires.