Coroner sends out warning after man dies after using petrol on garden fire
A Coroner has issued a warning about the dangers of using petrol on bonfires and barbeques following an inquest into the death of a 52 year old man in Norfolk last year.
Mr Charles Denham was badly burnt after he used petrol to help ignite a garden bonfire in his back garden at Foundry Row near Holt on 9th March 2010.
Mr Denham managed to call his wife and ask her to call an ambulance and he was airlifted by The East of England Ambulance Service to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and later transferred to the special burns unit at Broomfield Hospital in Chemlsford. Sadly, Mr Denham died on 21st May after multi-organ failure after he developed an infection caused by burns.
Norfolk Coroner, William Armstrong said: “This tragedy serves as a warning that even the smallest fires can get out of control when fuel is applied. People who are starting fires in their gardens should see this as a reason not to use petrol.”
Substation fire leaves 1000 homes without power
Over 1000 homes were without electricity for several hours on Saturday morning after a fire broke out at the Riverview Road substation in Ewell.
The fire is thought to have been cause by a blown fuse which ignited dry vegetation around the substation.
A spokesman for the fire service said: “We were called to Riverview Road in Ewell to an electric substation which had developed a fault causing a massive fuse to blow. It had given out an array of sparks which set the vegetation alight. We had to be very careful how we put out the fire because of the live electricity cables in the area, we could not use water and had to use a dry powder extinguisher.”
A spokesperson for UK Power Networks said: “UK Power Networks staff have restored electricity supplies to 1,482 customers who were affected by a power interruption at 6.20am today in Ewell. Engineers acted quickly and safely to reconnect power in the area, bringing back supplies to all but 156 customers in an hour and restoring the final supplies by 8.30am. The incident was caused by a fault on a piece of equipment within a substation in Riverview Road. We apologise to customers for the inconvenience this caused.”
Prison sentence for Italian CEO after fatal fire
The chief executive officer at Italian firm ThyssenKrupp has been sentenced to almost 17 years in prison after 7 employees died in a fire in 2007 at one of the company’s plants.
The company was fined nearly £900,000 for the serious fire safety breaches.
Other senior officials at the company, Marco Pucci, Gerald Pregnitz, Giuseppe Salerno and Cosimo Cafueri were all sentenced to 13 and a half years in jail, and Daniele Moroni was given just under 11 years.
Prosecutor, Raffaele Guariniello said that the verdict would “mean a lot for health and safety at the workplace”.
Landlord guilty of fire safety breaches
A landlord from Peterborough has been charged with breaching the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 after a fire broke out in September 2010.
The fire started in the Windmill pub below the flats and 6 people had to be rescued by fire crews.
Javid Iqbalm, owner of the flats was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay costs of £899 after being found guilty at Peterborough Magistrates Court. The breaches included failing to provide sufficient escape routes and not having escape windows in the property.
Steve Cotton from Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Failing to apply for building regulations approval meant that this building was not compliant with fire safety regulations, and that put lives at risk. If the owner ignores these regulations there is a possibility that the building will not be safe.”
London landlord fined £10,000 for safety breaches
A London landlord has been given a suspended prison sentence after he was found guilty of multiple breaches of Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at his Hayes property.
A fire broke out at Inderjit Singhs property in 2009 and fire safety officers found multiple safety breaches including not having fire doors installed and not carrying out an adequate fire risk assessment.
Steve Turek from the London Fire Brigade said: “This verdict sends out a clear message that if landlords ignore fire safety then they will face serious penalties. The London Fire Brigade works hard to make companies and individuals understand their responsibilities under fire safety law and only uses prosecution as a last resort.”
Mr Singh was also ordered to pay £10,000 in costs.