Elderly man killed in Cambridge house fire
An elderly man has died in a fire at his Cambridge home.
Harry Robertson, 69, was found by firefighters in the Cherry Hinton terraced house at around 1.30am on Tuesday 8th November. It took fire crews from Cambridge and Sawston two hours to get the fire under control.
Neighbour Mikhail Lomonosov said: “I woke up with all the flashing lights in the night. I could see the flames on the corner of his front room window. It is really very sad. He was a very quiet man and kept himself to himself. I used to see him pottering about his front garden caring for his red tree.”
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: “I am still in shock about what has happened. He was a very nice man. We have lived here for about four years but he moved here when it was built about 40 years ago.”
A full investigation will be carried out to confirm the cause of the fire.
Fire Warden Training – On Site
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Excellent and informative training – R. Copeland
Norwich HMO landlord fined £20,000 for breaching fire safety regulations
The manager of a house in multiple occupation has been fined over £20,000 for breaching fire safety regulations.
53 year-old, Abdul Bashir was manager of the Prince of India restaurant on the ground floor and members of staff lived in the flats above. Mr Bashir pleaded guilty to the charges at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on Friday 28th October.
The breaches were discovered when an inspection was carried out by Norwich City Council on 9 February 2011. Investigators found that Mr Bashir had failed to provide adequate escape routes, fire doors and fire alarms.
Mr Bashir was fined £4,500 for each charge, totalling £18,000 and was also ordered to pay costs of £2,200.
Luke Parker at Norwich City Council, said: “These are serious breaches primarily relating to fire safety, which the council considers unacceptable. The prosecution was brought because he has a history of failing to maintain living conditions in a safe and proper manner at this property. He has been warned about conditions before but failed to improve and maintain the means of escape in case of fire. The aggravating factors are the number of occupants at risk from fire and living in poor conditions, and the length of time occupants were exposed to this risk.
Otis Hernandez, private sector housing officer for Norwich City Council, said: “The result sends out an important message to people that the council will take action against those whose negligence puts others at risk. That a fine so close to the maximum was handed out demonstrates the seriousness of these offences.”
The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 states that you: ‘must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to which relevant persons are exposed’
This means that all companies as a first point in their Fire Safety must complete a Fire Risk Assessment. This must be carried out by a competent person, who is trained to perform risk assessments. Your Fire Training needs, your fire extinguisher needs and any other fire safety related issues you will need to address will be highlighted from the Fire Risk Assessment.
Our team of experienced and qualified Fire Risk Assessors will perform a full Fire Risk Assessment of your premises, and provide you with a comprehensive document detailing the risks found and recommendations to minimise the risks.
Firework sets fire to thatched roof
A fire broke out at a house in Woodbastwick on 1st November after a firework hit the thatched roof.
Four fire engines from Wroxham, Sprowston, Carrow, Acle, Great Yarmouth attended the fire at around 6.40 pm.
Parts of the thatch were removed and hose reel jets were used to extinguish the flames. A thermal image camera checked the scene for hot spots.
There were no casualties reported in the incident.
Information from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service on how to protect thatched properties from fire can be found here.
Huge fire at Blackpool nightclub
Firefighters from Preston, Lancashire were drafted in to help tackle a large scale fire at a nightclub on the Fylde coast.
The crew of five travelled to Blackpool with their fire engine while crews from the resort tackled the fire at the Trades club in Chadwick Street which started at around 4am on 31st October.
Local residents were forced to evacuated and spend the night in emergency accommodation.
A spokesman for the fire service said: “Unfortunately a lot of the evidence on how the fire started has been destroyed in the demolition of the first floor to make the building safe for residents. However, police are looking at CCTV and talking to people in the area to find out how it started.”
An investigation is now underway but initial thoughts are that the fire may have been started deliberately.