Fire safety breach charges against M&S dropped
The recent charges relating to alleged fire safety breaches at one of Marks and Spencer stores has now been dropped by prosecutors, according to a recent BBC news report.
The charges were brought against M&S after a fire broke out in the stockroom of one of its stores in Braehead near Glasgow in March 2008. Prosecutors alleged that store bosses failed to properly evacuate the branch when the fire broke out, and also allowed customers to continue to enter the store after the fire had been detected.
It was also alleged that the store violated the Fire (Scotland) Act through breaches relating to fire risk assessments, emergency planning and the installation of fire alarms in the affected stockroom.
However, new evidence has reportedly come to light and the case has been dropped. A Crown Office spokesperson has stated:
“The procurator fiscal at Glasgow determined there was sufficient evidence to raise proceedings against Marks and Spencer Plc following an incident on 5 March 2008.
“The procurator fiscal has now reviewed this case in light of further evidence, including expert reports, and concluded that it is no longer in the public interest to prosecute.
“There will be no further proceedings and the case is now closed.”
Welsh fire services get £1.3 million funding boost
Fire and rescue services in Wales are set to receive approximately £1.3 million in extra funding to help improve safety and working conditions for firefighters.
The news was announced by Social Justice Minister Carl Sargeant, who said:
“Our firefighters undertake difficult and dangerous work,”
“I believe it is essential that we provide our firefighters with the equipment and facilities they need to continue protecting the people of Wales,”
“I am therefore delighted to announce this funding that I hope will not only improve our firefighters’ working conditions, but crucially, their safety.”
The money will be spent on a number of much-needed improvements to firefighting and fire training infrastructure in certain areas of Wales. Approximately £600,000 of it will be put towards the cost of new equipment, including handheld radios and specialist devices such as thermal imaging cameras.
The remaining £750,000 will be spent on making improvements to the Earlswood Training Centre in Neath. This will include the construction of on-site accommodation and related facilities – i.e. kitchen, toilets, showers, washrooms etc – for up to 12 trainee firefighters, allowing more time to be spent on fire training activities.
FPA claims UK is behind Europe for fire safety in food manufacturing
The Fire Protection Association (FPA) has claimed that the UK lags way behind the rest of Europe when it comes to the use of fire safety measures such as sprinkler systems in food warehouses.
The FPA states that in order for sprinkler systems to become mandatory, UK factories and commercial/industrial warehouses must span more than 20,000 square metres. When compared to the rest of Europe, this is 10 times more than the legally enforceable threshold in countries like Denmark, France, Spain and Germany.
In another comparative analysis, the FPA’s technical director Dr James Glockling revealed that the cost of fire (i.e. damage to property, business losses) to UK businesses in 2008 was £865 million. Meanwhile, businesses in Germany in the same year only paid out £400 million in fire-related costs.
Speaking of the importance of using fire prevention measures such as sprinkler systems alongside fire alarms and proper fire safety training for staff, the FPA’s associate director Simon Bird said:
“In recent years we have seen a number of large fires at food industry facilities and, in the majority of these cases, it is our view that sprinkler protection would have made a very significant difference in terms of safety of occupants, reduction of economic loss, business continuity and preservation of jobs”.
Station manager declares fire safety is still a priority
A fire chief under pressure from huge reductions to the fire services budget in South Tyneside has promised that despite the cutbacks, the ability to provide fire safety for the area will not be compromised.
After it was confirmed that there will be a 25 percent reduction in funding for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS), amounting to about £9m over four years, the borough fire boss has moved to try and allay the concerns of the people in South Tyneside.
Hebburn fire station manager Ian Cuskin reacted to the news by stating:
“TWFRS is facing very challenging times ahead.
“In essence, this means a 25 per cent cut in our funding from central government, which is nearly £9m in efficiency savings to be found over the next four years.
“While internally there will be changes to our organisation, we are determined to ensure we continue to provide the people of South Tyneside with a first-class fire and rescue service.”
A review is currently underway into how the organisation is being run and redundancies have not been ruled out as of yet, although staffing levels are being looked at along with how the firefighting equipment available can best be put to use.
New life saving fire technology in development
It has been revealed that scientists in Scotland have been working on fire technology that is designed to reduce the number of fire-related deaths by predicting the manner in which a blaze will spread through a building.
The technique utilises sensors which are placed in buildings on fire and data is fed into computer models set up to assist fire crews in working out how the fire is likely to progress.
This development could help by saving the critical time taken by firefighters in determining how the fire will act, with this warning serving invaluable in containing its impact and minimising the effects of the blaze.
Fire safety equipment should be an essential component within the security procedures of every business in order to ensure the welfare of employees and serve as a warning should a fire break out on the premises. As well as fire alarms to alert staff of the impending danger, there also needs to be the required fire-fighting equipment in place too, to comply with all current regulations.
Fire training courses are now available so you can make sure that your staff is trained in fire awareness, with selected competent individuals being put forward as fire wardens for the company.