Inferno at Tom Parker Bowles luxury home
The Duchess of Cornwall’s son Tom Parker Bowles had to be evacuated from his home in the early hours of the 5th January after his multi-million pound home went up in flames.
Around sixty firefighters attended the incident at the five-storey house in Bayswater, London at around 1.20am.
The fire affected all floors of the property and crews took around 10 hours to bring the fire under control.
Mr Parker Bowles, who took shelter in a neighbour’s home with his wife and two young children, said that the incident had brought out the ‘best of British’ spirit in his street.
He said: ‘It must have been about 1.30am when officers came in to get us all out. The kids were still in their pyjamas. We have some very nice neighbours who took us in after we were evacuated. The police and fire brigade were exemplary. I really cannot praise them enough. They did a perfect job. Incidents like this really do bring out the best of British. We’ve been able to go back and pick up some essentials but we won’t be able to return until tonight.’
Firefighters from Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith, Paddington, Knightsbridge, Bow, Wandsworth, Chiswick and West Hampstead attended the blaze.
Station manager Dave Robinson said: “Crews have been working hard throughout the night in challenging conditions to get this fire under control and to stop it from spreading to neighbouring buildings. The house affected by the fire is a large property which is currently under refurbishment. No-one is believed to have been living there and thankfully we’ve had no reports of any injuries. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage. Firefighters are likely to remain at the scene throughout the morning.’
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘We were in attendance but early indications suggest that it is not being treated as suspicious.’
Hampshire supermarket destroyed in freezer blaze
A Co-op supermarket in Hampshire has been destroyed by a fire which is believed to have started in a freezer.
Fire Crews attended the incident at the shop in Cowplain, Waterlooville at around 3pm on Saturday afternoon after smoke was seen coming from a unit in the shop.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue said the building in Milton Road was “rapidly engulfed by fire” and firefighters inside the building were forced to withdraw before the flames caused the roof to collapse.
Three people required treatment at the scene for the effects of smoke inhalation and one person was taken to hospital.
It is thought that the fire may have been caused by an electrical fault in a freezer.
Phil Ponsonby, from Southern Co-operative, said: “We are very proud of the action that our colleagues in the store took to evacuate the building quickly, ensuring that no customers and colleagues were hurt. All colleagues undertake fire evacuation training and this paid off on Saturday. The store has been extensively damaged and will remain closed until further notice. We hope to be able to confirm the cause of the fire once a forensic investigation has been undertaken.”
Firefighters remained at the scene on Sunday for several hours, damping down to prevent the fire from reigniting.
Cannabis factory fire destroys farm
A fire which destroyed a farm and damaged two neighbouring homes is thought to have started in a building being used to grow Cannabis.
The fire broke out in the farm in Greater Manchester in the early hours of Monday morning.
A 28-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis.
Detective Sergeant Rachel Smith from Salford CID, said: “This incident once again demonstrates the reckless danger inherent in producing cannabis. This cannabis farm has not only been producing illegal drugs but it has put nearby people in potential danger. Thankfully, no one has been injured and the fire was quickly contained and extinguished, but the disruption caused was considerable. The production of cannabis is a blight on our communities and I would always encourage anyone with suspicions about cannabis farms to get in touch with the police immediately.”
The cause of the fire is now being investigated by police.
Bangladesh factory fire thought to be started deliberately
A fire at a Bangladesh clothes factory that killed 112 people is now thought to have been started deliberately.
A Bangladesh government committee has confirmed that the fire which broke out on 24th November, is now being treated as suspicious and is thought to have been started deliberately by someone at the factory.
Regardless of how the fire started, the committee agree that the owner of the factory should also be punished for the deaths because he neglected to take the safety of his workers into consideration.
Mainuddin Khandaker a Ministry of Home Affairs official said: “If someone is responsible for such a huge number of deaths, that’s him. He has failed to ensure safety. We can’t spare the owner of the factory. He is responsible for his failure to ensure safety. I have recommended specifically to bring the owner under the purview of law.”
In the UK, 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.
Our Fire Risk Assessment is divided into nine separate areas:
- Fire safety administration
- Fire fighting facilities
- Identifying fire hazards
- Fire routine and test procedure
- Means of escape
- Review procedures
- Staff/people at risk
- Arson prevention check list
- Fire warning facilities
When you have a Fire Risk Assessment, you must review this to ensure that everything is still in order. For example, you have a reshuffle of departments and your trained Fire Wardens are all moved onto the same floor of the building so more are required to cover the other floors, or you may have an extension built on your building. You may not even have had any changes in personnel or building, but it is essential that you review the Fire Risk Assessment anyway! We provide a service to review your Fire Risk Assessments for you, whether completed by ourselves or not.
Warwickshire Council fined £30,000 over firefighter deaths
Warwickshire council has been fined £30,000 over the deaths of four firefighters who lost their lives in a fire at a vegetable packing plant in Warwickshire.
John Averis, 27, Ashley Stephens, 20 and Darren Yates-Badley, 24 died in the building in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007. A fourth firefighter, Ian Reid, 44, died later in hospital.
Mr Justice Macduff described the deaths as a “dreadful accident”. Warwickshire County Council pleaded guilty to health and safety charges earlier this year.
Mr Macduff said the fine imposed “in no way” summed up the cost of the four men’s lives but highlighted deficiencies in record-keeping and information given to fire crews at the time of the blaze.
Speaking after the sentencing, Warwickshire’s community safety spokesman, councilor Richard Hobbs, apologised for the fire authority’s failings. He said: “We pleaded guilty to the charge because we recognised and accepted that there were failings on our part back in 2007. No fire service can guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong again but we are confident that our service is as safe as it can be.”
Earlier this year, 3 fire service managers were cleared of manslaughter charges in relation to the deaths.
Ian Reid’s widow, Julie said: “No matter what amount of fine is imposed, it will not bring Ian back or turn the clock back so that I can stop him attending the fire on that fateful night. The judge said at a previous hearing that if he imposed a large fine, the only losers would be the taxpayers. I would like to remind him that the losers in this tragic event are the four men who lost their lives and their still deeply grieving families.”