Kent office block fire caused by electrical fault
A fire at an office block in Kent was caused by an electrical fault, according to fire officers investigating the blaze.
The fire at the office block – located in Blue Town on the Isle of Sheppey – is believed to have started at around 3am last Monday (10th January). A total of four engines were sent to the scene after a passer-by spotted smoke and called the emergency services.
On arrival, firefighters conducted a search of the offices to ensure no one was trapped inside. They then spent more than four hours extinguishing the blaze and making the scene safe.
The building itself sustained heavy fire damage, as Sheerness fire officer Paul Ross explained:
“The damage was quite intense. There was 60 per cent fire damage and 40 per cent smoke damage to the first and second floors.”
Two businesses were affected by the fire, building contractor Astral and KRS Interiors, with the former taking the brunt of the damage. The cause of the fire has been identified by both business owners as an electrical fault, which could possibly have been spotted as part of a fire risk assessment.
Owners of fire damaged Carlisle nightclub plan for future
Despite the fact that it may take more than five months before the nightclub is ready to re-open again, the owners remained defiant after an electrical fire broke out in the building on Thursday the 16th of December causing extensive fire, smoke and water damage.
Four appliances were called to the night spot known as The Melting Pot at around 11am on the weekday morning.
Passers-by managed to notice that smoke was coming from the roof of the building on Fisher Street and so raised the alarm.
The firefighters from Carlisle, Longtown and Brampton managed to contain the fire within the hour and then began the damping down process.
Access to the area was restricted for a few hours while the fire crews worked on putting out the fire, which may have been triggered by an electrical fault.
The current owners of the nightclub are confident that the premises can be fully repaired and restored, but understand that there will be a long process ahead of them.
An investigation has now been launched by investigators from the fire service into establishing the cause of the blaze, which began in the lounge bar area, although it is not thought that it was started deliberately.
1 in 10 online electrical purchases could result in fire
The Electrical Safety Council is advising people to be very careful when purchasing electrical goods over the internet, especially in the run up to Christmas.
Goods bought from outside the European Union are often not designed to be used in Europe and this can be dangerous. Buying from overseas can also mean that you can not guarantee the safety standards of the products. An industry safety body has said that as many as one in ten items bought on line can result in a fire.
Products tested included a sandwich toaster that was marked as a well known brand and even had the CE safety mark but did not actually have a fuse. In lab tests, the product was left on and because there was no fuse – it got hotter and hotter and eventually burst into flames.
Shoppers are urged to buy goods from trusted sources to avoid any accidents.
Backing for businesses affected by fire in Hereford city centre
Herefordshire Council has pledged its support to the businesses hit by the blaze which affected the city centre of Hereford last Thursday morning.
The authority’s economic development team is now looking through the area to see if they can help these local businesses find some alternative premises which are suitable for either temporary or permanent use.
This push is in a bid to get the businesses affected by this event back on their feet as soon as possible so they do not suffer further from the fire damage which ripped through the area of High Town in the city centre.
The team are also aiming to help the businesses in terms of the business rates they pay on their fire damaged premises until the renovation work has been completed.
The council has also agreed to waive its daily charge for businesses unable to operate because of the blaze.
The city centre fire gutted a 15th Century pub, while three other shops are said to have been damaged in the blaze which was reported at 4.30am.
At its height over 100 firefighters battled the flames as they spread through the buildings.
Police have revealed that the fire may have been caused due to an electrical fault.
Blaze breaks out in Wigan school
It has been reported that a fire in a Wigan primary school caused the premises to be evacuated last Tuesday morning.
Fire crews arrived at Canon Sharples CE Primary School shortly before noon as smoke alarms drew the attention of staff to the blaze which was thought to have started due to an electrical fault.
The fire, which began in the caretaker’s room, was contained by the fire doors and so there were no injuries in the incident.
It took firefighters around 45 minutes to extinguish the flames.
Deputy head-teacher Angela Holmes explained the importance of having modern fire safety equipment installed on the premises when she said:
“The building has only been here for about six years so everything is relatively new and we have the most up-to-date technology which alerted us immediately to the fire. The smoke alarm is hooked up to a computer system which tells us exactly where the problem is so we were able to act quickly and got all the children and staff out straight away.”
The fire only interrupted the school day for an hour and lessons resumed shortly after the Wigan fire crews said it was now safe to return to the school building.