No working smoke alarms in home of fatal fire
A women has died in a fire at her home in Somercotes, Derbyshire.
The women thought to be in her 20’s has not been formally identified but tributes left near the property name the victim as ‘Suzanne’.
Initial findings show that the fire was started by discarded smoking materials and it is thought that the property was not fitted with working smoke alarms.
Fire crews from Alfreton and Ripley were called to the fire at around 4pm on Monday last week and discovered the body of a woman in a bedroom.
A neighbour who spotted the fire said that he had tried to get close to the house but couldn’t due to the amount of smoke coming from the property.
This is the 6th house fire death in Derbyshire this year. The Derby Telegraph and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service are currently running a campaign highlighting the importance of having working smoke alarms in homes.
Huge fire destroys Corby pharmaceutical warehouse
A fire has destroyed the Catalant pharmaceutical warehouse in Corby.
The fire which broke out on 25th March destroyed much of the building and firefighters have said that the damage could have been significantly reduced if sprinkler systems had been installed.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service group manager, Baz Fox said: “Last week’s factory fire in Corby is a perfect example of how fire can occur at any time and how serious it can become. Tackling a fire at its earliest stages is vital for protecting a building, a company’s assets and the welfare of the people who work there. Sprinklers can begin suppression within moments, extinguishing, or at the very least preventing fire from becoming widespread. Had there been sprinklers installed, it is unlikely that the building would have become fully alight, requiring 100 firefighters to extinguish it.”
Representatives from the company have flown over from the USA to survey the extent of the damage.
An investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the fire.
UK firefighters heading to Japan
Firefighters from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service are about to set off for Japan to assist with the rescue effort in the wake of Fridays devastating earthquake and tsunami.
The team will fly out from Manchester Airport with around 70 others from the UK and will join search and rescue teams from 45 other countries including teams from the US, New Zealand, Australia and South Korea.
Response manager Neil Fritzsche said “It is a pretty daunting prospect – to go out there and see what assistance we can give to the people of Japan – but whatever we face, we will deal with and hopefully provide some help. Everybody knows what they are doing as far as search and rescue is concerned, but as for specific roles in Japan, we will wait until we join up with the UN command structure to find out what our tasks will be.”