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.
Crowborough pub closed for second time due to fire risk
The Crowborough Cross pub in Crowborough has been closed for the second time in just 3 months after it was condemned by fire chiefs.
Crowborough fire station commander said: “Following a joint inspection with Sussex Police and Wealden District Council licensing, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service identified several fire safety contraventions at the premises and issued a formal notice restricting the use of the premises. Further enforcement action was to follow, but the owners of the pub have made the decision to close.”
It is not known whether the pub owners will sell the business or refurbish the property in order to meet the required safety requirements.
Emma Welch, who runs the pub said she is keen to transform the pub. Ms Welch said: “I’m awaiting movement from Punch Taverns over what they intend to do with the pub. I’m currently the tenant but Punch will decide before Christmas whether they will keep the site and invest heavily in it, or whether they will sell it on the open market. I would rather buy the freehold, although if this is made available there is likely to be competition from big companies like Wetherspoons to get the site. I really believe in this site. The Cross is the beacon of Crowborough.”
A spokesperson for the Punch Taverns said: “We are working with all parties involved to address any highlighted issues. It is our priority to keep our pubs open and trading and we will look to reopen as soon as possible.”
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.
Large blaze breaks out at North Berwick fire station
Around 40 firefighters have been tackling a large fire at the fire station in North Berwick.
The fire broke out at around 5am on Monday and was dealt with by crews from East Linton, Haddington, Dunbar, Newcraighall, Tranent, an Incident Support Unit from Marionville and a Command Support Unit from Liberton.
Lothian and Borders Fires and Rescue Service have confirmed that the building and two appliances which were inside the building at the time of the fire have been badly damaged.
Eye witness, Craig McLaren, said: “I arrived this morning at about 5.20am and saw smoke and thought someone was burning something. I went over to investigate and the fire station was on fire. By 5.30am, the station was in flames. When the flames broke through it was a blaze of fire probably about 50m above the roof, it was ferocious. My main worry was there could have been an explosion.”
Another eye witness who works at Castle Cottage Interiors across near to the station said: “I noticed something was wrong when I came to work at seven this morning. I panicked at first because I thought it was our workshop on fire. There were no flames but there was lots of smoke.”
A spokeswoman for the fire and rescue service said: “Firefighters are working very hard to bring the fire at North Berwick’s retained station under control. There is still heavy smoke coming from the blaze and police are in attendance to assist early morning commuters trying to access the train station, which is at the rear of the fire station.”
The spokeswoman added: “A risk assessment was carried out and as smoke was blowing towards the sea it was deemed safest to leave residents in a nearby housing estate indoors and clear from the worst of the smoke and the cold weather. Crews have been working very hard in difficult weather conditions to extinguish the blaze. Fire investigation is on the scene but it is too early to say what caused the fire.”
Manchester landlord fined for breaching fire safety regulations
A Greater Manchester landlord has pleaded guilty to a number of fire safety breaches.
A Fire protection team visited Waseem Abbas’s property on Bury Old Road in Salford which was being used as a mobile phone shop, an internet cafe and a television and radio station in December 2011.
The investigation revealed that there were no fire doors in the building and other exits had been blocked by combustible materials. There were also no fire alarms and a risk assessment had not been carried out.
There was no means of escape for the upper floors of the property other than the staircase leading down to the main shop. This meant that people working on the upper floors would have been trapped in the event of a blaze on the ground floor.
Their escape attempts would have been further hampered by the bars that had been fitted on some of the upstairs windows.
He was fined £3,600 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs.
Peter O’Reilly from Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “This case shows that ignorance and failing to think about fire safety can be very costly. The starting point for all businesses should be to do a fire risk assessment which will help them identify how to keep the premises safe.”
Cheshire Councillor fined £45,000 for Fire Safety Breaches
A Councillor in Cheshire has been fined for fire safety breaches at a property he rented out.
Brian Silvester was fined £45,000 at Chester Crown Court for failing to obtain the necessary license for a house in multiple occupation (HMO) and 11 other fire safety offences.
The property had broken smoke alarms, no linked alarm system, blocked escape routes and out of date fire extinguishers. The property also contained a number of factors that increased the risk of a fire breaking out such as a poor wiring and a flooded cellar.
The Councillor for Willaston appeared in court with his brother Colin Silvester who was fined £37,500 for the same offences.
The brothers pleaded guilty to all charges brought against them in relation to Shavington House Farm in Shavington when they appeared at Crewe Magistrates’ Court in July this year.
The brothers were also each ordered to pay costs of £22,000 by recorder Elgan Edwards.
Lee Shears from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “The seriousness of the breaches could ultimately have led to serious injury or potential death in the event of a fire but thankfully one didn’t occur and we’ve not had to see any of those risks realised. They were very serious breaches, some of the most serious we have seen in premises of this type.”
A former tenant at the property said that he had serious concerns over fire safety at the building he resorted to leaving a lump hammer on a window sill in his room in case he needed to evacuate the building in the event of a fire.
He said: “The first thing I thought was how to get out in case of fire. I tied a long scaffold rope from a beam which I could throw out of the window. I literally had a lump hammer and a pair of gloves on the window sill so that I could smash the frame, because it was only a small window, and slide down the rope with a pair of gloves. It wasn’t a joke and it wasn’t for show, it had been there from the day I moved in.”
Head of Community Fire Safety Keith Brooks said: “We are pleased with the result. Our aim is always to work closely with landlords, giving them all the support and guidance they need to ensure the safety of their tenants. However, failure to comply with the law can, as this case has shown, result in a prosecution.”