Fire at Redditch Factory
Fire crews from Hereford and Worcester Fire Service attended a fire at a factory in Redditch on Thursday, 3rd March.
The fire broke out at the factory owned by The Robst Group at around noon but thanks to the automatic fire alarm system being activated, fire crews were able to get to the fire quickly before any major damage was caused.
The spare parts manager of the group, Veronique Mureau said that due to the fast reactions of the firefighters, there should be no serious disruption to the business.
It is a legal requirement that a fire risk assessment be carried out on all commercial buildings. If business owners fail to adhere to these laws they can be prosecuted, fined and even sent to prison.
Council admits insufficient Fire Risk Assessments at Lakanal House
On 3rd July 2009, a serious fire broke out on the 9th floor of the Lakanal House flats in Camberwell, London.
150 people were evacuated from the flats and 6 people lost their lives. 18 fire engines attended the blaze.
Southwark Council said that it had spent around £3,500,000 on refurbishment to meet current fire safety standard.
Kim Humphreys of Southwark Council said: “London Fire Brigade provided our housing officers with training which we presumed, erroneously, would meet the requirements. This has not been the case and that’s why we decided that we are going to have outside experts provide us with fire risk assessments for those complex blocks. We have identified that we want to go further than just the basic fire risk assessment and we will be carrying out intrusive inspections of those blocks.”
The Council have now taken further steps to ensure that staff receive sufficient training. An article on the Councils website said: “As we are London’s largest social landlord, with over 50,000 properties and over 300 high rise blocks, we take our responsibilities seriously. The responsibility to do a fire risk assessment was transferred to local councils in 2006. We asked the London Fire Brigade to train our staff to conduct fire risk assessments and they trained 132 Southwark housing officers. Following the training programme a number of follow-up sessions were run to support staff. Blocks over six storeys have had an FRA conducted by a council officer. Where we believe it is necessary we can escalate the fire risk assessment for further technical or intrusive work, carried out by external experts”.
Children taken to hospital after flat fire
A fire which started in the bin storage area of a block of flats in Lye in the West Midlands broke out on Monday 28th February.
Four adults and five children required medical attention at the scene, and several were later transported to hospital for further treatment.
Firefighters from Brierley Hill and Stourbridge fire stations tackled the blaze for about 30 minutes.
It is a legal requirement that a fire risk assessment be carried out in all communal areas of a house of multiple occupation. If landlords fail to adhere to these laws they can be prosecuted, fined and even sent to prison.
Inquiry into care home fire tragedy draws to a close
It has been reported that an inquiry into the cause of the Rosepark Care Home fire, which took the lives of 14 elderly residents back in 2004, is due to hear final submissions before a deliberation is made.
The investigation into the cause of the fatal accident at the premises in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, is considering whether the deaths could have been prevented by any reasonable precautions taken by the owners, as well as looking to identify any defects in the safety measures in place at the care home.
The inquiry is taking place at Hamilton Sheriff Court where it is being heard by Sheriff Principal Brian Lockhart who said:
“This inquiry has been noteworthy both in respect of the length of the proceedings and the number and complexity of the issues that have arisen.”
Legal action was initially brought against the owners of the care home but no convictions were made.
In these incidents, while it is important to establish what actually happened, it is always necessary to consider if it could have been prevented in the first place. Fire safety is something that all care home owners need to think about, and if they find that their current measures are not adequate, they need to look at having a fire risk assessment.
Is your business due a fire risk assessment?
The risks associated with fire is something which every type of business faces and this is why it is necessary to ensure that your fire safety procedures are up to date and that your fire-fighting equipment is as well.
A fire risk assessment can be carried out at your work premises by fire safety professionals and this will help you to determine if you are complying with the current regulations as set out by the government.
These fire risk assessments are fully insured and will always be conducted by qualified personnel, as approved by the British Fire Consortium and the Institute of Fire Engineers.
The fire risk assessors can draw on many years of experience in the fire service and so know the industry requirements inside and out. Therefore, if you decide your business needs a fire risk assessment you can put the safety of your workplace in the hands of experts who know what they are doing.
It does not matter the size of your business as risk assessments can be carried out on all types of work premises. Just ask for a quote today and benefit from a tailored assessment of the risks posed in your workplace. This could save you money in the long run and highlights any risks that could be jeopardising the safety of those who work for you.