House fire: Smoke alarm saves five year old child from fire
Early on Saturday morning a 5 year old child was saved from a house fire because the family had a working fire alarm, the emergency services announced.
Fire crews from Newcastle Emlyn, Crymych and Cardigan attended the fire at Capel Iwan to find on arrival, the roof well alight.
A working smoke alarm woke the occupants and ensured their safe removal, including that of the five-year-old girl who was sleeping in the loft. If this alarm had not operated then then Watch Manager Emyr Jones said he was convinced that they would now be dealing with a tragedy.
This really goes to show how vital a working smoke alarm can be in saving lives. If you haven’t got one, please get one today or if you have one make sure you test it and it is working correctly.
Smoke alarm awareness campaign
Fire crews in the West Sussex area are running a campaign to raise awareness amongst the deaf and hard of hearing during National Deaf Awareness Week to ensure adequate smoke alarms are installed in homes.
It is thought that around one million adults in the UK have hearing problems which prevent them from hearing regular household smoke alarm.
A spokesperson for the fire service said: “British Standard BS5446-3:2005 specifies smoke alarm kits for deaf and hard of hearing people. Products made to this standard give deaf people assurance of quality smoke alarms, designed to meet their needs.”
Adrian Carter, Safer communities deputy manager, said: “It is vital people who are deaf or hard of hearing ensure they have the right smoke alarm technology in their home to protect them – and that they test them weekly, to make sure they work. A specialist alarm system provides valuable time to escape from a house fire. Without it, lives could be lost.”
North Wales Fire Service warns of danger of careless smoking
North Wales Fire and Rescue Service have highlighted the dangers of carelessly discarded smoking materials.
The warning follows two smoking related fires within the space of a few hours in Denbighshire.
Firefighters attended a fire at a house in Llangollen on 27th March at around 6.30am after a resident smelt smoke coming from a lodger’s room. The fire had been caused by smoking material being discarded in a waste paper basket.
Firefighters also attended a fire caused in the same way at a semi detached property in Rhyl on the same day.
Gwyn Jones, Community Safety Manager for Conwy and Denbighshire said: “These incidents clearly highlight the dangers of not extinguishing cigarettes properly in suitable containers. It is vital to make sure all smoking materials are put out safely, especially before bed time. The best way to cut the risk is not to smoke indoors at all. Many smoking related fires happen at night when people fall asleep or smoke in bed and furniture or fabrics are set alight. Worryingly, research shows that smokers are less likely than non-smokers to have working smoke alarms which could alert them to the dangers and give the chance of escape.”
Hair straighteners cause fire in flat
Two women escaped from a fire which broke out in their flat in Ruxley Court on Tuesday morning.
The fire started when hair straighteners that had been left switched on, over heated and set fire to a pile of clothes.
Luckily the occupants were alerted by the smoke alarm and managed to get out of the flat quickly. They were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation. The fire damaged carpets and contents of the flat and the rest of the building suffered smoke damage.
Brian Griffiths from Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We urge people to make sure they have turned off all electrical appliances when they have finished using them and before leaving the house. Electrical items, such as hair straighteners, irons or heaters, should not be placed near to combustible items which are likely to overheat and catch fire. We would also advise people not to use such appliances when they are under the influence of alcohol as it is very easy to forget that they are switched on, or they may even fall asleep. Fortunately the property was fitted with a smoke alarm which alerted the occupants to the fire, giving them enough time to get out safely.”
Ex hotel owners to appear in court for fire safety breaches
The jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court took 55 minutes to find the former owners of the Connaught Hotel West Midlands Ltd guilty of 11 charges of failing to take sufficient fire precautions.
Jurors heard how the venue was a “death trap” hotel that put lives at risk with a “catalogue of failures”.
The breaches were discovered by investigators after a fire tore through the hotel in October 2007. These included the fire alarm not working, no smoke alarms or detectors in rooms, fire exits blocked and one fire door without a handle.
Investigators discovered that fire blankets were missing and fire exit routes were blocked. One fire alarm had been covered with a plastic bag.
The 87-bedroom hotel is now owned by another company.
Mr Jackson, prosecuting said many of the guests in the hotel at the time only knew something was wrong “when they heard people screaming and banging on doors to get out”. He told the jury the failures “turned the hotel into a death trap”.
He added: “The fact no-one died or was seriously injured in the fire was good fortune. All of the people staying there were at risk from this catalogue of failures and fire safety breaches. The photographs taken by the fire service speak for themselves.”
Sentence will be passed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on March 13.
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.