Sprinklers save lives

FIREFIGHTERS set two Glasgow flats ablaze to show how sprinkler systems could save lives.

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/flats-set-ablaze-to-show-sprinklers-save-lives-1.1131340

Campaign is launched to fit more sprinklers

FIRE fighters are trying to dampen myths surrounding sprinkler systems and urging more people to have them installed because they save lives.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/9327850.Campaign_is_launched_to_fit_more_sprinklers/

Judge says the factory should have had a Fire Sprinkler System.

ADT has been  found liable for the failure of a Co2 systems and has cost them £25m.  However the building owned by Trebor Bassett Holdings also contributed to the loss by failing to provide adequate fire separation and a fire sprinkler system so the £110m claim for damages was reduced by 75%.  You can read the full judgement    

BS 9991 - Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings

The Draft British Standard BS 9991 :  Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings has been published for public  comment.  All comments must by submitted to BSi by the 15 October 2011 and a draft can be vied on the BSI website at drafts.bsigroup.com

The standard included many references to fire sprinkler and watermist fire protection systems and if adopted will undoubtedly increase the market for both sprinkler and watermist systems.         

Sprinkler System in Shopping Centre Attacked by Mob Contains Fire

'Mark O'Meara from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service reports that on Tuesday 9th August a severe fire occurred in a shop unit at the Salford Centre, Manchester, during the riots that affected the city.

The centre manager indicated that the sprinklers activated and although it struggled with the size of the fire it still contained it until FRS extinguished it. The fire was contained to the unit, the centre is still operating.

Greater Manchester Fire Service reported 155 fires across Manchester city centre and Salford during the time the unrest was taking place and so details of the incident are sketchy at present.'
This is an important demonstration that properly designed sprinkler systems will cope with even extreme circumstances and that sprinklers are an effective counter to deliberately started fires.

http://www.bafsa.org.uk/snews_full.php?id=00001031

Fire Sprinklers 96% effective

A major new report published by the NFPA has just been published which includes statistics on how often sprinkler are installed, and there effectives.  The report also shows that almost 5% of the homes have sprinkler and 20% of homes built in the previous four years have sprinkler fitted.

You can read the full document U.S. EXPERIENCE WITH SPRINKLERS

"The difference between life and death,"

"The difference between life and death," is how one fire service has described the use of automatic sprinklers in homes.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue service is supporting calls from the Chief Fire Officers Association for a change in the law to force all new homes to be fitted with the sprinklers.

BBC News - Warwickshire Fire Service makes case for sprinkler law

Domestic Sprinkler not it again

Fire sprinkler in the home do work!

Amplify’d from www.info4fire.com

Domestic sprinkler contains fire in Wiltshire house 12 January 2011 A house in Trowbridge escaped being badly damaged by fire last week, thanks to the activation of a domestic sprinkler system. Fire crews were called to the property shortly after 6.30pm, but found the blaze had been extinguished by sprinklers. As a result, damage was minimal and, said Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service, there was no risk to the occupants who were downstairs at the time. Although the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, there were no suspicious circumstances. The Studley Green estate is said to have been the first housing development in Europe to be fitted with domestic sprinklers following its rebuild in 1999. Read more at www.info4fire.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a122sp

Restaurant owner pays over £13,000 for fire safety breaches

Restaurant owner pays over £13,000 for fire safety breaches

Amplify’d from www.info4fire.com

The former joint proprietor of a restaurant which also included sleeping accommodation for staff has been fined £8,600 and ordered to pay £4,837 in costs for 12 fire safety breaches. Patipat Kansikam of the Red Lion (Pad Thai) restaurant in Wokingham pleaded guilty last month to the offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, but the case was adjourned to 6 April for sentencing. Read more at www.info4fire.com

 

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Penhallow Hotel company pleads guilty to fire safety charges

The company that owned the Penhallow Hotel where three people died in a fire in August 2007 has admitted breaches of fire safety legislation.

O & C Holdsworth plc pleaded guilty to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005: failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment; and failing to ensure the hotel was properly equipped with detectors and alarms. The company pleaded not guilty to a third charge of failing to ensure the safety of relevant persons.  The case has been adjourned to 4 May when O & C Holdsworth plc is due be sentenced.

Last year, an inquest into the deaths of the three guests – Joan Harper, Monica Hughes and Peter Hughes, all from Staffordshire – returned an open verdict.

Warwickshire Fire Service managers are to face charges of manslaughter

The Crown Prosecution Service has announced that 3 Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service managers are to face charges of manslaughter by gross negligence, for the deaths of four firefighters in a warehouse in Atherstone-on-Stour, in 2007. Ian Reid, John Averis, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Bradley all died in the fire at Wealmoor Ltd, November 2, 2007.


Read More: Warwickshire Fire Service managers are to face charges of manslaughter | Fire Magazine

Fire contractor fined £5,000 for poor work.

In what is thought to be the first case of its kind, a fire system contractor has been convicted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.  Christopher Morris, 56, of Llandudno, a former retained firefighter, appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £6,000 costs.

Last week at Trafford Magistrates Court, Mr Morris pleaded guilty to two charges of failing to maintain a fire detection and alarm system at a care home in Trafford, Greater Manchester, and failing to inform the owners of the deficiencies in the system.

Magistrates heard that enforcement officers commissioned a specialist examination of the fire alarm panel after a fire at the care home in May 2009. Among the deficiencies found were:

• A blown fuse overridden with a piece of wire
• An electronic component suspended between two terminal bocks instead of being attached to the circuit board
• An alarm silence/fault warning buzzer missing from the circuit board
• The fault warning light on the front face of the panel had been almost covered by paint

According to the prosecution, Christopher Morris, an electrician who had taken over the maintenance of the system in 2006, had issued several annual certificates of worthiness to the care home owner.
Deputy county fire officer, Jim Owen, said: “Whilst many owners have been prosecuted under the Fire Safety Order, this may be the first time a fire and rescue authority has prosecuted someone contracted by the owner of a property to maintain a fire alarm. Taking on such a contract extends the requirements of the Order to the fire alarm engineer. Anyone we find who doesn’t carry out their work to recognised standards is a danger, and we won’t hesitate to take action.”

Read more (infoforfire) 

Sprinklers Prevent Serious Fire

Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service Reports:

A house in Trowbridge escaped being badly damaged by fire last week, thanks to an innovative fire safety system.

The Studley Green estate was the first housing development in Europe to be fitted with domestic sprinklers, following its rebuild in 1999. On Thursday 6 January, a property in Kingswood Chase had its sprinklers activated when fire broke out in a first floor bedroom.

Two crews from Trowbridge fire station were called to the address at 6.38pm, but found the blaze had been extinguished by the sprinklers. As a result, the fire damage was minimal, and there was no risk to the house's occupants, who were downstairs at the time. Although the exact cause of the fire remains unclear, there were no suspicious circumstances.

Read More

Care home severely damaged by fire

Around 45 firefighters have tackled a blaze at a timber frame building used as residential care home for disabled people.

The fire started in the roof of the chalet-style building, in Barham, near Canterbury. The fire, reported around 11.30 on 9 November, spread quickly throughout the building. The home is a residential care home for the disabled, but was empty at the time. Fire crews had the incident under control by 1.30pm. An aerial ladder platform remained on the scene until after 9pm, to dampen down hotspots on the roof. Most - if not all - of the residents’ possessions were destroyed.