A landlord has been sent to prison in the first custodial sentence to be given in London under the new fire safety regulations.
Mr Mehmat Parlak was sentenced to four months imprisonment and his company, Watchacre properties limited, were fined £21,000 following conviction for serious breaches of the regulatory reform order (RRO).
The prosecution followed a fatal fire at a flat on Ruskin Road, Tottenham on 16 September 2007. After being removed from the building by firefighters, a man was taken to hospital but died later from his injuries.
Councillor Brian Coleman AM FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority which runs the London Fire Brigade said “This fire resulted in a man dying and highlights why landlords and businesses must take their responsibilities under the regulatory reform order seriously. The London Fire Brigade works hard to bring irresponsible companies and individuals to court, which can as this case has shown result in a custodial sentence.”
Sentencing of the company and their Director Mr Parlak, of Wellington Road, Enfield took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 October after they pleaded guilty to eight breaches of fire safety.
Read More LFB
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Landlord imprisoned
A landlord has been sent to prison in the first custodial sentence to be given in London under the new fire safety regulations.
Mr Mehmat Parlak was sentenced to four months imprisonment and his company, Watchacre properties limited, were fined £21,000 following conviction for serious breaches of the regulatory reform order (RRO).
The prosecution followed a fatal fire at a flat on Ruskin Road, Tottenham on 16 September 2007. After being removed from the building by firefighters, a man was taken to hospital but died later from his injuries.
Councillor Brian Coleman AM FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority which runs the London Fire Brigade said “This fire resulted in a man dying and highlights why landlords and businesses must take their responsibilities under the regulatory reform order seriously. The London Fire Brigade works hard to bring irresponsible companies and individuals to court, which can as this case has shown result in a custodial sentence.”
Sentencing of the company and their Director Mr Parlak, of Wellington Road, Enfield took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 October after they pleaded guilty to eight breaches of fire safety.
Mr Mehmat Parlak was sentenced to four months imprisonment and his company, Watchacre properties limited, were fined £21,000 following conviction for serious breaches of the regulatory reform order (RRO).
The prosecution followed a fatal fire at a flat on Ruskin Road, Tottenham on 16 September 2007. After being removed from the building by firefighters, a man was taken to hospital but died later from his injuries.
Councillor Brian Coleman AM FRSA, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority which runs the London Fire Brigade said “This fire resulted in a man dying and highlights why landlords and businesses must take their responsibilities under the regulatory reform order seriously. The London Fire Brigade works hard to bring irresponsible companies and individuals to court, which can as this case has shown result in a custodial sentence.”
Sentencing of the company and their Director Mr Parlak, of Wellington Road, Enfield took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 October after they pleaded guilty to eight breaches of fire safety.
Thames sailing barge museum lost forever in fire
A fire which completely gutted the Dolphin Sailing Barge Museum has bought heartache to those who have worked for decades to preserve Swale’s maritime heritage.
Investigators believe the fire was started deliberately.
The blaze was so intense it reduced wooden models and reconstructions to ash and even melted the metal exhibits.
“I feel sick to the stomach,” said Peter Morgan, a former chairman of the museum which housed a unique collection of Thames sailing barges - the source of much of Sittingbourne and Faversham’s prosperity in the 19th and early 20th century.
The museum closed its doors for the season at 5pm on Sunday – but just over three hours later the fire which destroyed the work of many years broke out.
A Kent Fire and Rescue spokeswoman told Yourswale: “When we arrived the building was 100 per cent alight and the floors had collapsed. We did what we could – but there was no chance of saving anything.”
Forensic experts remained at the scene following the fire to look for clues as to how it started.
“We believe the cause of the fire to be suspicious,” added the Fire Brigade spokeswoman.
Staff at the museum said a series of recent break-ins had resulted in security cameras being installed.
John Hull, Yard Officer at the premises in Crown Quay Way on the estuary, said: “We have seen a number of attempts to gain entry in recent months but this is the ultimate disaster for us.
“I have worked at the museum since 1971 and the collection we have amassed is a unique record of the history and heritage of the whole of Swale and its barges.
“We just locked the doors on Sunday and I thought now the summer was over the real work in restoring and preserving our collection will begin and continue over the coming months.
“But there is nothing to restore or preserve any more – I can’t begin to think what we are going to do next.
“All I know it that we have lost an extremely valuable part of our local heritage.
As for the financial cost I can’t even think about that – in any case you cannot put a price on history.”
The fire was initially attended by engines from Sittingboure and Teynham but crews rapidly called for reinforcements after the alarm was raised at 8.19pm.
Support came from fire fighters based in Faversham and a command vehicle was also dispatched.
At the height of the blaze crews hauled inflammable propane gas cylinders from the inferno and sprayed them with water to cool them and prevent explosions.
The museum’s staff were notified by police later that night.
Mr Hull said: “I got a knock on my door just after I’d gone to bed and it was a great shock, although the police officers were very sympathetic. I wasn’t even able to go down to see the damage for a while as it is a crime scene and had been sealed off.
“Now we have to get together to decide what to do – and I just have no idea. It’s heartbreaking.”
Local MP Derek Wyatt said: “It is a great great loss to the history of what made Sittingbourne - the barges brought the paper down from London docks to Milton at one stage we had a dozen mills; this is a terrible terrible thing that has happened.”
Kentnews.co.uk
Investigators believe the fire was started deliberately.
The blaze was so intense it reduced wooden models and reconstructions to ash and even melted the metal exhibits.
“I feel sick to the stomach,” said Peter Morgan, a former chairman of the museum which housed a unique collection of Thames sailing barges - the source of much of Sittingbourne and Faversham’s prosperity in the 19th and early 20th century.
The museum closed its doors for the season at 5pm on Sunday – but just over three hours later the fire which destroyed the work of many years broke out.
A Kent Fire and Rescue spokeswoman told Yourswale: “When we arrived the building was 100 per cent alight and the floors had collapsed. We did what we could – but there was no chance of saving anything.”
Forensic experts remained at the scene following the fire to look for clues as to how it started.
“We believe the cause of the fire to be suspicious,” added the Fire Brigade spokeswoman.
Staff at the museum said a series of recent break-ins had resulted in security cameras being installed.
John Hull, Yard Officer at the premises in Crown Quay Way on the estuary, said: “We have seen a number of attempts to gain entry in recent months but this is the ultimate disaster for us.
“I have worked at the museum since 1971 and the collection we have amassed is a unique record of the history and heritage of the whole of Swale and its barges.
“We just locked the doors on Sunday and I thought now the summer was over the real work in restoring and preserving our collection will begin and continue over the coming months.
“But there is nothing to restore or preserve any more – I can’t begin to think what we are going to do next.
“All I know it that we have lost an extremely valuable part of our local heritage.
As for the financial cost I can’t even think about that – in any case you cannot put a price on history.”
The fire was initially attended by engines from Sittingboure and Teynham but crews rapidly called for reinforcements after the alarm was raised at 8.19pm.
Support came from fire fighters based in Faversham and a command vehicle was also dispatched.
At the height of the blaze crews hauled inflammable propane gas cylinders from the inferno and sprayed them with water to cool them and prevent explosions.
The museum’s staff were notified by police later that night.
Mr Hull said: “I got a knock on my door just after I’d gone to bed and it was a great shock, although the police officers were very sympathetic. I wasn’t even able to go down to see the damage for a while as it is a crime scene and had been sealed off.
“Now we have to get together to decide what to do – and I just have no idea. It’s heartbreaking.”
Local MP Derek Wyatt said: “It is a great great loss to the history of what made Sittingbourne - the barges brought the paper down from London docks to Milton at one stage we had a dozen mills; this is a terrible terrible thing that has happened.”
Kentnews.co.uk
Friday, 3 October 2008
School badly damaged in huge fire
An investigation has started into the cause of a major fire which has wrecked a large section of York High School.
More than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze which appears to have started on the first floor of the main building at the Dijon Avenue site early on Friday.
The 1,000-pupil school has been closed and will remain closed on Monday, a City of York Council spokesman said.
"There are no injuries and around one third of the school has been lost," a statement on the council website said.
By mid-morning the blaze had been extinguished and about 15 firefighters remained to dampen down the wreckage.
For the full story...
More than 60 firefighters tackled the blaze which appears to have started on the first floor of the main building at the Dijon Avenue site early on Friday.
The 1,000-pupil school has been closed and will remain closed on Monday, a City of York Council spokesman said.
"There are no injuries and around one third of the school has been lost," a statement on the council website said.
By mid-morning the blaze had been extinguished and about 15 firefighters remained to dampen down the wreckage.
For the full story...
A committed and united fire service accomplished a significant feat today in the fight to save lives and property. At the International Code Council (ICC) final action hearings in Minneapolis, the proposal to change the International Residential Code to require residential fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family dwellings passed with a strong majority, 1282 for the code to 470 against.
Fire service personnel showed up in force as part of a unified effort with others from more than 100 public safety organizations, including the IAFC and IAFF. They came prepared with incontrovertible evidence that residential fire sprinklers save much more than property; they save the lives of the public and the lives of fire service personnel who protect them.
Director Alan Perdue, the International Director of the IAFC's Fire and Life Safety Section, expressed the tremendous sense of accomplishment felt by all after the long and arduous process to get this requirement into the codes.
"For more than 30 years, the fire service community has worked toward the goal of saving lives and reducing fire loss by installing residential fire sprinklers," he said. "By bringing all aspects of the fire service together for a common cause, today we have concluded the first monumental step of requiring residential fire sprinklers in the model codes. It is imperative,however, that we continue our collaborative efforts to protect both the public and our firefighters on the front line by working to make certain that these requirements are also adopted into state and local codes."
This news item is from the NSFA
Fire service personnel showed up in force as part of a unified effort with others from more than 100 public safety organizations, including the IAFC and IAFF. They came prepared with incontrovertible evidence that residential fire sprinklers save much more than property; they save the lives of the public and the lives of fire service personnel who protect them.
Director Alan Perdue, the International Director of the IAFC's Fire and Life Safety Section, expressed the tremendous sense of accomplishment felt by all after the long and arduous process to get this requirement into the codes.
"For more than 30 years, the fire service community has worked toward the goal of saving lives and reducing fire loss by installing residential fire sprinklers," he said. "By bringing all aspects of the fire service together for a common cause, today we have concluded the first monumental step of requiring residential fire sprinklers in the model codes. It is imperative,however, that we continue our collaborative efforts to protect both the public and our firefighters on the front line by working to make certain that these requirements are also adopted into state and local codes."
This news item is from the NSFA
Fire Destroys Pier at Seaside Resort
News media report that fire is destroying the pier at Weston-super-Mare in southwest England. The fire service was called at 0645 today, Monday, 28th July. Rod Brenner, who owned the pier until six months ago when he sold it, said, "The entire pavillion has gone admittedly, and it'll be oviously a huge project to rebuild it, which will take a considerable amount of time. I mean, when it burnt down last time in 1930, it took three years and they probably moved a bit quicker than we do nowadays."
Piers are especially vulnerable to fire. They are difficult to reach for the fire service; many of the buildings on the pier and often much of its structure is made of wood and water supply on the pier is often inadequate for fire-fighting purposes. Weston-super-Mare has now lost its pier for the second time but it is not the only pier to be destroyed by fire. In February 2003 fire destroyed Brighton Pier and in October 2005 fire destroyed Southend Pier.
Read more at BBC News and European Fire Sprinkler Network
Piers are especially vulnerable to fire. They are difficult to reach for the fire service; many of the buildings on the pier and often much of its structure is made of wood and water supply on the pier is often inadequate for fire-fighting purposes. Weston-super-Mare has now lost its pier for the second time but it is not the only pier to be destroyed by fire. In February 2003 fire destroyed Brighton Pier and in October 2005 fire destroyed Southend Pier.
Read more at BBC News and European Fire Sprinkler Network
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