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.

Sprinkler System works again

A sprinkler system has contained what may have been a major fire at a factory in Staffordshire.
Around 50 staff were evacuated from IMI Norgren in Lichfield after an industrial press caught fire in the early hours of Wednesday 27 October. Some 40 firefighters were called to deal with the incident, but the activation of the sprinklers meant that they were not all needed.

The damage was limited to the machinery and some slight heat damage to the roof directly above. Once the fire was out, crews used hose reel jets to cool the machinery and then ventilated the factory.  Sprinklers are fitted throughout the manufacturing and storage areas of the site.

Speaking later that morning, Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service station manager Mick Jahn said: "The activation of the sprinklers meant we were able to quickly bring the fire under control and allow some of the appliances to leave the incident, so they were available for other emergencies. We would probably still be there dealing the fire now had the sprinklers not been in use.

"We’d urge all businesses to fit sprinkler systems. As this incident has highlighted they do prevent the spread of fires, and so minimise the economic cost of a fire - which is even more important during these difficult financial times."

Poundstretcher fined £55,000 over fire escapes

Only one out of six fire exits could be used in a busy bargain store, Leeds Crown Court was told, and the consequences of a fire at Poundstretcher in Castleford could have been "frankly appalling," said Judge Jonathan Rose.

The store on Carlton Street would have been a "death trap," he declared. Yesterday the judge fined the firm a total of £51,500 with £3,449 costs for seven breaches of the Fire Safety Order 2005. He pointed out that the business had twice been prosecuted last year for similar breaches at its Halifax and Wakefield stores and had been fined a total of £20,500 for those offences.

These convictions were warnings to the company but were not enough to make Poundstretcher do an urgent review of fire safety in its other stores, said the judge. "Poundstretcher had not put their house in order by October 7, 2009, when, as a result of a chance passing by a fire safety officer, it was observed that the Castleford store was failing in its duties," he said. Toni Wharton, prosecuting, said that combustible material was stored en route to one fire exit and trolleys blocked another. Persons who used a ground floor exit could have been trapped in a stairwell "like a tin of beans," she said.

Yorkshire Post

Three children died in house fire

Three children have sadly died in a house fire after a fire broke out at Clarence Avenue, Bridlington, shortly before midnight. Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said the children, one girl and two boys aged three, five and nine, died. The children's mother Samantha Hudson, 27, is said to be in a serious but stable condition at Scarborough General Hospital.

Mark Rhodes, head of operations for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, said it was too early to establish the cause. He said: "We were faced at the time with a very severe house fire. Now this is a typical sort of three-storey terraced property, fire on the ground floor but very intense, very dense smoke logging right throughout the property.

Fire sprinkler for underground car parks

An underground car park in the Dutch City of Haarlem has been severely damaged by a fire which also destroyed at least 26 cars.

According to the European Fire Sprinkler Network (EFSN), smoke from the fire spread to a court building and concert theatre, and heat from the fire damaged the structure of the car park.

The news website Dutchnews.nl reported that the fire broke out last Tuesday evening and led to the evacuation of nearby hotels and cafes. The fire brigade eventually got the blaze under control by flooding the lower deck of the car park.

EFSN also reports that Cynthia Ortega-Martijn, a Dutch member of parliament, has called for a change in the law so that hospitals, care homes, schools and car parks are fitted with sprinklers.

Fire sprinkler system save lives in warehouse fire

THE lives of around 120 people were saved thanks to a sprinkler system that activated during a warehouse fire in Walsall.

The alarm was raised at 7.12pm last Thursday at discount store Hootys Supplies in Longacres, Willenhall. Four crews were sent to tackle the blaze, which involved large quantities of packaging materials stored on shelves below a mezzanine floor at the back of the large two-storey prefabricated premises.
The sprinklers in the immediate area helped contain the fire.

Station commander Mick Shears said: “This incident demonstrates just how important sprinklers are.

“The system stopped the fire from spreading to the retail area at the front of the building, prevented a more serious blaze and helped safeguard the lives of more than 100 people in the store at the time.”

Nursing Home Fire - Knutsford

Once again a Fire Sprinkler Installation could have prevented this fire at a nursing home in Knutsford.

Crews were called to the property just after 11pm on 1 October, where they found a first-floor bedroom well alight and smoke in the main corridor. They managed to help three residents out by the internal staircase and the other three using the external staircase.

A total of seven residents were then taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. The fire was extinguished around an hour later with one hose reel jet and a positive pressure ventiliation fan.

The bedroom was extensively damaged but the fire door prevented further spread, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said.

 

BBC News - Elderly residents rescued from Inverness care home fire

Dozen of elderly people have spent the night in temporary accommodation after fire destroyed a nursing home in the Inverness area. The 59 residents of Culloden Court and 12 members of staff all got out safely.

Once again this shows how vulnerable our elderly are in care homes and this fire could have easily been avoided by fitting a Residential Fire Sprinkler installation. It will not be long before life is lost in a care home and fire sprinklers become mandatory ifor care homes but lets hope that the government acts before the inevitable.

BBC News - Elderly residents rescued from Inverness care home fire

Fire Sprinkler for the most vulnerable

The London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority, an elected body, has approved a sprinkler policy document for London Fire Brigade. It commits London Fire Brigade to promote sprinklers in "those properties where the most significant impact can be achieved, these are schools, residential care homes, domestic premises housing the most vulnerable and commercial premises that present a significant risk due to their size, construction or use."

While most of the focus is on new buildings the policy also applies to buildings undergoing major refurbishments.

Fire at Fire Station

Firefighters in Scotland had to deal with a blaze rather close to home last weekend – in their very own fire station.

The fire was discovered by a crew commander when he entered the community station in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull shortly after 6.30 pm last Friday. He alerted the operations support centre and firefighters then removed the station’s two appliances from the engine bay and used them to tackle the fire.

The fire was extinguished by around 9.00 pm and damage was restricted to a small area of the roof void and ceiling of a lecture room.

Sprinklers contain fire at industrial recycling plant

A fire at a 250m x 100m industrial waste recycling plant in Kidderminster was contained thanks to a fire sprinkler system and the early intervention of fire crews.

Firefighters arrived after an initial call at 3.30am on Tuesday morning and immediately called for four extra pumps. A command support vehicle and environmental protection unit also attended the incident.
Three firefighters in breathing apparatus gained access to the building to help tackle the fire from inside, and two covering jets and one high pressure hose reel were also used.

Group manager Mick Cadman from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue service said: "Thanks to the sprinkler system and the early intervention of our fire crews, the fire was contained to just one area inside one of the 12 access bays at the plant, and we were able to scale down to one pump by around 7.30am.

“Sprinklers activated in the affected area only, limiting the spread of fire and overall damage to the building while reducing the risk to firefighters tackling the blaze and the environmental impact. We'd urge all businesses to give proper consideration to this aspect of their safety planning."

http://www.info4fire.com/news-content/full/sprinklers-contain-fire-at-industrial-recycling-plant

Hotel fined £27,000 for ten offences - Fire Safety Order

Awan Investments Ltd have been found guilty of ten offences under the the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and were ordered to pay £27,000.

Awan Investments manages the Ventures hotel in the Paddington, London and after a visit from London Fire brigade they found a number of failings including blocked emergency exits wedged open.  

The two defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.

London Fire Brigade’s assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation, Steve Turek, said: “The general public should feel safe from fire when they are staying at a hotel and the responsible person must make sure their premises comply with the regulations.”

FHC - Hydraulic Calculation Software

Care home show - London Olympia

Armstrong Priestley will be exhibiting a range of residential fire sprinkler solutions for the care sector at the Care Home Show, London Olympia on the 6 and 7 October 2010.

Armstrong Priestley is a leading supplier of residential fire sprinkler installations for the care sector and has a wealth of experience in the installation of systems into both new buildings and the retrofitting into the most challenging of properties including grade I & II buildings and historic monuments.

Residential fire sprinkler systems can help care home owners with compliance in respect of the fire safety order, reduce night staffing levels and allow you more flexibility with design for your care home.  Why not visit us on stand D27 to see if we can help you.
 

Hydraulic calculations for Wet & Dry risers systems

A useful research report has been published by ODPM to provided information on the limitations of fire rising mains such as wet and dry risers complying with BS 5306 part 1 : 2006.  The report looks at a number of different pumps and nozzle and hydraulic calculates the pressure loss through the pipe.


You can get a full copy of the report at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/fire/pdf/381216.pdf

Sprinkler systems in Schools what’s the future

Cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future programme will stop dead the momentum for the acceptance of sprinkler systems in educational programmes. In addition, the loss of a major construction programme will have a devastating effect upon the building industry, already damaged by the downturn in the housing and commercial market. Where builders and developers may have had an inclination to include sprinklers in a building previously (and there were not too many examples of that), the tightening of purse strings will almost certainly cause a dramatic rethink.

Keeping the Fire and Rescue Service ahead of budget cuts | Fire Magazine

Fire in detention centre

A fire broke out in a detention centre in Zeist in the Netherlands on 29^th July 2010. The fire was in a cell where a man was sleeping the fire sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire.  This is the seconded fire which has been extinguished by the fire sprinkler systems in the last six months.  

Residential fire sprinkler systems

Armstrong Priestley have been awarded the contract to retro fit residential fire sprinkler systems in to 6 BUPA care home located throughout the country from Cumbria to Surrey with a total contract value of £300K. The size and complexity of the care homes vary considerable from grade1 listed country manor house to relatively more modern properties.

Kent County Council Pledges to fit Sprinklers to all New Schools

BAFSA: Sprinkler News

Blyth school fire: Four teenagers arrested

BBC News - Blyth school fire: Four teenagers arrested

Sprinklers save three residents following Holyhead flat fire

A Senior Fire Officer from North Wales F&RS is highlighting the life saving properties of sprinkler systems after three people escaped safely from a fire in a flat in Holyhead this morning (Monday May 3).

BAFSA: Sprinkler News

Daphne Hotel Prank

£119,000 pounds for fire safety law breaches

Supermarket giant Tesco has been fined £95,000 and ordered to pay over £24,000 in costs after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (RRO).

London Fire Brigade, prosecuting, said firefighters were called to a fire at Tesco’s Colney Hatch store in Barnet on 14 October 2007. When they arrived found the premises locked but managed to gain access after attracting the attention of an employee who was restocking shelves. There had been a fire in the staff kitchen but it had been put out by staff using extinguishers and a fire blanket. There was still a significant amount of smoke in the kitchen, the corridor and staff locker rooms and crews had to ask staff several times to evacuate the premises.

This incident made officers concerned about fire safety in the store, so on the following day they inspected the premises. A number of breaches of fire safety legislation were found, including a failure to review the store’s fire risk assessment, a failure to ensure escape routes were kept clear and inadequate fire separation due to doors being wedged open. An enforcement notice was subsequently served on 2 November 2007.

Tesco pleaded guilty to failing to keep emergency exits clear (£20,000 fine); failing to keep an emergency route clear (£20,000); two counts of fire doors being wedged open (£20,000 each) and storing flammable materials under an emergency stairwell (£15,000). Sentencing took place at Wood Green Crown Court on 20 April 2010.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson said: “Fire safety is a key part of good business management and the general public should feel safe from fire when they are out shopping. London Fire Brigade will continue to take action when businesses, large or small, do not take their fire safety responsibilities seriously. Failure to comply with the law can, as this case has shown, result in a prosecution.”

A Tesco spokesperson told Info4fire.com: "We take safety matters in all of our stores extremely seriously. We would like to reassure customers that this was an isolated incident and all issues at this store have been resolved."

BBC News - Crews tackle fire at Nuneaton factory unit

BBC News - Crews tackle fire at Nuneaton factory unit

school dormitory fire

Yet another file in a school dormitory and once again we are lucky that life was not lost – Let have Fire Sprinkler Fitted.

BBC News - Fire tackled at Dover's military boarding school

BBC News - Inquests opened into Southampton firemen deaths

It’s about time we have fire sprinkler fitted into all flats. This would save both the lives of firemen and the tenants how many people must die before we do this.

BBC News - Inquests opened into Southampton firemen deaths

BBC News - Inquiry into Cherwell Valley service station fire

BBC News - Inquiry into Cherwell Valley service station fire

Aurora care home in Seville

Spanish media reports that seven people have died in a fire in the Aurora care home in Seville. The fire brigade was called just after midnight on the morning of 9th February. Investigators have established that it was caused by an electrical fault in a bed designed for the disabled. Four more of the 19 residents remain in hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

Seville City Hall has declared three days of morning. According to news bulletins on Spanish television the home was new and met all the fire safety regulations. Sprinklers are not required in care homes in Spain but after this fire the evening news programmes discussed the benefits of sprinklers, with an interview of Emilio Rodriguez, owner of the sprinkler contractor Pacisa.

Sprinkler Protected Car Stacker Fire Test

The British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) requested BRE Global carry out a test to investigate the effect of a sprinkler system on the growth and spread of a fire in and between cars in a car park stacking system. This request followed the Communities and Local Government (CLG) Sustainable Buildings Division research programme titled Fire Spread in Car Parks. BAFSA wished to carry out an additional test using the CLG Car Stacker Rig in order to demonstrate the effect that a sprinkler system would have on the fire.

The test was designed to replicate the test carried out under the CLG program of research, but with the addition of a sprinkler system, designed and installed by BAFSA.

It is BRE Global's understanding that the system was designed by the client to be as consistent as possible with the prescriptive guidance given in BS EN 12845, LPC Sprinkler Rules. However, sprinkler protection of real car stackers will require the installation of a sprinkler system on a number of levels depending on the height of the storage. It was therefore considered appropriate by BAFSA to trial a number of hydraulic designs and sprinkler heads prior to the fire test.

Ian Gough, BAFSA commented “Fire sprinklers have been successfully protecting lives and property, including car parks, for many years; however, hazards and risks can quickly change. It is important that the fire sprinkler industry recognises such changes and is confident that the sprinklers systems installed always provide effective and efficient protection. This work carried out by BRE Global provides valuable information for sprinkler contractors, specifiers and others with an interest in these new and innovative parking systems.”

See the full report at PDF Report

Female student has died in a fire

The Dutch media reports that a female student has died in a fire in a student house in Groningen, in the north of The Netherlands. The fire service was called at about 07:30 but it was not until midday that fire-fighters could enter the building, which was completely burnt out.

The 19 year old student and six other students were in the building. Two of the six students were taken to hospital. The student house in the Oude Ebbingestraat was a former shop and an historical building near the market square in the town centre.

Sprinklers to Welsh Homes

The Welsh Assembly Members voted unanimously today voted in support of Ann Jones AM’s bid to make the installation of sprinkler systems mandatory in Wales’s new homes.

The Vale of Clwyd AM’s proposal has been described as historic by Chief Fire Officers across Wales and numerous organisations in the Fire Safety field including the National Fire Sprinkler Network.

Since introducing the Assembly’s first ever backbench Legislative Competence Order (LCO), Ann Jones has won the full support of amongst others, the Welsh Assembly Government, Wales’ 3 Fire Services and the FBU.

With overwhelming supportive evidence from the expert and industry community, Mrs Jones’s LCO successfully received approval from cross party Committees in both Wales and Westminster.

Read more at www.bafsa.org.uk

Restaurant Fire in Star City, Birmingham

West Midlands Fire & Rescue Service reports that just after 22:00 on Monday, 18th January the fire service was called to a fire in a restaurant in the Star City entertainment complex in Birmingham.

The fire started in the cavity of a partition wall at the rear of a cooking griddle. Investigators believe that over time an accumulation of cooking oils had entered the cavity and eventually ignited. The partition wall did not extend to full ceiling height and so the fire discharged into the void above the false ceiling.

Two sprinkler heads, one on each side of the partition wall, activated during the fire and contained the damaged area to the inside of the wall cavity. The restaurant was able to reopen on 22nd January while the rest of the complex reopened as normal the following day.

Fire in Dutch Detention Centre

It has been repoted by the Dutch press that a 32-year-old man in a detention centre for illegal immigrants set fire to his cell. The detention centre was fitted with sprinklers and two sprinkler operated and extinguished the fire. 44 prisoners and staff were evacuated and 16 people were treated at the scene for the effects of minor smoke inhalation. Nobody was seriously injured and the damage was limited.

Fire in Dutch Supermarket

In the Netherlands a report that a fire in a supermarket in Dordrecht on 1st January could have been much worse but for the sprinkler installed in the fireworks store, which prevented the fireworks from exploding the rest of the supermarket (which was unsrinklered) was badly damaged.