Fire crews spent all night recently extinguishing a fire in Bournemouth which was later described as being a derelict building.
This fire involved nearby residents having to evacuate the area. Derelict buildings can cause a big problem because they often attract squatters and other hazards that are unknown to the fire crews beforehand. When a building is occupied and a fire risk assessment is in place then normally there are not so many variables and unknowns.
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This fire near Bristol, which involved over 20,000 tonnes of scrap metal, generated copious amounts of smoke creating difficult conditions for fire crews. Excellent work by the fire brigade to get the fire under control but it shows what other consequences a fire can cause. This would include the evacuation of nearby residents and informing the Environmental Agency about the potentially dangerous water run off.
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Three million homeowners can't sell their homes due to issues over the cladding and other external wall fire safety issues.
I have said before that all of these issues that we currently face in this country, including Covid 19, will lead to unpredictable and often cruel consequences that are not considered when measures and guidelines are introduced.
These fire safety issues need to be addressed. The New Fire Safety Bill needs to simplify how we move forward in the Fire Safety industry and these residents deserve answers. Occupants safety has to be paramount. But we do need to start looking at every building on a risk-based approach and be open minded how we deal with this. Often, spending millions of pounds can be avoided if we look to new fire safety solutions and products and more importantly, I think, start to move away from the whole blame game. If we continue to go through life with a blame and compensation mindset, the consequences will be worse than the problem ever was.
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This large shed fire in Croydon recently resulted in large amounts of people being evacuated from nearby premises including residents of a care home.
In the last few years we have rightly concentrated on external fire spread and this incident is just another example of the potential dangers of not only fire spread but extended smoke travel.
When being called to a shed fire, the last thing fire officers would have considered was evacuating a nearby care home. We must therefore remember when assessing any kind of building what the potential consequences are.
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This is an incredible but sadly not uncommon story where 30 residents have been given to the 2nd November to leave this block of flats in Oldham as it is deemed as seriously unsafe.
The issues that the Fire Service have identified include damaged fire doors, inadequate fire stopping and fire alarm systems and AOV systems either not for purpose or not working properly. The residents are distressed and up in arms about it as they have been paying their maintenance costs every month and bought the flats in good faith.
I have never been to the building but at first glance it looks like a solid purpose-built building and my first thought is surely there is an alternative here rather than asking the residents to leave. What about upgrading/repairing the fire alarm system and AOV system and stepping up the full evacuation policy. I'm not for a minute saying the residents safety is not paramount but there are safe alternatives available from a life safety perspective. And what happens if there is an incident between now and 2 November? I think more can be done here.
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This article describes how a large Housing Association are looking for contractors to rectify a series of fire safety defects on a large number of blocks of flats around the country.
With the introduction of the New Fire Safety Bill approaching, Housing Associations and other organisations are really starting to get to grips with this work and begin the long process of making their buildings safe from a potential fire.
This is just the start and the costs here are mind boggling. Who will pay and how they will pay will have to be arranged but there are no easy answers.
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This cafe owner in Cumbria describes here how fire doors and a working smoke alarm stopped this fire from spreading and causing more damage. This accidental fire was caused by a new washer-dryer which appears to have been faulty.
This owner actually checked the appliance before leaving the premises to make sure it was switched off so it does go to show that accidental fires can happen and the importance of having other fire safety control measures in place.
I'm sure he had a suitable and suitable fire risk assessment in place and am pleased to say his cafe is now reopen for business.
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Now its these university residents in Brentford, West London who are having to evacuate their building due to fire safety defects. Some residents are furious saying it is sickening that they could ever have been put into the building in the first place, others are saying its an exaggeration and that moving out could have been avoided.
The issue of some of the residents currently having tested positive for coronavirus has also come up and the health and welfare issues that this generates.
I have said before that what is happening is a knock on effect of consequences. Whatever the solution, the consequences could be just as damaging. In some ways it feels like we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. The residents safety has to come first but we are seeing numerous buildings having to evacuate and as an open minded fire risk assessor I have to ask are there other options available? There are so many clever fire safety prevention systems available I think we need to start looking at some options at less inconvenient to the residents.
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