Firefighters rescue five people from Edinburgh flat blaze

22 Nov 2012 08:16

LOTHIAN and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was "well alight" when crews arrived.

FIVE people have been rescued from a burning building in Edinburgh early this morning.
The blaze broke out just after 2.30 am when fire ripped through a ground floor flat in South Sloan Street.
Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service said the fire was "well alight" when crews arrived.
A spokeswoman for the service said five people had to be rescued from the building.
Two were taken to the city's Royal Infirmary to be treated for smoke inhalation, while the others were checked over at the scene.

Daily Record

Fire safety campaign launched in Scotland

22nd Nov 2012

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have launched a new campaign to promote the importance of fire safety in the home during winter.
Don't Give Fire a Home urges householders not to be complacent when it comes to fire hazards, especially at this time of year when the risks are greater.
As part of the campaign a special map has been created showing Scotland's Hottest Postcodes. It highlights the most common areas for house fires around the country.
The highest concentration of incidents last year occurred in cities such as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee. However, campaigners are keen to stress than fires can and do occur anywhere.
Scotland's community safety and legal affairs minister Roseanna Cunningham noted that the number of house fires north of the border is at its lowest level in ten years.
But this doesn't mean homeowners should ignore the dangers, particularly in the run up to the festive season when celebrations can bring additional hazards.
"Smoking, alcohol consumption, cooking accidents, misuse of electrical appliances or the overloading of electrical sockets are all potential risks," she remarked.
Alex Clark, deputy chief officer of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, added: "Historically as we go into the winter months we see a rise in the number of accidental dwelling fires.
"This can be for a number of reasons from people spending more time in their homes to an increased reliance on electrical products like heaters, tumble dyers and electric blankets and the use of log and coal burning fires."
He said there are a number of very simple steps householders can take to protect themselves and their families this winter, from fitting smoke detectors to avoiding cooking after drinking alcohol.

Free home fire safety visits by fire and rescue service personnel are also available, helping people to assess the fire risks in their home and take steps to address them, he pointed out.

From @fireindustry

mprovements seen in Scotland's fire & rescue capabilities

 Improvements seen in Scotland's fire & rescue capabilities

22nd  Nov 2012

Progress has been made in improving Scotland's fire and rescue capabilities in recent years following the unsuccessful attempt to rescue a woman from a disused mineshaft back in 2008.
This is the view of the Scottish Government in its response to an inquiry into the incident.
Ministers said lessons had been learned from the tragic death of Alison Hume and a range of measures put in place to ensure that fire and rescue crews are better prepared.
The mother of two fell 14 metres into a collapsed mine shaft in Galston, Ayrshire in July 2008, suffering what were described as survivable injuries.
However, after spending several hours in the pit, developing hypothermia and suffering a heart attack, she later died in hospital.
An inquiry into the incident, ordered under Section 44 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 and published in March, concluded that Ms Hume's death could have been prevented.
Indeed, it stated that her rescue was delayed by senior fire officers who showed rigid compliance with health and safety regulations.
Four years on and some major improvements have been made, the Scottish Government claims.
There has been a review of the process through which operational policy is created and developed, and there is now a national formalised suite of courses relating to incident command training and assessment, including risk critical decision making.
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service now also has a specialist line rescue team and all services have arrangements in place for the provision of line rescue.
Furthermore, nationally coordinated and delivered rope rescue training has been introduced at a new training facility in Newcraighall.
"The chief inspector's inquiry was a very important piece of work, and a reminder that the death of Alison Hume was a tragedy the likes of which we never want to see repeated," said Roseanna Cunningham, minister for community safety and legal affairs.
"The inquiry sets out several areas for improvement that are already being addressed by the eight existing services, and I am encouraged by the progress that has been made."
She also said that the improvements will be embedded into the new single fire and rescue service for Scotland, ensuring that officers have consistent training and equitable access to specialist resources.

From @fireindustry

Greater Manchester leaseholder fined for fire safety breaches

16 Nov 2012

A commercial property leaseholder in Greater Manchester is facing a substantial fine after pleading guilty to a number of fire safety breaches.
Waseem Abbas used the building on Bury Old Road in Salford as a mobile phone shop, an internet cafe and a television and radio station.
Fire protection officers visited the premises in December last year and found a number of safety failings that could have resulted in serious injuries or even death in the event of a blaze.
They discovered that the only staircase in the building, which led to the first and second floors housing a workshop, an office, a storage area and rented studios, was blocked by combustible items.
Furthermore, it had no fire doors and instead of leading to a place of safety led into the main shop. This meant that people working on the upper floors would have been trapped if a fire had broken out on the ground floor.
Their escape attempts would have been further hampered by the bars that had been fitted on some of the upstairs windows.
Officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service issued a prohibition notice that would prevent Mr Abbas from using the first and second floors.
On November 8th 2012 the leaseholder admitted to six offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including failure to install a fire alarm and failure to carry out a fire risk assessment on the property.
He was fined £3,600 and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs. He has also promised not to use the upper floors of the building until he can gain permission to install an additional fire escape.
"This case shows that ignorance and failing to think about fire safety can be very costly," said Peter O'Reilly, director of prevention and protection at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
"The starting point for all businesses should be to do a fire risk assessment which will help them identify how to keep the premises safe."

From @fireindustry

PRESS RELEASE for BAFE UKAS ACCREDITATION

PRESS RELEASE for BAFE UKAS ACCREDITATION

First Scottish Company to be accredited.

Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd has now received their UKAS accreditation and is the first Fire Safety Consultancy in Scotland that will deliver fire safety risk assessments which are UKAS BAFE accredited.

BAFE , the registration body for companies that achieve third party certification for their fire protection services, has confirmed that Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd have now received their UKAS accreditation and are the first Fire Safety Consultancy in Scotland to achieve this award.

Dennis Webster, the Managing Director of Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd said, “I am delighted with this accreditation and would like to thank all who contributed towards this award including NSI who were the Certifying body. The standard of Fire Risk Assessments must be measureable so our clients can be assured of the competency and quality of the Assessor. This scheme goes a long way towards meeting this objective. We look forward to ensuring our high quality with existing and new clients throughout Scotland.”

The organisation will be listed on the BAFE website and will carry the BAFE logo.

The SP205 programme is the first independently audited scheme to ensure the organisation commissioned to carry out a fire safety risk assessment is competent to do so.  Under SP205 standards, organisations must have the necessary technical and quality management capabilities and trained staff to carry out a fire risk assessment.

Stephen Adams, BAFE 's general manager, claimed that businesses will be able to benefit significantly from the new initiative.

He said: " BAFE is very grateful to the original editorial group who developed the scheme and the UKAS team that has brought this significant development for the UK fire protection industry to fruition.”

"We are sure that UK property users will gain significantly from having access to third party certificated assessors."

Under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, the duty holder for a commercial property is required to carry out and implement the findings of a full fire risk assessment.

Should the fire risk assessment be deemed to be carried out to an insufficient extent, the Duty Holder can face imprisonment and be subjected to a fine of up to £20,000 per offence.

END

http://www.bafe.org.uk/news-detail.php?id=0000000035

Notes

Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd

The Company was formed in 2005 and have been carrying out Fire Risk Assessments and Fire Warden Training throughout Scotland.

Our goal is to provide effective Fire Risk Assessments and Training which will give assurance to The Duty Holder that their compliance with sections, applicable to them in The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005: Part 3 has been fulfilled.

We provide informed, written assessments and plan reviews in a timely manner, to assure the safety of the workforce and visitors in premises by recommendation and advice.

To provide suitable training by highly qualified and motivated staff.

Contact: d.webster@fireisk.com  01259 216713 www.fireisk.co.uk

BAFE: BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment)

Bridges 2, The Fire Service College, London Road, Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0RH

Tel : 0844 335 0897 | Fax : 01608 653359 | Email : info@bafe.org.uk

http://www.bafe.org.uk/news-detail.php?id=0000000035

1st Scottish Fire Safety Consultants to be awarded UKAS BAFE SP205 accreditation

Well done us!

We are delighted to inform current and future clients that Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd have been awarded 3rd Party Accreditation. This is through the UKAS BAFE SP205 scheme.

We are the first and only Fire Safety Consultants in Scotland to be awarded this accreditation. We will continue to provide the high standards of quality, competence and diligence which we have always strived for and went a long way in gaining this award.

I would like to thank our Staff whose skills,experience and dedication have contributed greatly to this award.

These Logos will soon be on our stationary and clients can be assured that we meet the high standards required for this accreditation for all their Fire Safety requirements.