Fire crews tackle blaze at Glasgow tenement

A fire has broken out in a flat in the West End.

05 April 2012 16:42 GMT

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Fire: Crews are at the scene on Highburgh Road Pic: @Paauul

A fire has broken out in a tenement flat in Glasgow.
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue were called to Highburgh Road in the West End at around 4pm on Thursday where a second floor flat was on fire above the Tennent’s Bar.
A spokesman for SFR said: "Seven appliances are at a fire in Highburgh Road in Glasgow's West End. Ten firefighters in breathing apparatus are tackling the blaze."
Police and ambulance crews are also on scene.
Reports suggest that the blaze is spreading to the flat above.
A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said: "Highburgh Road is currently closed in both directions between Byres Road and Dowanhill Street.
"In addition, Byres Road is closed northbound at Highburgh Road. Delays are to be expected and road users are advised to avoid the area. Further bulletins will be issued when more information is known."
Police have cordoned off the corner of Highburgh Road and Byers Road and are diverting traffic in the area.
It is not yet known if anyone was inside the flat.

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   From STV

 

Relative of hotel fire victim calls for fire risk assessment changes

Relative of hotel fire victim calls for fire risk assessment changes

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02 Apr 2012

A man whose relatives were killed in a hotel blaze has called for changes in the way in which fire risk assessments are carried out.

John Hughes lost his mother, Monica, and brother, Peter, in the fire at Newquay's Penhallow Hotel in 2007.

It was found that the hotel had no sprinkler system fitted and Mr Hughes has raised concerns that hotels are allowed to conduct their own fire risk assessments.

Speaking at a seminar held at the Eden Project in Cornwall, Mr Hughes said: "You need hoteliers to be able to go to a body to ask: 'Where is an accredited person to do a fire risk assessment?'," quotes BBC News.

"Hoteliers can currently do fire risks themselves, and I think that's where it falls down."

Mr Hughes also called for accreditation bodies such as the AA to ensure that fire risk assessments are in place before they award stars.

A third person, Joan Harper, also died in the blaze, which occurred on August 18th.

A 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment must be conducted on all commercial properties in England and Wales, under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

In Scotland The Duty Holder is responsible for the adequacy of the Fire Risk Assessment under The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
If the fire risk assessment is deemed to be carried out to an insufficient extent, the Responsible Person (Duty Holder) can face an unlimited fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.
From FIA

Guide to fire alarm category selection

From Fire Industry Association

·         Guide to fire alarm category selection - The FIA Technical Department has released a Guidance Document on the selection and specification of fire alarm category in accordance with BS 5839-1, It is available for download under Guides and Codes (in Resources & Technical Information). It is also available under featured downloads for a limited time

·         Fact File 51 - the FIA Technical Department has published Fact File 51, Government guidance on fire alarm systems. This Fact File provides guidance on what the English, Welsh and Scottish legislation recommend as the minimum category of fire alarm systems for various building occupancies. It is available to download from Resources, in Technical Information and for a limited time it can be downloaded from the FIA homepage under Featured Downloads

·         Fact File 52– the FIA Technical Department has published Fact File 52, The Equality Act 2010. This Fact File highlights some of the possible effects of the Equality Act on fire alarm and detection systems.  It is available to download from Resources, in Technical Information and for a limited time it can be downloaded from the FIA homepage under Featured Downloads

·         Fact File 53 - the FIA Technical Department has published Fact File 53, Guide to test and inspections. This  Fact File  highlights  the service intervals for fire  protections systems, their frequency, actions to be carried out and what should be recorded and where. It is available to download from Resources, in Technical Information and for a limited time it can be downloaded from the FIA homepage under Featured Downloads

Portable Fire Extinguishers Product Notices

From FIA

Industry News

·         Portable Fire Extinguishers Product Notices - Please click here to read a Safety Notice from CheckFire with regards to the Polished Aluminium Commander Range 2kg CO2 Extinguishers (Produce Code: COEX2P).  A product update has also been released by Tyco regarding the Failure of CO2 Aluminium Cylinders manufactured by FLN – click here to read.

Fire Extinguishers

·         FIA Call for Comment -BS 5306:8 Draft for Public Comment - Following a delay due to disagreement within the Standards Committee towards some suggested changes, BS5306:8 has now been released for Public Comment with a special note highlighting the main contentious item. The deadline for comments is 31st May 2012. Please read Martin Duggan’s letter to FIA portables members with a summary of the main issues identified by the FIA Portable Extinguisher committee’s and relevant Councils. We would appreciate your support; please email your comments using this comments form to Robert Thilthorpe

Landlord convicted after being found having ‘significant control’ for fire

Landlord convicted after being found having ‘significant control’ 04 April 2012

The landlord of a takeaway with sleeping accommodation has been convicted of breaching fire safety law after unsuccessfully claiming he did not have control of the premises.
Abdul Mannan was fined £2,400 and ordered to pay almost £5,800 costs after being found guilty of six offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Manchester City Magistrates Court on 9 March.
Fire safety officers from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service inspected the Shabna Tandoori in Eccles in April last year and found the first and second floors were being used as sleeping accommodation.
No fire risk assessment had been carried out and there was no fire alarm system in the building. The only stairs to the upper floors led directly from the kitchen and had combustible items on the staircase.
None of the doors in the building were fire doors and there was no emergency lighting.
Officers were so concerned about the safety of the workers sleeping upstairs they issued a prohibition notice on the upper floors.
Prosecutor Warren Spencer said: "Had a fire occurred within the kitchen, the only way out of the building for people upstairs would lead them directly into the fire."
Mr Mannan owned the building since 1986 but told the court that he was not responsible as another company had leased the building and takeaway business from him in April 2010 and only left in May 2011 – after the fire service inspection.
But district judge Robinson found Mr Mannan guilty of all charges. "You came across as an intelligent man; however in places you were not credible or reliable,” he said. “The lease you have gave you a significant degree of control, you knew people were sleeping there and you carry some responsibility."
Assistant chief fire officer, Peter O'Reilly, said: "This complete disregard for the law, and the subsequent danger to life these premises posed, meant we had no option but to seek action through the courts.
From info4fire
 

Landlord jailed for fire safety offences after fatal blaze

Landlord jailed for fire safety offences after fatal blaze

A landlord has been jailed for four months and ordered to pay £10,000 costs after pleading guilty to three offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Lookman Adeyemi – the landlord and registered owner of a house in multiple occupation in Milton Keynes where a mother and her daughter died in a fire in 2010 – was sentenced at Amersham Law Courts on 29 March. He had previously pleaded guilty on 8 March to failing to:

• make a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment
• ensure that, in the event of danger, it was possible for people to evacuate the premises as quickly and as safely as possible
• provide sufficient detectors and alarm at the premises.

Sentencing him, Justice Lord Parmoor said: "Although your failings did not cause the fire, the fact that one of your tenants and a child died is some indication of the risk run by your tenants, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"You were not dealing with rich people. These were people, some of whom did not have a job. You were dealing with a very vulnerable clientele."