Remember that a Fiisk Assessment must be carried out by a Competent person under The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005

Halbeath's 19th-century Hotel Roma building gutted by fire

More than 20 firefighters from across Fife were drafted to tackle a huge blaze which broke out at an empty restaurant in Halbeath on Thursday night.

• Published in the Courier : 04.05.12
• Published online : 04.05.12 @ 08.39am

         

Hotel Roma was said to be ''well alight'' when two fire engines arrived on the scene at around 8pm, so another two engines were scrambled from Lochgelly before an aerial ladder platform was sent from Kirkcaldy.
Dozens of police were sent in to cordon off Main Street as crowds gathered to watch the drama unfold.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus trained four jets of water at the derelict building, but they were ordered not to go in after the structure was deemed unsafe.
Station manager at Dunfermline Dave Wishart, who was leading efforts to put out the flames, said: ''I knew right away we couldn't commit firefighters to enter the premises due to the state of the building so we've had to tackle the fire from the outside.

''There would have been a huge danger of firefighters falling through the floor if they'd gone in.''
The alarm was raised at 7.45pm by Armando Brandi, owner of the chip shop across the road. He saw smoke pouring from the windows of the building.
His son, Carmine, said: ''There was a lot of black smoke. You could see that it was a bad fire.''

Daniel Cross, who lives in the cottage next door to the building, arrived at the scene to find he had no access to his home.
''When I arrived back from work the road was closed. I could see the smoke coming from Hotel Roma.
''I was worried it would spread to my house but they won't let me anywhere near it to see what's happening. I don't know whether I'll get home tonight.''

Neighbour Linda Durret said: ''I thought it was the chip shop at first but when I came out it was obvious that there was a big fire at Hotel Roma.
''It's a shame really, because it's a listed building. It was built in 1891. It's really quite sad to see it burn down.''
An investtigation into the cause of the blaze is under way.

Remember that a Fiisk Assessment must be carried out by a Competent person under The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005

Border terrier Molly who survived serious fire allowed home from vets

STV 3 May 2012 14:46 BST

Molly: Terrier survived six hours in a burning building.

A border terrier who was trapped inside a burning building for six hours has been allowed home to its owner.

Molly was rescued by firefighters following a blaze at Dundee’s Garland Place last Wednesday.
She survived despite being stuck inside the blazing building.
Her owner Alan Thompson had tried to rescue her and his other border terrier Mac but they had both scampered as they were scared when his window was broken to allow him out and down a ladder.
He had tried to rescue the dogs but was hindered by thick smoke.
Mac did not survive the blaze.
Molly had been kept at Parkside Veterinary Group since the fire but has now been allowed home.
Mr Thompson said Molly was doing well and he was keeping an eye on her to make sure she does not do too much and get exhausted.
Fifteen people residents had to be taken out of the blaze and two people were taken to hospital. A firefighter was also injured in the incident.
At the time firefighters described it as “quite incredible” that Molly had survived.

Tough wee cookies are Border Terriers

Cornwall seafront hotel destroyed in blaze

From FIA

---

01 May 2012

A seafront hotel in Cornwall has been destroyed by a severe fire which tore through the premises yesterday (30th April).
Around 30 guests had to be evacuated from the Falmouth Beach Hotel, at Gyllyngvase in Falmouth, after the alarm was raised at around 12pm.
Three of the guests are still unaccounted for but police claimed it is likely they are on day trips and did not come to any harm.
At the height of the blaze, more than 100 firefighters were battling the flames at the 120-bedroom hotel.
The crews were hampered in their efforts by strong winds which helped spread the flames from the third-floor of the building to the roof.
The fire was eventually brought under control at approximately 7pm, with crews remaining at the site throughout the night to dampen down hot spots.
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon was among the guests at the hotel, with the star scheduled to perform at the town's Princess Pavilion.

Family rescued from fire-hit East Sussex pub

From FIA

---

27 Apr 2012

A family had to be recued from the roof of a pub in East Sussex after a fire broke out in a tumble drier.

Three crews from East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service were called to the Royal Oak Inn, in Pett, near Hastings, at around 2.50am on Thursday morning (26th April).

Two adults and a child were asleep in the building at the time of incident and quickly headed to the roof after hearing the smoke alarm sounding.

A spokeswoman for East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service told The Argus: "It was only a small fire in the tumble drier but three people had to be rescued from the roof.

"There was a lot of smoke in the building below so they couldn't get down so they climbed onto the roof."

Under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment must be conducted on all commercial properties in England and Wales. In Scotland the Legislation is The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 where a writtenFire Risk Assessment is required when there are 5 or more employees.
If the fire risk assessment is deemed to be carried out to an insufficient extent, the Duty Holder can face an unlimited fine or a prison sentence of up to two years.

Fire safety standards could be included in proposed 'landlord charter'

From FIA

---

01 May 2012

Fire safety standards could be included in a proposed charter of requirements for landlords and tenants in the private rented housing sector, it has been announced.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Adrian Sanders, MP for Torbay, proposed creating a document which would include rules governing anti-social behaviour as well as legal fire safety standards.
In a question to communities minister Grant Shapps, he said: "One way of reducing the regulatory burden on landlords but also improving the safety and security for tenants, would be to provide a central, standardised document, containing all landlord and tenant responsibilities from fire safety to anti-social behaviour."
In reply, Mr Shapps confirmed he would consider the idea: "It sounds like it might be something comparative to a template lease and is something worth further consideration."
The document could finally make it compulsory for landlords to fit smoke alarms in their rental properties at the change of tenancy as proposed in the Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill, which is backed by Mr Sanders.
The move could help reduce the number of fire deaths, with figures from the UK Statistics Authority showing that a smoke alarm was not present in over a third of fire fatalities in 2008.

Crews tackle blaze at West Lothian scrapyard

From Fire Industry Association

---

02 May 2012

Fire crews have tackled a blaze which damaged around 60 cars at a scrapyard in West Lothian yesterday (1st May).
More than 50 firefighters were called to Campbells Auto Salvage in Armadale at around 8pm.
A total of 20 scrap vehicles caught alight and Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service estimated that a further 40 were affected.
A total of 54 officers were required to eventually extinguish the flames, including a crew from Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service.
A 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment must be conducted on all commercial properties in Scotland under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005.
If this fire risk assessment is judged to have not been carried out to a suitable extent, the Duty Holder for the establishment can face up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine.
No-one is reported to have been injured in the blaze.

Fire safety standards could be included in proposed 'landlord charter'

From Fire Industry Association

---

01 May 2012

Fire safety standards could be included in a proposed charter of requirements for landlords and tenants in the private rented housing sector, it has been announced.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Liberal Democrat Adrian Sanders, MP for Torbay, proposed creating a document which would include rules governing anti-social behaviour as well as legal fire safety standards.
In a question to communities minister Grant Shapps, he said: "One way of reducing the regulatory burden on landlords but also improving the safety and security for tenants, would be to provide a central, standardised document, containing all landlord and tenant responsibilities from fire safety to anti-social behaviour."
In reply, Mr Shapps confirmed he would consider the idea: "It sounds like it might be something comparative to a template lease and is something worth further consideration."
The document could finally make it compulsory for landlords to fit smoke alarms in their rental properties at the change of tenancy as proposed in the Fire Safety (Protection of Tenants) Bill, which is backed by Mr Sanders.
The move could help reduce the number of fire deaths, with figures from the UK Statistics Authority showing that a smoke alarm was not present in over a third of fire fatalities in 2008.