LFB outlines cost saving proposals

14 Jan 2013

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has outlined a number of proposals to save money over the next three years while ensuring that frontline services are maintained and fire safety is upheld.
In its Draft Fifth London Safety Plan, it sets out a number of ways in which £28.8 million worth of cost savings can be made without reducing response times to incidents around the capital.
At present, the first fire engine arrives at an emergency within an average of six minutes of a call being made, while the second, if required, usually arrives within eight minutes.
The brigade is confident that it can close down 12 fire stations and reduce the number of fire engines from two to one at seven stations without affecting these response times.
Among the stations to be closed under these new proposals are Westminster, Clapham, Bow, Southwark, New Cross and Knightsbridge.
Chingford, Hayes, Peckham and Leytonstone are among those that would lose a fire engine, while four stations - Hendon, Orpington, Stanmore and Twickenham - would all gain one.
LFB claims the plans are designed to ensure that fire engines are located where they are most needed in order to keep the city's residents as safe as possible.
This will involve moving some of them to areas in outer London, where response times are currently slower than they are in central London.
Commenting on the plans, Ron Dobson, commissioner of the LFB, said: "Like virtually every other public service, the brigade needs to make savings.
"In the last four years, we have cut £52 million without reducing frontline services. Additional savings cannot be found without making significant changes to how we keep London safe.
"In the last decade, demand for the Brigade's service has changed dramatically and it's time to reflect that in how our fire stations, engines and staff are organised."
He added: "I am confident these savings can be made while keeping London safe."
Also outlined in the Draft Fifth London Safety Plan are proposals to start charging for persistent false fire alarms, encourage the installation of sprinkler systems where it is deemed appropriate and to look into the possibility of setting up a Twitter feed for emergency calls.
All of the plans will be discussed by members of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority on January 21st and final decisions will be made on June 20th following a public consultation.

There are no known plans of Station closures in Scotland, although that may change after the re-organisation with 8 Fire & Rescue Services being formed into 1 Scottish Fire Service. We will keep you informed.

Business owners given fire safety warning following newsagent fine

14th Jan 2013

Small business owners in Greater Manchester have been warned about the importance of upholding fire safety laws after a newsagent in the region was handed a fine.
Yakub Patel, who runs Hayhurst News on Walshaw Road in Bury, pleaded guilty to four offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. (In Scotland it is The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 )

Appearing at Bury and Rochdale Magistrates Court on Thursday January 10th 2013, he was issued a £1,000 fine and ordered to pay costs of £1,994.
Inspectors from the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority visited Mr Patel's store in July 2011 and found that the second floor of the three-storey building was being used as a flat, while the first floor housed an office and a store room.

There was no fire alarm inside the building and the only means of escape from these upper floors had been left unprotected from smoke or the spread of fire.
Furthermore, the back gate leading out of the premises was secured with a padlock, which meant that in the event of a blaze anyone attempting to escape would have been trapped in the yard.
Mr Patel also admitted that he had not carried out a fire risk assessment on the property - something that is mandatory for owners of all commercial premises in England and Wales under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. (In Scotland it is The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 )

Officers served a prohibition notice preventing the 61-year-old from using the second floor and restricting his use of the second floor, with which he complied.
He has since arranged for work to be carried out inside the shop to rectify the problems identified, and has spent more than £32,000 on a fire alarm system that fire safety professionals say goes beyond the level required.
These actions were taken into account when magistrates issued his fines.
"Unfortunately Mr Patel has learned the hard way that as a business you must consider fire safety," said Peter O'Reilly, director of protection and prevention at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service.
"I would urge all small businesses to review their fire risk assessments and if they don't have one to do it as soon as possible."

This could happen to any of you. Be careful with your Laptop it could cause death.

• 

  A couple from the USA lost their 25 year old son in a fire at home on June 4th. The son who had graduated with an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison two weeks earlier had come home for a while. He had lunch with his dad at home and decided to go back to clean up his hostel room. His father told him to wait, to meet his mother, before he went back for a few days. He decided to take a nap while waiting for his Mom to come back home from work. Some time later their neighbours called 911 when they saw black smoke coming out of the house.

  
  Unfortunately, the 25 years old died in the three year old house. It took several days of investigation to find out the cause of the fire. It was determined that the fire was caused by the laptop resting on the bed. When the laptop was on the bed cooling fan did not get the air to cool the computer and that is what caused the fire. He did not even wake up to get out of the bed because he died of breathing in carbon monoxide.
  This from his Mother:
  
  "The reason I am writing this to all of you is that I have seen many of us using the laptop while in bed. Let us all decide and make it a practice not to do that. The risk is real. Let us make it a rule not to use the laptop on bed with blankets and pillows around. Please educate as many people as you can.
  Please pass to everyone you know, you might save a life" 

Washing machine causes house fire in Langrick

A house in Langrick has been severely damaged by fire following a blaze this morning.

The kitchen of the home in Meer Booth Road was gutted by the flames, and the rest of the house suffered smoke damage as a result of the fire at about 9.30am.
Fire crews believe it was caused by an electrical fault in the washing machine.

How safe are the electrical appliances in your home?  Commercial properties by Regulation need to test Their Portable Appliances on a regular basis. Domestic properties can have old washing machines, televisions, tumble dryers which can be dangerous and cause a fire in your home. 
Get you portable appliances checked and stay safe.
Fire Isk Assessments & Training Ltd

Fire crews rescue elderly residents from burning block of Glasgow flats

Two elderly people were rescued from a burning block of flats in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The fire, at the corner of John Wood Street and Bay Street in Port Glasgow, was attended by crews from two stations after it was reported around midnight.
Six fire-fighters using breathing apparatus and high-pressure jets rescued two elderly residents and extinguished the fire, described as "well-developed".
The residents received oxygen therapy at the scene before the arrival of the ambulance service. They were taken to hospital suffering from slight smoke inhalation.
A Strathclyde Fire & Rescue spokesperson said: "Fire can strike anywhere and it is vital every home has at least one working smoke alarm. If fire does break-out then an alarm will give you and your family potentially life-saving minutes to get to safety.
"We are asking any member of the public who is concerned someone - like a vulnerable neighbour, friend or relative - may be at increased risk from fire, to contact us so we can help ensure their home is fire safe. Fire fighters want to prevent fires starting in the first place and will happily arrange free Home Fire Safety Visits to protect our communities."
To arrange a free Home Fire Safety Visit for you or someone you know, call Strathclyde Fire & Rescue on 0800 0731 999 or text "check" to 61611. You can also get in touch by calling your local community fire station.
From STV

Lakanal House fire: Victim's 'hour-long 999 call'

A woman who died in a fire at flats in south London fell unconscious while on a 999 call pleading for help for almost an hour, an inquest heard.

Catherine Hickman, 31, made the call from her 11th-floor home in Lakanal House, Camberwell, on 3 July 2009.
She told the operator: "Oh my God, listen, I can see flames at the door."
An inquest is being held into her death and those of Helen Udoaka, 34, and her three-week-old daughter and Dayana Francisquini, 26, and her two children.
Jurors heard how faulty electrical equipment started the fire on the ninth floor of the 14 storey block, which housed 98 maisonettes.
It spread to other flats including number 79, where Ms Hickman lived, and flat 81, where Ms Udoaka and her baby daughter Michelle had gathered with Ms Francisquini, six-year-old Thais, and Filipe, three.
'Orange everywhere' Counsel to the "super inquest" James Maxwell-Scott, went through a series of 999 calls made as the fire took hold.
He said: "It is clear that this call lasted nearly an hour and that the line was still open to fire brigade control when Ms Hickman lost consciousness."
She spoke to the operator a number of times, explaining that more and more smoke was getting in to her flat.
Mr Maxwell-Scott told the hearing at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton that at 16:23 BST: "Catherine Hickman told the operator that black smoke was coming right up outside the window and that she could hear a noise.

Almost 100 families were left homeless by the fire

"She said: 'What should I do, should I get out?' The operator told her to go into a room where there was less smoke."
Mr Maxwell-Scott said: "She asked whether she should go downstairs or out into the corridor and the operator said that she ought not to open the door because she did not know what was on the other side."
At 16:30, she told the operator: "It's orange, it's orange everywhere" and that smoke was coming through the floorboards and she could not open any windows.
Jurors heard she told the operator she could see flames at the door before saying: "I'm getting really hot in here."
By 16:55 the operator told fire crews she had stopped talking and they could not hear her breathing.
No charges Ms Udoaka had also called the emergency services to say she and her baby were trapped and "everywhere is choked with smoke".
Mr Maxwell-Scott said she was told to use a towel or blanket to stop the smoke coming in.
Jurors were shown photographs and a short video detailing how the lethal fire spread with thick smoke pouring from the top of the building and the internal corridor filled with smoke.
One image showed a resident trying to put together a makeshift rope to lower himself off a balcony to escape.
Jurors also heard that last May it was decided that there was no realistic prospect of any prosecution for manslaughter against Southwark Council or any company in relation to the fire.
Almost 100 families were made homeless by the fire.
The inquest, being heard by Assistant Deputy Coroner Frances Kirkham, is expected to last until the end of March.
The inquest continues.
From BBC 14th  January 2013

Freezer causes fire in Hampshire Co-op store

 Jan 2013

Investigators believe that a faulty freezer may have been the cause of a serious fire at a Co-operative store in Hampshire on Saturday January 5th.
The blaze broke out inside the retail outlet in Waterlooville at around 2.50pm and staff immediately called the emergency services after seeing smoke issuing from the back of a freezer unit.
More than 30 firefighters from Waterlooville, Horndean, Cosham and Southsea arrived on the scene to find the single-storey building well alight.
They used four sets of breathing apparatus, four water jets and an aerial ladder platform in their efforts to extinguish the flames.
At one point they had to withdraw from the building over fears that the roof would collapse.
Tony Deacon, group manager at Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We have seen from fires in similar shops in this area how quickly the roof can be compromised.
"Our initial crews on the scene reported all members of the public had been evacuated from the building and we then quickly withdrew our initial crew due to the concern over the roof.
"The roof then collapsed once the flames got into the roof space and we were left to tackle the fire from outside the building."
The store was completely destroyed by the blaze, but fortunately no one was seriously injured.
Three people were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene and one of them was later taken to hospital as a precaution.
It comes as the London Fire Brigade is warning of the dangers of fridges and freezers with regard to fire safety, pointing out that modern appliances contain large amounts of plastic and highly flammable insulation, causing large fires that spread quickly.
"London Fire Brigade wants to see tougher standards so that the highly flammable insulation in fridges and freezers is better protected from fire," said deputy commissioner Rita Dexter.
"In the meantime, our advice is that if people notice any strange noises coming from their fridge or freezer, they should call the manufacturer or an electrical repair expert immediately."

From FIA

Remember to have PAT Testing carried out regularly on all your electrical appliances.