New guide on choosing fire risk assessors

The Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council has published new guidance on selecting a competent fire risk assessor.

Aimed at employers and other ‘duty holders’ under UK fire legislation, the guide sets out the steps that should be taken if a specialist fire risk assessor is required to undertake a fire risk assessment.
While the guide says that duty holders may themselves be able to carry out a fire risk assessment in small or low risk premises, if a specialist is needed duty holders should make ‘reasonable checks’ to ensure that the specialist is competent. This includes checking that those providing the service have independent registration with, or certification from, a professional or certification body and that they meet the competency criteria established by the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council.

The guide goes on to list some steps to help verify the competence and suitability of a prospective fire risk assessor and highlights the importance of adequate management systems being in place in any company for whom the fire risk assessor works, even if the fire risk assessor is self-employed.
‘The Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council recommends the use of fire risk assessment companies, including sole traders, which are third party certificated to appropriate schemes operated by certification bodies which have been UKAS accredited to certificate against such schemes,’ the guide says.
It gives an overview of the different types of certification and professional registration schemes, and provides a matrix of schemes that are currently available.

Colin Todd, managing director of fire safety consultants CS Todd & Associates and a member of the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council told FRM:
‘This is excellent news for our profession. While government policy remains that there is unlikely ever to be a legal requirement for duty holders to use the services of registered or certificated persons to carry out their fire risk assessments, the Fire Risk Assessment Competency Council has led the way in signposting duty holders to sources of competent persons and companies.

‘This is consistent with government advice on third party certification which, in effect, states that the use of companies that are third party certificated by a UKAS-accredited certification body for their fire protection products and services provides reassurance to duty holders and may constitute a defence of due diligence, in the event that fire precautions are found to be deficient.’
To download the guide click here 

From FRM Journal.

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Fire in Edinburgh Prison

An inmate has been treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in his cell at Saughton prison.

The blaze broke out at around 9.45pm on Monday in the cell.
Prison officers managed to extinguish the flames before Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service arrived.
Firefighters used breathing apparatus to make sure the fire was out before calling an ambulance for the inmate.
The 46-year-old was treated for smoke inhalation. It is not yet known what caused the fire.

From STV

Coroner advocates Sprinklers in Buildings of more than 30 meters in hieght.

Coroner Keith Wiseman said:

"Social housing providers should be encouraged to consider the retro-fitting of sprinklers in all existing high-rise buildings in excess of 30m in height, particularly those identified by fire and rescue services as having complex designs that make fire-fighting more hazardous and/or difficult."

The statement followed the inquest into two Southampton firemen who died fighting a fire at Shirley Towers in 2010 which took the lives of Firefighters Jim Shears, of Poole, and Alan Bannon, of Southampton.
An inquest in July 2012 into the two deaths returned a verdict of death by misadventure.
A copy of the Coroner's Letter under Rule 43 can be viewed via the link below.
 

 http://www.bafsa.org.uk/pdfs/snews/00001256.pdf

Three people in hospital after fire breaks out at Glasgow flat

                       

 

Firefighters: The blaze broke out in the flat in Paisley Road West.

Three people have been taken to hospital after a fire broke out in a flat in Glasgow’s south side.
The blaze occurred at the first floor property in the Cessnock end of Paisley Road West.
Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said it received a 999 call about the fire at around 9.15am on Wednesday.
Four appliances were called out to tackle the fire, which was near the Cessnock Underground stop on the street.
A fire service spokesman said a man sustained moderate burns to his arms and hands in the blaze, while another man and a woman rescued from the building suffered from mild smoke inhalation.
The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed the three casualties Southern General Hospital for treatment following the blaze.
Another woman who suffered mild smoke inhalation was treated at the scene but did not require to go to hospital.
The blaze was extinguished by around 10.50am while the fire service confirmed there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding it.

From STV

Glasgow City Centre Fire

A huge inferno was tackled by firefighters in Glasgow city centre on Sunday morning (February 3rd), taking nearly four hours to get under control.
Indeed, some 100 firefighters and fire safety officers attended the scene in Dixon Street after a former bedding shop went up in flames at 01.50 GMT.
Crews from Calton, Polmadie and Maryhill Community Fire Stations were the first on the scene and quickly found access to the inside of the building to help tackle the top-floor fire.
However, because of the rapid spread of the blaze, additional resources from across Glasgow and Lanarkshire were called to the three-storey building.
According to Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (SFR), the task of containing the conflagration was made trickier by the high winds hitting the city in the early hours of Sunday morning. The job was made even more difficult after the roof collapsed at around 04.40 GMT - nearly three hours after the blaze started.
Just over half-an-hour later, the fire was contained - with the help of aerial rescue pumps - before it was later put out. Fire crews used thermal imaging devices to ensure no pockets of fire remained in the building.
A statement released by the local fire and rescue authority said: "Crews remained all day Sunday to make the scene safe bringing the incident to its conclusion.
"The cause of the blaze will now be subject to a full investigation carried out by SFR's Incident Research and Investigation section."
Fire crews also worked hard to ensure neighbouring buildings were not destroyed in the blaze, SFR said, while nobody was hurt in the incident.
It's not the first serious fire to have affected the city in recent months. In December, Glasgow firefighters were called in to tackle a blaze in the basement of a tower block.
Officers were forced to use breathing apparatus to help stop the blaze, which was thought to have been started because of an electrical problem, from spreading to other floors.

Frm @fireisndustry

We can avoid many fires in the home by checking electrical appliances.

We can avoid many  fires in the home by checking electrical appliances.

Recently, we have highlighted fires in Domestic properties caused by:  a freezer, washing machine, dishwasher and laptop. All common items in any home.These fires have caused injury and death and could be avoided.
In Commercial properties it is a Legislative requirement to have Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) carried out on a regular basis. There is no such requirement for personal electrical items in the home to be tested.

In this age of austerity, the incidence of fires in electrical appliances will rise due to people not being able to afford new appliances as their current appliances grow old and people trying to carry out DIY repairs.

It is too easy to check YouTube for tips on repairs but unless you are competent you may create a dangerous situation which could affect you and your family.

Here are some tips on how to keep your home safe:

Electrical Safety

Follow this safety advice to avoid a fire caused by electrical appliances in your home

 Did you know faulty electrics such as overloaded sockets and faulty electrical appliances cause around 7,000 house fires across the country every year?

General Advice

• Make sure all electrical appliances have a British or European safety mark when you buy them.
• Don’t overload your sockets - keep one appliance to one socket where possible.
• Unplugging appliances when you are going to bed or not using them helps to reduce the risk of fire.
• High powered appliances such as washing machines should have a single plug socket.

Electrical Appliances

• Never put anything metallic in the microwave
• Do not leave your washing machine on overnight or when you go out
• Clean the filter on your tumble dryer regularly and remove fluff
• Clean behind the fridge/freezer in order to avoid the blocking of air vents

Electric Blankets

• Don’t leave electric blankets folded when storing them over summer months as this damages the internal wiring – store them flat or rolled up.
• If your electric blanket isn’t thermostat controlled, unplug the blanket before you get into bed.
• Don’t buy second hand blankets; check your blanket regularly for wear and tear.

Please read about our changes in electric blanket testing for 2012