Firefighters battle Cheshire barn blaze

Five fire crews were called to a farm in Farndon, near Chester, this weekend to tackle a blaze which broke out in one of the establishment’s barns.

The firefighters, from Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, were called to the fire at Marsh House Farm in the early hours of Saturday morning (August 20th), according to the Chester First website.
After arriving on the scene shortly after 3.45am, it took the firefighters several hours to contain and finally extinguish the blaze.

Residents evacuated after Billingshurst fuel depot blaze

Residents had to be evacuated from their homes in Sussex, after a fire broke out at a fuel storage centre in Coneyhurst.
Around 100 people had to be moved out of their homes after the blaze hit the depot, located near the town of Billingshurst, shortly before 10pm on Friday (August 19th), reports BBC News.

Firefighters from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service had to establish an exclusion zone of 600 metres after it was discovered that gas canisters were stored on site, with locals telling the news provider that explosions were heard.
The fire service also had to close nearby roads, including the A272 and the B2139.

Fire safety breaches in London care homes exposed

According to the BBC, there are 1,976 care homes in London, with 663 having been audited since 2010. Enforcement action was taken at 4% of those.

Steve Turek, assistant commissioner for the London Fire Brigade, said: “It’s important for owners of care homes to take their responsibilities seriously.

“I don’t think it’s acceptable for anyone who receives an enforcement notice to say it was for minor infringements. We don’t issue enforcement notices lightly.”

London Assembly member Jenny Jones described the findings as “quite horrifying” and called for care home fire risk assessments to be available on a public register.

Responding to the findings, the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA) said they showed how “legislation is failing the most vulnerable in our society”. A 2010 BAFSA report based on research by Arup Fire “presented a compelling argument for the incorporation of sprinkler protection in residential care premises”.

Fire Risk Assessor Jailed for 8 months

A Fire Risk Assessor has been jailed for 8 months for inadequacies found within his fire risk assessments, the assessor failed to identify basic requirements set out within the Fire Safety Order 2005.  Let’s hope this sends a strong message to those offering such services to the commercial sector, that individuals who do so must be suitable qualified to do so.