This is an incredible but sadly not uncommon story where 30 residents have been given to the 2nd November to leave this block of flats in Oldham as it is deemed as seriously unsafe.
The issues that the Fire Service have identified include damaged fire doors, inadequate fire stopping and fire alarm systems and AOV systems either not for purpose or not working properly. The residents are distressed and up in arms about it as they have been paying their maintenance costs every month and bought the flats in good faith.
I have never been to the building but at first glance it looks like a solid purpose-built building and my first thought is surely there is an alternative here rather than asking the residents to leave. What about upgrading/repairing the fire alarm system and AOV system and stepping up the full evacuation policy. I'm not for a minute saying the residents safety is not paramount but there are safe alternatives available from a life safety perspective. And what happens if there is an incident between now and 2 November? I think more can be done here.
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This article describes how a large Housing Association are looking for contractors to rectify a series of fire safety defects on a large number of blocks of flats around the country.
With the introduction of the New Fire Safety Bill approaching, Housing Associations and other organisations are really starting to get to grips with this work and begin the long process of making their buildings safe from a potential fire.
This is just the start and the costs here are mind boggling. Who will pay and how they will pay will have to be arranged but there are no easy answers.
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This cafe owner in Cumbria describes here how fire doors and a working smoke alarm stopped this fire from spreading and causing more damage. This accidental fire was caused by a new washer-dryer which appears to have been faulty.
This owner actually checked the appliance before leaving the premises to make sure it was switched off so it does go to show that accidental fires can happen and the importance of having other fire safety control measures in place.
I'm sure he had a suitable and suitable fire risk assessment in place and am pleased to say his cafe is now reopen for business.
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Now its these university residents in Brentford, West London who are having to evacuate their building due to fire safety defects. Some residents are furious saying it is sickening that they could ever have been put into the building in the first place, others are saying its an exaggeration and that moving out could have been avoided.
The issue of some of the residents currently having tested positive for coronavirus has also come up and the health and welfare issues that this generates.
I have said before that what is happening is a knock on effect of consequences. Whatever the solution, the consequences could be just as damaging. In some ways it feels like we are robbing Peter to pay Paul. The residents safety has to come first but we are seeing numerous buildings having to evacuate and as an open minded fire risk assessor I have to ask are there other options available? There are so many clever fire safety prevention systems available I think we need to start looking at some options at less inconvenient to the residents.
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Terrible that these EWS1 fire safety forms have been identified as having forged signatures in Wales and in particular around the Cardiff area. Its so important for residents that these forms are signed by qualified persons and the external wall assessments have been carried out by professionals working with the residents safety in mind. Lets hope this is a one off and the Regulators deal with this issue immediately.
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This takeaway owner in Derbyshire was served a prohibition notice by Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service for allowing staff to sleep above the restaurant without providing adequate fire safety control measures.
This was discovered during a routine inspection by the Fire Service and the owner has subsequently been fined by the courts.
Had he carried out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment then it is likely that these issues would have been dealt with beforehand and the prohibition notice and fines could have been avoided.
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A school and a church had to be evacuated following this building fire in Hampstead Heath. Evacuating nearby properties is vital during any kind of serious fire because if if this is delayed and the incident escalates it can be much harder to achieve.
Often fires can have unfortunate consequences and persons being injured or suffering from smoke inhalation from adjacent properties is one of them.
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Good advice from a Station Commander in Sheffield who is warning students to be careful following the 10pm curfew which means they will be leaving the pubs at 10pm and therefore likely to carry on drinking and even cooking when they get home.
They have seen a rise in fire incidents in student accommodation buildings since the curfew began. Students should take extra care, make sure they have working smoke alarms and never leave cooking unattended.
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