B A F S A F O C U S M AY 2 0 2 0
IF ONLY … a u t o ma t i c f i r e s p r i n k l e r s had been fitted
Devastated by fire Four heritage buildings in Northamptonshire are among the more than 400 in the UK to be damaged or destroyed since the Notre Dame blaze in Paris a year ago. The Kettering Bed Centre blaze on May 13, 2019, was the most devastating of Northamptonshire’s fires at heritage buildings in the last 12 months. Around 60 firefighters tackled the fire in the Grade II-listed building, erected in 1890, on Regent Street and it had to be pulled down as a result. A Government spokesperson said “We know heritage buildings hold great value to communities which is why we are investing £95 million to protect, regenerate and adapt these buildings, as well as protecting them through our planning system,” they added.
Roof lost b a f s a f o c u s n ov e m b e r 2018
The head of the Law Society said the organisation had been left “extremely upset this has happened to this wonderful and historic building” after a fire broke out at its offices in Chancery Lane, in central London. “INThe MANY CASES WHERE A SCHOOL FIRE HAS LFB said about 150 firefighters and 25 engines were sent to tackle theBUILDING blaze at the six-storey office building OCCURRED, THE IS UNUSABLE FOR at 2240. MONTHS AND SOMETIMES YEARS” MANY The LFB said the fire was brought under control shortly before 1000 the nextand butWales said the building’s roof aand a Unlike in Scotland where it has been requirement staircase from the third to the fifth floor were by to install automatic fire sprinklers in all new builtdestroyed and refurbished the fire.since 2010 and 2014 respectively. schools Assistant commissioner Dom Ellis, washave at the scene, The National Fire Chiefs Council and who insurers also said: “This was complex fire due the age and of renewed the calla very for the installation of to automatic fire layout sprinklers in to reduce the needless waste of resources, finance and theschools building”. disruption to our children’s education. Fortunately in the UK there have been no fatalities in schools BAFSA comment : sprinklers fires for a very long time, however the affect on peoples lives and their is considerable. willeducation protect our history and our A fire in a school initially puts Firefighters lives at risk as they heritage try to mitigate the damage to the property, because of the large open areas and lack of compartmentation in many existing schools the fire travel can be very rapid and extensive. Invariably school fires are spectacular and require large numbers of firefighting resources and water supplies, this is particularly the Twenty fire engines and around 125 firefighters were called case in more rural areas where neither may be readily available. to a blaze at a warehouse in Barking, east London. The Cuts in educational services can include the reduction of Brigade’s 999 Control Officers took 80 calls to the blaze. security measures in schools thus leaving them targets for the A single-storey builders’ merchant warehouse was fire raiser and arsonist. destroyed by the fire and part of an adjoining warehouse The introduction of the requirement for automatic fire sprinklers was also damaged. Station Manager Jim Smith, waswas into new and refurbished schools in Scotland backwho in 2010 at the scene, said: “On arrival crews were faced with a wellthat not the result of any injuries or loss of life but the realisation developed fire and of smoke. Therelarge werescale no basis the school stock waslarge beingclouds depleted on a regular reports of any injuries. by deliberate fires such is the case in London at present. Why fit automatic fire sprinklers into schools? Firstly to make the school building portfolio more sustainable, by installing a sprinkler system into a school, you are ensuring that the building in terms of fire will be sustainable throughout its build lifetime.
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Warehouse destroyed
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