Fire breaks out at Dubai high-rise

by Featured NewsMENA - Featured News

A fire broke out on Monday morning (7 November) at a 35-story high-rise building in Dubai near the Burj Khalifa.

Social media videos depict flames engulfing the high-rise, located next to the world’s tallest building. The outer façade of the building is now seen to be covered with black char marks.

https://twitter.com/justartsndstuff/status/1589423583637680131?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1589423583637680131%7Ctwgr%5Ea49d87137cbadea9714e51264445ebfb73aebea7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-21431931423006117108.ampproject.net%2F2210211855000%2Fframe.html

The building is a part of a series of towers called 8 Boulevard Walk by Emaar, the state-backed developer in the emirate, according to The National newspaper.

There has been no information yet on whether anyone was injured in the blaze and Dubai police and civil defense have yet to acknowledge the fire, reported the Associated Press.

Electrical fire at Egyptian church claims lives of 41

by ActiveFeatured News

An electrical fire which swept through an Egyptian Coptic Christian church during Mass on Sunday, caused a stampede has killed at least 41 people, most of them children, according to reports.

The blaze, which began just before 9am in the Abu Sifin church in the city of Giza, broke out during a gathering of around 1,000 people. The fire blocked an entrance to the building which caused a stampede.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said a forensic examination showed that the fire began in the second floor air conditioning as a result of an electrical malfunction.

Two officers and three members of the civil defence are among the dead.

Yasir Munir, a worshipper who was present for the fire, said: “People were gathering on the third and fourth floor, and we saw smoke coming from the second floor. People rushed to go down the stairs and started falling on top of each other.”

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in a tweet: “I offer my sincere condolences to the families of the innocent victims that have passed on to be with their Lord in one of his houses of worship.”

The Governor of Giza has ordered an urgent aid of 50,000 pounds to each of the deceased’s family and 10,000 pounds to each family of the injured.

Fire breaks out at Aintree University Hospital

by ActiveFeatured News

Fire crews have been called to a fire at Aintree University Hospital, Longmoor Lane, Aintree this morning. Crews were alerted at 4.34am and on scene at 4.40am.

Merseyside Fire and Rescue said crews found that a plant building on the roof of a three-storey building next to Accident & Emergency was involved in a fire. Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus were deployed to prevent escalation while liaising with staff to evacuate patients from the areas near to the fire.

Power was isolated to the electrical unit and firefighters wearing breathing apparatus are fighting the fire with high pressure hose reels and CO2 extinguishers.

Patients were evacuated from the first and second floors with no reports of any casualties.

As of 8am, the number of fire engines on scene rose from six to eight as more than 30 firefighters continued to suppress the fire in a rooftop plant room.

 Police cordons are in place around the area of the incident. 

Firefighters missing amid oil storage tank fire in Cuba

by ActiveFeatured News

A large fire in a crude oil tank in the port of Matanzas in Cuba caused several explosions Saturday morning, leaving at least 121 people injured, local authorities said, and 17 firefighters, who were trying to prevent the flames from spreading, were declared missing by Cuba’s presidential office.

Firefighters and other specialists were still trying to quell the blaze at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, where the fire began during a thunderstorm Friday night, the Ministry of Energy and Mines tweeted.

The oil storage facility is located in an area of Matanzas Bay opposite the city centre. Authorities said about 800 people were evacuated from the Dubrocq neighbourhood closest to the fire.

In an afternoon press conference, Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said rescue teams recovered the body of an unidentified person. Local state media reported it was of one of the missing firefighters.

The Cuban government said it accepted “technical assistance” offered by the United States to help put out the fire.

Firefighting teams appeared to have made progress on Sunday bringing under control a fire at its main oil storage facility, drawing on help from Mexico and Venezuela to fight the raging flames.

Heatwave sees London Fire Brigade’s busiest day since World War II

by ActiveBreaking News

London Fire Brigade has reported its busiest day since World War II as record temperatures led to hundreds of fires across the city on Tuesday, with more than 1,146 incidents throughout the capital.

More than 40 houses and shops were destroyed after a number of significant grass fires spread to nearby buildings, including in Wennington, Dagenham and Kenton. Crews tackled fires at garages, farm buildings, vehicles, outbuildings, a car wash and a church hall. A total of 16 firefighters suffered heat-related injuries, and two of them were taken to hospital.

Control Officers also worked relentlessly throughout the day, taking 2,670 calls between 8am on Tuesday and around 0630 on Wednesday morning. The Fire Investigation team was also busy mobilising to fires around London.

In the aftermath of the fires, Borough Commanders and their stations are engaging with people in communities affected by the fires to offer our ongoing support.

The Brigade’s Assistant Commissioner, Jonathan Smith, said on Wednesday: “Firefighters across London worked in very difficult conditions to protect Londoners and their heroic actions mean no lives were lost. I am immensely proud of them and their dedication in such unprecedented heat.

“We declared a major incident and worked with emergency service partners who have also been working hard to continue to run services in these difficult and challenging conditions. By taking action, we were able to focus and prioritise our resources, recall staff from training, call on support from other local fire and rescue services and attend every incident as needed.

“Yesterday’s fires are another example of how we are increasingly being challenged by new extremes of weather as our climate changes and we’re developing long-term strategies to deal with more incidents like this in the future.”

Firefighters remain ready to respond to incidents and the Brigade is continuing to monitor the weather conditions and the forecast for the coming days, with additional resource in place.

Assistant Commissioner Smith added: “Despite some rain in parts of London overnight, the ground is still likely to be dry, so as well as fires there is also a risk of surface water flooding.

“If you are at risk of flooding, you can take action now to prepare. Please continue to pay attention to weather alerts and prepare a flood kit or grab bag.”

Columbia prison fire leads to 51 inmate deaths

by Featured News

Fifty-one inmates have died during a riot in a prison in the Colombian city of Tuluá after a fire started during a protest by prisoners overnight, according to the director of the national prisons agency.

“It is a tragic and disastrous event,” Gen Tito Castellanos told Caracol Radio on Tuesday. “There was a situation, apparently a riot, and the prisoners lit some mattresses and a conflagration occurred that unfortunately triggered the death of 49 prisoners.” He said later confirmed that two more people had died after being taken to hospital. A further 30 people were injured and dozens evacuated.

The prison is a medium-security facility in the city of Tuluá, an industrial and commercial centre in Colombia’s Cauca Valley. The prison has 1,267 inmates and the cell block where the fire occurred houses 180. Castellanos said the fire broke out in an area where at least 160 inmates were confined, adding that the building was old and didn not have the fire-suppression system needed for the number of people inside.

The country’s president, Iván Duque, who is visiting Portugal, tweeted that the incident would be investigated. “We regret the events in the prison in Tuluá, Valle del Cauca. I am in touch with Castellanos and I have given instructions to carry forward investigations that allow us to clarify this terrible situation,” he wrote.

Active fire protection market set for growth post Covid-19

by Active

The active fire protection market is comprised of detection/alarms and suppression systems. Alarms and detection systems account for 63% of the overall active fire protection market, having gained slight share over the last two years, with the majority of installations of products and systems going into the non-domestic sectors. Domestic smoke alarms only account for a small portion of total market value.

Over the last decade or so, innovations in detection technology have significantly reduced the likelihood and number of false alarms, through such developments as improved capability of sensor technology in smoke detectors. However, the number of false alarms due to apparatus faults has stabilised in the last three years, suggesting that more recent product improvements are no longer having an impact on the number of false alarms.

AMA Research’s current forecast indicates a decline in 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19, this is down to the closing building sites, the furloughing of employees as well as restrictions on the supply of building materials throughout the world. The active fire protection market is expected to grow by 14% between 2020 and 2024.

Fire detectors, which serve to identify where a fire is occurring by locating heat, smoke or flames, before providing a warning of the blaze through an audible alarm and often through the alerting the fire service will outperform the market, increasing 17% between 2020 and 2024.

Higher levels of publicity and the greater awareness of fire safety measures, particularly within high rise buildings, should stimulate demand for active fire protection products. This should be seen in both new installations and particularly in the replacement sector.

Increasingly, businesses are adopting integrated fire and security systems, which is likely to remain a key feature of the industry. IT-based security systems, often including fire protection systems in combination with other security measures on a single network, such as video surveillance, access control and intruder alarms.

Laura Pardoe, Editor of the Active Fire Protection Market Report comments “the active fire protection sector is mature and has been primarily driven by the wider performance of the UK building and construction market. That said, changes to building regulations in the wake of the Hackitt Review will provide additional demand for the fire protection industry, particularly with regard to sprinkler systems in high buildings.”

The information was taken from the Active Fire Protection Market Report – UK 2020 -2024 by AMA Research, which is available to purchase now at www.amaresearch.co.uk