London fire: How Europe’s longest ladder and a fire escape hood helped

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More than 125 firefighters locked horns with a blaze in East London as they successfully evacuated 60 people were from a tower block as a large fire broke out.

A fire broke out in the tower block of flats and offices on Whitechapel High Street in Aldgate East on Monday afternoon with large flames could be seen fanning out of the 17th floor of the building. Dramatic footage from onlookers showed falling burning had fallen to the ground.

In its aid firefighters deployed a 64m (210ft) ladder, which is being touted as Europe’s largest. The London Fire Brigade (LFB) said a woman had to be given ‘fire survival advice’ until firefighters got to her as she was trapped on the 17th floor.

Chris Jenner, station commander, told the BBC: “Fire crews used a fire escape hood to help lead the woman to safety via the internal staircase.”

A fire escape hood offers up to 15 minutes protection from fire gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen chloride and acrolein. They do not provide oxygen but temporarily filter toxic smoke to make breathing easier, LFB said.

London Ambulance Service said two patients were taken to hospital while two others were checked over at the scene.

£90m Surrey golf club fire being investigated

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Image © Surrey Golf Mag / Twitter

The Beaverbrook Golf Club suffered a massive fire over the weekend. The £90m facility was frequented by several celebrities including past and present England national team footballer Harry Kane and Peter Crouch.

The fire ripped through the facility as emergency services were alerted just before 10pm on Monday night after the fire was discovered. 

Surrey Fire and Rescue Service rushed to the scene but little could be done to save the burning structure or its basement. Investigations are ongoing into what could have sparked the enormous blaze. 

Specialist crew and eight fire engines got to the site within a few just minutes, but personnel working through the night to battle the blaze. Surrey Police said it was informed as a matter of protocol but did not need to attend.

Sources told the Daily Mail that the club house was significantly damaged, however no one was hurt or suffered any casualties. An adjoining hotel, spa, and restaurant remain operational as per normal.

APS: ‘Safety up front’ paramount for Building Safety Bill

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The Association for Project Safety (APS) has proposed several suggestions for improvements to the proposed legislation for residents, other users, Government, and the construction industry.

The APS wants to see ‘safety up front’ with building safety made an explicit requirement in the Building Safety Bill. There’s also a desire to deliver government-backed professional indemnity insurance and clarify the principal designer roles.

Jonathan Moulam, president, APS said: “As it stands, the Building Safety Bill represents something of a wasted opportunity when it comes to making the built environment safer for everyone. The concentration on structural fire risk replays a disaster that should never have happened without looking ahead to how safety can be improved more generally.

“In its current state, the Building Safety Bill creates dangers of its own and is likely to make homes less affordable, while also pushing small firms out of business. Potential costs could make the existing skills crisis worse.”

According to the APS, if the management of building safety risk was to be made an explicit requirement of the Building Safety Bill, this would ensure residents will not be forced to bear the costs of managing building safety risks that could have been avoided, or otherwise reduced, during design or building works.

The APS believes this change would make a ‘second Grenfell Tower Tragedy’ less likely by removing any possible confusion over responsibility. Products would be cheaper as safety would be fully costed from the outset and residents would be financially better off.

The current version of the Building Safety Bill would allow developers to choose and install fire alarm systems and emergency lighting that may be inherently less safe and require physical testing with all the implicated costs, as well as all of the associated risks (such as tests not being done) rather than deploying self-testing systems that can be remotely monitored. Only the minimum requirements would be met, and residents would face hidden costs.

Irish firm Writech acquires Compco fire systems

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Writech, an Ireland-based fire protection company, has made its first acquisition since securing a multimillion-euro investment last year.

The company has snapped up Compco Fire Systems, a British provider of automatic fire suppression systems. While no details surrounding the deal value have been disclosed, industry sources estimate Writech paid just over £16.6m (€20m) to acquire the company, Irish Times reported.

Writech managing director Ted Wright told the news outlet the deal would add £33.2m (€40m) to revenues and cement its position as one of Europe’s largest fire protection companies.

Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Worcester, Compco employs over 200 people across six offices. Wright, whose parents Mary and Thomas Wright founded Writech in 1981, said the deal for Compco was just one of a number of acquisitions the company was looking at as it looked to scale. Ted Wright and his brother Alan Wright took over the business in 2008.

The company expansion comes after private equity firm Waterland took a majority stake in Writech last year and signed off on plans for it to accelerate its UK and European growth strategy and double capacity at its design and innovation centre in Mullingar.

Wright said expansion was focused on acquisitions outside of the State, with a deal for a company in the Nordics expected to close shortly. “With expansion we’re creating 40 jobs now in Mullingar, 30 of which are design engineering roles,” he told Irish Times.

Among the projects the company has worked on include the Department of Heath’s headquarters in Mieseian Plaza in Dublin.

RECOM to open new fire training academy

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RECOM Solutions is set to open a new training academy, as part of a significant investment from the Trafford Park fire protection services firm.

The move is in response to huge growth in demand for its fire protection services, which has seen the firm increase its specialist operatives from five to 30 in the past 18 months, the BusinessDesk.com reproted.

This is in addition to its team of surveyors, contract supervisors and project managers in its fire protection arm. The academy will offer a live environment for training staff in the latest fire protection measures, legislation and products which are new to the market, such as new laws concerning cladding on structures of multiple occupancy, including high rise apartment blocks.

RECOM, a UK-based firm, works with a range of clients, ranging from the residential, to care home, healthcare, commercial, leisure, education, heritage buildings and industrial sectors.

The business is an approved contractor under the UK’s Fire Accreditation Scheme (FIRAS), and director, Jason McKnight, said the academy is due to be launched in the spring ahead of the implementation of the Fire Safety Act in England, which seeks to improve fire safety in multi-occupancy buildings.

McKnight said: “We have positioned ourselves ahead of the field by being able to provide a holistic approach to projects, linked to the new legislation.

“We act in both client side and contractor roles, utilising innovative cloud-based software to ensure clients have up to date relevant information on fire safety. This is the ‘golden thread’ of information that will become a legal requirement for building owners, developers and the like.”

He added: “The new academy will further demonstrate our commitment to retaining our leading market position in the provision of fire safety services.”

RECOM acts as a construction project manager and main contractor in addition to its role as a fire protection and cladding replacement specialist.

“The need for robust fire protection measures in buildings has been brought into sharp focus in recent years, and we are proud to be playing our part in helping to improve building safety and create smart, safe and sustainable places where people thrive, across the North West and beyond,” McKnight added.

The academy will enable RECOM to train and develop new employees and to educate its clients on the importance of fire protection measures within buildings. “We fully expect that the Fire Safety Act will lead to further expansion of our fire protection operations.”

MoviTHERM’s IoT tech enables early fire detection applications

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MoviTHERM has launched iEFD Cloud – a secure cloud-based software application to support its iEFD Early Fire Detection series of solutions. The iEFD solution leverages the industrial internet of things (IIoT) to connect thermal imaging cameras, heat and smoke sensors to detect early fire formation at various stages and conditions.

The new cloud application provides real-time situational awareness to facility operators, employees, and first responders. The IoT solution alerts users of potential fire formation, helping prevent disasters.

The iEFD Cloud software has many built-in features that provide situational awareness to anyone who works in a high fire risk environment.

Markus Tarin, President and CEO, MoviTHERM said: “The days of expensive and overly complicated fire detection systems are over. Our iEFD solution provides optimal situational awareness that benefits both operators and first responders.”

London fire: Major blaze hits 22-storey tower block

by ActiveFeatured NewsSafety

A large fire broke out on Monday afternoon, in East London on the 17th floor of a block of flats. London’s fire service said it sent 15 engines and 125 firefighters to the high-rise at Whitechapel High Street.

Eye-witnesses described large panels of glass falling hundreds of metres to the ground and smoke bellowing out of the windows. Three commercial units underneath the railway arches were completely alight, and four cars and a telephone box were also on fire.

At one point, flames began to spread to a balcony on the 18th floor before fire crews put them out. Fire could later be seen through a window on the 19th floor.

A resident in the 10th floor of the building, who was visiting her friend from Nottingham, said no alarms went off. The fire severely disturbed several victims who were in the building. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in “close contact” with London Fire Brigade’s commissioner Andy Roe, Sky News reported.

According to property developer Hondo Enterprises, which sold the building in 2018, it is a 22-storey mixed use development consisting of more than 7,000 square feet of retail area, 97,000 square feet of commercial office space and 207 residential apartments.

It is located over Aldgate East Tube station between the City, the financial heart of London, and neighbourhoods Aldgate and Spitalfields.

Christopher Garrigues joins Vacaville Fire Department, California

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Christopher Garrigues has joined the Vacaville Fire Department after serving more than nine years at the Georgetown Fire Protection District, in Georgetown, California. Garrigues was one of 41 GEOFire Family members that comprised of career and volunteer firefighters.

Garrigues joined the GEOFire Family in 2012 as a volunteer and over the last nine years became an integral part of the department’s daily operations. The GEOFire Family has wished Garrigues the best as he has taken a position with the Vacaville Fire Department.

Garrigues has worked full-time for the department for the last year as a firefighter / paramedic. Garrigues assisted the department in several different ways, the Georgetown unit said in a press statement. His quick wit, honesty, professionalism, listening ear and true ability to care for others were an inspiration to everyone at the station, the news release added.

Profab Access’ Prima panel meets latest building regualtions

by Featured NewsFire DetectionProducts

Profab Access, a UK-based provider of access solutions and riser doors for ceilings, walls and partitions, is supporting architects, specifiers and contractors in achieving the highest standards of efficiency with its Prima 1000 Fire Rated SeriesAccess Panels.

Providing secure and unobtrusive access to ceiling and wall services for both residential and commercial projects, the fire rated panels are not only aesthetically pleasing and easy to install but ensure compliance with latest building regulations.

The access panels are independently bi-directionally tested and fire-rated up to 120 minutes to BS EN 1634-1:2000 for single and double door configurations up to 600mm x 1200mm. Sizes up to 750mm x 1500mm are also available and are fire-rated for up to 90 minutes.

The Prima 1000 FR Series Access Panels are available in standard and customisable specifications. The panels are also smoked sealed with an intumescent and smoke seal gasket.

The lightweight metal doors can be easily into jointless plaster, plasterboard and partitions to provide concealed access to electrical and mechanical services and are etch primed to support onsite decoration.

Marcus Parnham, commercial director at Profab Access, said: “As one of the industry’s leading manufacturers and the first to bi-directionally test its access panels and riser doors, we are committed to ensuring we provide construction professionals with the highest standards of compliance and performance. Our Prima 1000 FR Series Access Panels have been expertly designed to provide unrivaled certification, without compromising on visual appeal or functionality to meet the most demanding site requirements.”