01.07.13 - Large Fire at Smethwick Recycling Plant – Largest Blaze in the West Midlands

Firefighters are tackling a blaze involving 100,000 tonnes of plastic recycling material and a factory unit say it is the largest fire seen in the West Midlands.

Around 200 fire fighters from across the Midlands were called out to tackle the massive blaze in Smethwick near Birmingham.

The fire started at 11.30pm on Sunday night and residents woke this morning to a cloud of this black smoke as the fire at the Jayplas Recycling plant, Dartmouth Road, continued to burn.

Road have been closed around the incident on Dartmouth Road,  Brasshouse Lane and Halfords Lane and drivers were also warned to avoid junction 1 of the M5 due to expected congestion.

No homes were evacuated in the blaze, however residents in Chelmsley Wood have been warned the plume of smoke was falling in their area. They were warned to stay out of the smoke and to keep doors and windows closed.

Birmingham International Airport has been alerted because a plume of smoke is rising 6,000ft into the air although there is currently no impact on flights.

18.06.13 - Productive Weekend at the Medex & Healthcare Forum 2013

We had an extremely productive weekend at the Medex & Healthcare Forum 2013 at the Epic Sana Resort in the Algarve. We met with buyers and suppliers from some of the UK’s top Healthcare organisations.

We would like to thank DP Events and the Hotel Staff for their incredible hospitality in a beautiful location.

31.05.13 - Fire at Egger UK factory in Hexham

The fire at the Egger UK wood-product plant in Hexham. A Full investigation has been launched into a huge blaze at one of Northumberland’s biggest factories. Sixty firefighters from across the North East tackled the fire at the Egger UK wood-product plant in Hexham.

Full Production at the factory has been temporarily suspended and the organisation will be working with Fire investigators to determine the exact cause of the Fire. The intensity of the blaze was due to thermal oil used in the heating system catching fire and our engineers.

Roads were closed and nearby care home residents evacuated as fire crews from seven stations in three counties tackled the incident. As a full-scale investigation into the cause was launched, Egger management and police confirmed there had been no casualties.

It is believed the blaze, confined to the factory’s heat-generating biomass plant, was caused by thermal oil igniting and rupturing a pipe. As flames and a huge pall of smoke rose into the night sky at 10.30pm on Sunday, fire officers threw a 200-metre safety cordon around the plant.

18.04.13 - Severe Fire in Birmingham – Smurfit Kappa Paper Mill

Around 10,000 Tonnes of paper and cardboard are on fire at the Smurfit Kappa Paper Mill in Birmingham, West Midlands.

More than 15 Fire Engines were on the scene of the Blaze at the Smurfit Kappa Paper Mill as reported by West Midlands Fire Service. Over 100 firefighters remain at the scene of the fire.

Station commander Mal Fellows said the service had help from a police helicopter to keep the fire under control.

“It’s been particularly difficult due to the high winds and the size of the site.”

“We’re pretty sure we’ve actually contained this within the boundary.”

“There is a good fire plan at Kappa but we’ve put crews in place to stop the fire spreading.”

“We’ve had small fires throughout the night from burning embers but we’ve been spotting those and we utilised the police helicopter to spot these which has been a great asset for us.”

There have been no reported injuries and local residents have been advised to keep all windows and doors shut although the material that caught fire is not toxic.

Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading producers of paper-based packaging in the world with more than 41,000 employees in 32 countries, the company’s website says.

It is thought the fire started in an outside storage area and the cause of the fire is being investigated and CCTV footage being reviewed.

26.03.13 - Cuming Museum Fire, London

Devastated by the news of the fire on the Walworth Road this afternoon. The old Walworth town hall building next to the Heygate Estate houses the Cuming Museum, and that part of the building seems to have been worst hit by the fire (photo from SE1 on twitter).

The Cuming Museum is not just a great local history museum, it also houses two irreplaceable collections, the 19th century Cuming collection of weird and wonderful global artifacts and Edward Lovett’s collection of objects associated with early 20th century London folklore. It seems inevitable that these collections will have been severely damaged at least, if not destroyed altogether.

It is great news that nobody on site was injured – the fire spread very quickly – and that the same applies to the many firefighters who have helped tackle the blaze.

13.03.13 - Major Fire at Celebrity Nightspot Panacea in Manchester

Around 50 Firefighters from Fire Crews across Cheshire and Manchester were called to popular celebrity nightspot Panacea at around 10.30pm last night (Tuesday 13th March). When Firefighters arrived to the venue it was engulfed in flames and smoke. An aerial unit was also deployed to the site to spray the flames from above. There have been no injuries or casualties reported in last nights fire as the venue was closed and only opens on Fridays and Saturdays. Today water was still being sprayed onto the site by firefighters as the damping down process continued.

The venue had undergone a £3.2m refurb in September 2008 but was burnt to the ground just days before the planned opening. It is understood that last nights blaze mainly affected an area planned for a new Piccolino restaurant.

An investigation into the cause of the fire has been launched by Cheshire Police.

08.03.13 - Emergency Exit Sign Viewing Distances & Considerations (Emergency Lighting)

When installing Emergency Signage there are a few things that you need to consider and calculations you have to make. When a Fire officer or SRC Fire Engineer is surveying your premises he/she is making sure that occupants of every room can clearly determine the exit route should an emergency situation occur. To make this calculation they will walk around the area or routes and decide where the emergency exit is and the maximum distance somebody could be from it.

This will establish the maximum viewing distance.

The maximum viewing distance deemed safe to be viewed from is given in BS 5266 Pt7  and you will need to work to these guidelines. We will be featuring the SRC Fire version of the guidelines in the coming months. This will be an easy to read and understand visual guide so stay tuned for that.

In short, below are the guidelines for:

Internally Illuminated Exit Sign

The maximum viewing distance is 200 x the panel height.

Therefore if the sign is 175mm high then the maximum viewing distance is 35000mm or 35 meters.
175mm x 200 = 35000 mm (35 meters)

or

12 inches x 200 = 2400 inches (200 feet)

Externally Illuminated Exit Sign

The maximum viewing distance is 100 x the panel height.

Therefore if the sign is 175mm high then the maximum viewing distance is 17500mm or 17.5 meters.

175mm x 100 = 17500 mm (17.5 meters)

or

12 inches x 100 = 1200 inches (100 feet)

Summary

Greater viewing distances are achieved through internally illuminated exit signs. Externally illuminated signs are easy to install but they still need an emergency light to illuminate it during loss of power. If you have limited space above an emergency exit door and can only use a smaller sign, but the room is bigger than the viewing distance, then you will need more than one sign to indicate the direction of travel.

The above information is an overview guide. We recommend that you always seek advice from qualified emergency signage/lighting installer to ensure that you comply with the local and national laws.

15.02.13 - Fire Safety Tips for Business

Fire Safety Director

Choose an employee to be the fire safety director for your organization. Depending on the size of your business, you should also appoint an alternate fire safety director to who is equally trained in the absence of the primary fire safety director. This employee should review, master and revise fire safety plans. The fire safety director should also coordinate fire drills and schedule fire safety and training presentations for other employees.

Fire Extinguishers

Every business must have portable fire extinguishers. Employees should be able to readily locate the extinguishers. They must be easily accessible and fully charged at all times and should never leave their designated location, except in the event of a fire. No employee should have to travel more than 10m to 30m to access an extinguisher. Fire extinguishers must also be regularly inspected by a qualified business such as SRC Fire. Read more about or Fire Extinguisher & Maintenance Service

Evacuation Plans

Evacuation plans will vary depending on the type of business and how many people will need to be evacuated. Evacuation routes should include escape routes and alternate escape routes for every room.

Evacuation plans should also indicate which employees are responsible for carrying out particular duties and a planned procedure for reporting a fire to the Local Fire Station. Employees should also be aware of the procedures for accounting for all present employees.

The floor plan should include the following information: exits, where to assemble, primary and alternate evacuation routes, where to take cover, location of fire alarms and extinguishers, and the location of the fire alarm controls. SRC install and maintain Fire Alarm Systems that you can rely on when you most need them. Read more about our Fire Alarm Systems

Fire Drills

SRC Fire recommend holding regular fire drills, both announced and unannounced. Encourage all building occupants to participate and maintain records of the drills. By doing this, all employees will be consistently refreshed on the fire drill procedure.

For more information contact SRC Fire 0800 9992475 or email enquiries@srcfire.co.uk