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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.
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.
06.12.12 - SRC Fire Safety Launches New Website
SRC Fire Safety have been working with Lightbox Creative Studio to develop our new Content Management Website. The website Communicates the areas that we cover including Birmingham and London and also offers an overview of the services that we offer:
- Fire Alarm Systems installation & maintenance
- Emergency Lighting installation & maintenance
- Access Control Systems
- CCTV
- Fire Extinguishers
We will be updating the website with case studies, client testimonials and useful fire safety tips. We are also on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Click the following links and follow us:
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