Students learn the hard way

It’s that time of year again as thousands, nay tens of thousands of fresh faced students leave home, many for the first time in their lives, to attend University. Mum has packed them off with everything but the kitchen sink to squash into the changing cubicles that pass as student accommodation in most Halls of Residence.

The shock to the system for the erstwhile fresher is the realization that for the next 4 or 5 years they have to largely fend for themselves rather than relying on the miracle that is mother to do the dirty work. Small details like getting to grips with the woolens cycle, relying on their own common sense to stay out of trouble and feeding themselves on the pittance left over once the bar bill has been paid will all take their toll.

Not all take to this with the aplomb expected of an otherwise intelligent university entrant as the students in the University of Portsmouth’s James Watson halls of residence found out last week when more than 100 students were evacuated after a fire broke out on the first floor.

Someone had apparently forgotten they had left a pan cooking merrily on the hob. Cooking oils and fats like any other oils have an auto-ignition temperature above which they ignite spontaneously. For the benefit of non science students out there, unlike more traditional flammable liquids such as petrol and solvents, the auto-ignition temperature for cooking oils can vary immensely. Auto-ignition can occur anywhere from 285°C to 385°C. For auto-ignition to occur, the entire mass of oil must have been heated to beyond the auto-ignition temperature. However, once ablaze the oil changes composition slightly resulting in a new auto-ignition temperature, which may be as much as 30°C lower. The result is the fire becomes self-sustaining until the entire mass of oil is cooled to below this new lower auto-ignition temperature.

The pan in question duly overheated, the oil ignited and caused a fire which quickly spread to the cooker hood and ceiling. One male student tried to do the right thing and threw a fire blanket over the pan. This is absolutely OK if the fire is confined to the pan. He may possibly have had better results with a wet chemical fire extinguisher which is designed specifically for this type of fire and includes a long lance so you can apply it from a distance.
However if the fire has spread to other combustibles the best course of action is to raise the alarm, get out fast and call the emergency services. The brave chap, who also had asthma, found this out the hard way and was overcome with the fumes but thankfully with the prompt intervention of Southsea Fire Services he and his cohorts survived unharmed.

It is a statistical fact that most chip pan fires are caused in the evening and quite late at night when a quick fry up after a few pints of the amber nectar seems de rigueur. Ironically for students starved of mum’s home cooking, like its pal the tin opener the chip pan is seen as a virtual lifesaver. The first lesson they should be taught is that it can also be a life taker.

Tony

Autumn Update

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Fire and Safety Centre with the focus very much on new product introductions and Autumn price discounts. So much so that there has been little time for penning my more ethereal blogs from which I must divert my attention to give you an update on recent activity.

Given the complexity of the RRO legislation and recent publication of a revised BS5306:3 Code of Practice it is not surprising that our business customers have been pressing for guidance on what constitutes correct service and maintenance to ensure compliance with the law.

In response we have now taken a massive step forward by introducing full Service and Maintenance on all our Fire Extinguishers and Fire safety equipment. The service will be delivered from 7 Regional Centres using experienced and qualified BAFE registered engineers.

For those customers directly affected by the RRO, which is the vast majority, we also offer experienced Risk Assessors to conduct Fire Risk Assessments and Site Surveys.

For those more experienced in Fire Safety we are putting the final pieces together on the launch of a range of self help staff training and Fire Safety Compliance Videos and DVD’s. Revisit us soon for product details.

On the product side we have expanded our range of Fireproof Storage products with a new line of COSSH and Factory Approved Fireproof Steel Cabinets and Chests for storing flammable liquids, liquid gases, chemicals and dangerous industrial materials. The range complements our top quality heavy duty Storsafe Cabinets designed for really tough environments.

Still on Fireproof storage but of the valuables kind we have introduced significant price discounts across the full range of Burton Fire Resistant Commercial and Domestic safes. These market leading cash and data storage safes offer real security. All are Overnight Cash Rated for Insurance and backed by independent Test Certification for fire, impact and attack resistance.

We have also added two new fire extinguishers to what must surely now rank as the most extensive choice on the market. The new 1Lt AFFF foam and 3kg ABC Dry Powder should prove very popular in the home and transport markets. The 1kg foam is ideal for the home and in car protection and the 3kg powder will be a hit with the transport haulage guys for ADR cab extinguisher requirements.

There are more products and more service additions in the pipeline. Keep watching.

Tony

Fire Story Of The Week

The following is purported to be a true story but I leave it to you to guess. Either way it’s a cracking yarn about a snake biting a snake biting a snake back!!

The setting is Charlotte, North Carolina, US of A

A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them, which included among other things, insurance against fire.

Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars and without yet having made even his first premium payment on the policy, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost “in a series of small fires.”

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued…and WON! Snake bites Snake!!

Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous. The judge stated, nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company within which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be “unacceptable fire”, and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars lost in the “fires”.

And the coup de grace…..snake bites snake back.

After the lawyer cashed the cheque, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

Frankly even for litigation centric America I think this is a tall tale. But was it true? Alas not. Total bull I’m afraid but the ring of truth is the predisposition of insurers to use small print to deny liability and of lawyers to use similar sized print to prove liability.

Tony

Nightmare of the House Fire

It has to be up there as one of our worst nightmares. The morning starts with the usual cuppa and a bite of breakfast. It is the weekend and as we have family visiting who we have not seen for ages we plan a great day out. Some retail therapy and a nice lunch followed by a celebration reunion drink at the Local on the way home.

Then the nightmare begins as you arrive home to see police cars, flashing lights from fire appliances and gathered crowds of your neighbours witnessing the scene. It is your house and it is burning beyond recognition. Disbelief, panic and grief mix with an overwhelming sense of helplessness and loss.

It was this nightmare that beset a friend of my daughter. By the time the fire crew had finished only the shell of the house remained. Everything had gone. A lifetime of collected memories, photographs, family heirlooms, and important legal papers and even the passports and belongings of the visiting relatives had been destroyed. The family literally had only the clothes they stood up in.
 
When this nightmarish account was relayed to me I couldn’t help but to look around my house and at all the things that we treasure and the comforts we enjoy and tried to imagine losing it all at a single stoke. It was impossible to contemplate.

It later transpired that the fire was started by an electrical fault possibly from old wiring whose insulation had perished. According to the statistics such fires are not uncommon but few, including me think to have our wiring checked. Businesses have PAT testing of all appliances and plugs and even hidden wiring can be checked for damage, faulty insulation and earth leakage. If you have a house over 20 years of age it would be a prudent step to have an electrician check the wiring circuits.

I wrote earlier about the steps you can take to minimise the risk of electrical fires - turn off appliances, check plugs for tell tale signs of burning, don’t overload them with adapters and don’t leave equipment on standby when you retire to bed are the more obvious precautions.

There are items in every home that have special significance and are difficult if not impossible to replace.  The sentimental value of gifts and jewellery, family documents and your photographs of loved ones present and past is hard to quantify until they are all destroyed. Imagine the hassle of losing insurance certificates, passports even your rainy day nest egg, share certificates and premium bonds.
It certainly made me stop and think and I for one will be investing in a fireproof storage safe. I confess that although we sell these I had considered them more of a luxury item than a necessity for a homeowner. Not any longer.

Tony

To grit or not to grit?

As the recent bad weather illustrates businesses and homeowners need to be prepared for snow and frosty mornings during the winter months. How far should a business go in preventing injuries from slips and falls in icy conditions? Well as a duty of care under the Health and Safety directive, basic personal safety should be considered a priority.

Walkways differ in surface texture but all can be hazardous given the worst combination of ice and snow. It makes sense to clear snow from common access routes such as steps, footpaths and walkways and other hard surfaces. Our new range of snow scoops and shovels make clearing much easier. Following that it is advisable to apply grit and salt to prevent ice reforming and to check periodically, particularly if snow continues to fall, and clear and treat again if necessary.

In addition to save cost and effort you can restrict access to certain areas and channel foot traffic along cleared and treated routes. Employers can also reinforce these restrictions to dangerous areas with appropriate signs e.g. “no unauthorised persons allowed beyond this point”.

Be prepared and have some grit and salt ready and make sure someone is allocated the task of applying it. You can also place a grit bin and shovel in the car park to help staff get cars moving when heavy snow is on the ground.

For homeowners, invest in a made for purpose snow scoop and snow pusher which will make snow clearance so much easier and have a bag of rock salt to hand to treat steps, paths and porches.

Tony