The piece received quite alot of attention and drew comments from readers regarding old and obsolete fire extinguishers amongst other things.  Recent comments and responses made reference to the restoration of an old Minimax Frowave fire extinguisher possibly dating back to the 1930’s. The gentleman responsible for restoring the extinguisher has provided us with some fascinating before and after photos which can be seen below.

The number of fire incidents involving children is staggering and parents should heed the warnings that failure to educate children about the dangers of fire and playing with fire could and does have tragic consequences.

How many households actively discuss fire safety with their children, explain what to do in the event of fire, tell them the safest escape route, or how to dial 999. On modern double glazed windows the key locks are often removed and stored elsewhere. Do the kids know how to open them?

Child safety week should be a reminder to all parents to take time out to consider the worst case scenario’s and impress on their kids the real dangers of playing with matches, lighters, cleaning liquids and medicines. When you take time to think about it safety is just common sense.

Are adequate fire alarms fitted, most commonly smoke detectors and are they tested regularly?
Are medicines stored in secure cupboards or better still purpose made cabinets well out of reach of children.
Candles and tea lights are a particularly risk and cause significant numbers of fires in bedrooms.
Matches and Lighters should obviously not be left lying around for the kids to find.
Never leave the kids unsupervised in the kitchen when cooking is in progress and have a fire blanket on hand to smother flames quickly.
Don’t leave clothes and toys on the stairs or in doorways -they are an accident just waiting to happen.

Sitting down for a half hour or so with the family to discuss and explain the dangers, make a fire action plan and set some house safety rules will give parents some peace of mind and raise awareness of safety issues that will hopefully stick in the minds of the children.

As part of National Child safety week a great deal of work is being done by the emergency services and fire brigades in schools and awareness events up and down the country. Parents should do their bit and help reduce avoidable child injuries and fatalities.

Tony

I wish him well but as most of the daftest legislation has been introduced through EU directives he has a tough task ahead. Virtually nothing can now be done without first conducting a risk assessment. Even the police cannot intervene to help people in dire need without first conducting a safety assessment.

Failure to anticipate every possible health and safety contingency risks litigation, actively encouraged by law firms prepared to act on pro bono terms.  Tradesmen using ladders now have to attend a ladder awareness course. Kids at school cannot play conkers and have to wear goggles when using Blue Tack. There was one classically eccentric Englishman who chose to live in a cave until evicted by his Council because the dwelling did not have sufficient fire exits.  Completely potty.

Take our fire extinguishers as an example. All the models we offer are third party tested and approved and carry the BS Kitemark if one applies. Some have Kitemark, Ship Wheel, BAFE and CE. They are also manufactured under ISO9001 quality standards and have a minimum 5 year guarantee. Every unit is also checked for damage or pressure loss before despatch. You may think that this quality assurance regime would be sufficient evidence to demonstrate to a Fire Officer that buying such an extinguisher would satisfy your legal responsibility under the RRO to ensure fire equipment is useable and in operational condition.  Not necessarily so.

The gaggle of worthies that drafted the new BS5306 Code of Practice determined that new fire extinguishers should also be retested (commissioned is the used term) when they arrive on site. This is obviously a business opportunity for Fire Maintenance companies who charge for the test and who by strange but surely unrelated coincidence had major representation on the committee that wrote the COP guidelines.

Problem is that you just can’t eliminate every risk, accident or sheer bad luck with a rule. Who can absolutely guarantee that the extinguisher pressure valve won’t fail the day after commissioning. All you can do is apply common sense and conduct regular inspections and introduce planned maintenance.

Despite our scepticism we happily oblige and offer a commissioning service to those customers who choose to comply with the BS5306 voluntary code of practice. If you are a larger outfit and have an experienced fire officer or maintenance technician we also offer a pre-delivery inspection (PDI) and test certificate.

Finally on a different note I saw an equally potty advert on the TV promoting a hands free antiseptic soap dispenser. The sales pitch was a scare tactic pointing out that the common pump type harbours trillions of nasty bacteria on the pump top that will no doubt kill you in seconds. Now as I see it the only reason you will put your hand on the plunger is if you intend to immediately wash your hands in antiseptic soap thereby ridding yourself of the problem.  Am I missing something?

Tony

In a further twist the enforcement notice, dated 16 February 2010 results from a fire safety audit carried out on 26 November 2009 by the Crown Premises Inspection Group which is responsible to the government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, whose unit is based – where else but in Eland House.

The report issued by the inspector from the enforcing authority, the Crown Premises Inspection Group was witheringly critical of the fire safety provisions in the building stating:

“The concepts of ‘responsible’ and ‘competent’ persons, and the duties placed upon those persons under the Order, appear not to be understood within CLG premises”.

The enforcement notice goes on to list no less than 13 breaches of the 15 Articles of the RRO relating to the duties required of the responsible person. At that time this was presumably John Denham the then secretary of state for Communities and Local Government.  Deficiencies found included what was termed the “unacceptable” policy that no one should use portable fire extinguishers in the building, the inability of the building to support the phased evacuation strategy, inadequate arrangements to ensure visitors and contractors are accounted for in an evacuation and inadequate means of escape for the number of people likely to occupy the building.

Even though Eland House is listed as Crown premises it is still subject to fire safety legislation including the RRO. Inspection and enforcement procedures are similar to those applied to commercial premises but that is where the similarities end. Crown Immunity means the responsible person cannot actually be prosecuted for the offences committed. So John Denham can sleep easy in the certain knowledge that a fine on the scale of the £400,000 metered out to New Look for less serious misdemeanors is not heading his way any time soon.

Tony

Hillary Ross of law firm Bond Pearce giving details at a presentation to a conference of Safety & Health Practitioners this month, maintained that there is a huge problem of consistency in sentencing across England and Wales and a lack of guidance for fire and rescue authorities in pursuing prosecutions.

She echoes my sentiments when stating “When the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 came into play [in October 2006], it was hoisted not just on industry but also on fire officers”, who were given no additional training, no additional guidance, and no support for the changes the law brought in.

The basis of the New Look appeal is that the punishment is disproportionate and bears no relation to fines imposed in other areas of Health and Safety.

I have long argued that the RRO gives the fire services an open season on prosecuting otherwise law abiding businesses. The figures also suggest that the fines imposed reflect ability to pay rather than the seriousness of the actual offence. This dare I say raises the prospect of fire services “actively” seeking prosecution to raise easy revenue. This is borne out by Ms Ross who also criticised fire authorities for handing out prohibition notices “like sweeties”. Under H&S rules, prohibition notices should only be used if the risk to life is so serious that operations cannot continue. A poorly conducted fire risk assessment hardly qualifies.

I think Ms Moss has a point when you look at some of the fines imposed for serious breaches of Health & Safety legislation. At New Look the offences amounted to having conducted an inadequate fire risk assessment and insufficient staff training, which led to a delayed evacuation of the premises – this judgment despite the fact that no lives were lost or injuries sustained.

Compare New Looks £536000 punishment with that dispensed earlier this year to a marble and granite manufacturing company who were fined £100,000 with £46,500 costs after a worker died and two others were injured when six tonnes of stone slabs fell on them whilst unloading an unstable and poorly restrained load.  Similarly scrap metal company Sims Group UK Ltd, who pleaded guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act that caused the death of a driver, crushed when a one and a half tonne metal bale rolled off a scrap pile. They were fined £200,000 and ordered to pay £57,500 costs.  The figures just don’t add up under comparison.

Let’s hope the Court of Appeal will bring clarity and fairness to stop the current RRO free for all.

Finally a welcome to Bob Neil sitting Conservative MP for Bromley & Chislehurst on his elevation to Minister for Fire. It is encouraging to note he is a former leader of the London Fire and Civil Defence Authority so at least has experience of the department he oversees. How refreshing this new politics is!!

Tony

As is increasingly the case the new law applies only to England as our devolved parliaments have either yet to ratify it or fire safety compliance training has been mandatory in Welsh, Scottish and Ulster infants schools since the second world war. The following is the complete citation from the edict.

“Employer to take employees’ capabilities into consideration
2.  Every employer must, in entrusting tasks to employees, take into account their capabilities as regards health and safety, so far as those capabilities relate to fire.”
It is signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government one Shahid Malik who presumably after his defeat on May 6th is now spending more time with his family.

What the new edict means in essence is that an employer cannot offload any of his responsibility for fire safety onto an employee unless that employee has demonstrable expertise in fire safety issues, which excludes just about everybody. You will also need to find a deputy fire officer to cover absence.

This set me thinking that when the RRO was introduced the Government effectively saddled every employer, landlord, business owner and some tenants – as defined by law – with responsibility for adherence to the new RRO fire safety regulatory regime. Now surely they knew that they were offloading this responsibility arbitrarily to individuals without first checking if they were possessed of the capabilities to undertake the task.

A clear case of do what I say not what I do.

If you want to elevate a member of staff to the position of fire safety officer I suggest to avail yourself of one or more of our excellent fire safety awareness staff training programme’s that will allow you to train all your staff to a level that will meet the new regulatory framework.

Tony

Clearly the CO-OP have been slow to learn the lessons of a similar case brought against the UK’s largest mutual retailer in 2007 that saw them fined what was then a record £250,000 for no less than 13 similar misdemeanors under the old fire safety regulations.

The case came hot on the heels of a Court ruling against the behemoth of retailing Tesco a week earlier which resulted in a fine of £95,000 plus over £24,000 in costs for five breaches of the RRO (Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005). That’s £24,000 per infringement. Other high profile cases last year included Shell International being fined £300,000 and the clothes store New Look paying more than £500,000.

Apparently the Tesco fine arose when the London Fire Brigade were called to a fire at Tesco’s Colney Hatch store in Barnet in October 2007. There had been a fire in the staff kitchen but by the time the Brigade arrived it had been put out by staff using fire extinguishers and a fire blanket.  Now you might think the action of the staff commendable and showed a working knowledge of how to use fire safety equipment effectively but the fire service thought otherwise and returned unannounced the next day to fully inspect the premises.

Now the London Fire Brigade has previous when it comes to RRO enforcement and not without some fanfare recently announced that the London courts ordered individuals, small businesses and large companies to pay more than £1 million in fines and costs in 2009 for breaches of the RRO.

So what’s my point? Well firstly by any stretch the RRO is not a simple piece of legislation. It runs close to 150 pages and over 30000 words. If retail giants who have the resources to employ professional fire and health and safety management can get it so wrong what chance the small businessman or woman who as the responsible person has the same accountability under law irrespective of their experience in fire safety issues. Not understanding the detail of the law is no defence. Within the RRO legislation there is the potential for hundreds of breaches. If someone looked hard enough you would be lucky to pass muster.

And secondly given the Tesco experience small businesses, without the same financial clout may think twice about calling the Fire Services if they fear a punitive inspection with potentially disastrous consequences.

Of course fire safety is paramount to protect life and property and I would not argue otherwise but personally I do not believe sufficient is being invested by the law makers on educating businesses and raising awareness of the RRO. This comes through strongly when talking to business owners and managers who make up our customer base and no doubt accounts for the increase in sales of our fire safety training programmes. All the cash raised through RRO prosecutions could surely be put to good use here rather than lining the Treasury pockets.

Tony

Of course it is quite possible to reach Greece and its islands without ever resorting to the skies. Any combination of car, train and boat with get you there eventually. My friend prefers the independence of his  car and was musing that he could maybe make the 2000 mile plus road trip in 4 days or so with two drivers and a couple of 5 gallon cans of petrol in reserve to limit pit stops. The problem here is that driving on the Continent is not that straightforward and many UK drivers regrettably display scant knowledge of UK transport laws never mind those of our European neighbors.

In the UK storage of fuel (unless specifically licensed) is restricted by law to either metal containers with a maximum capacity of 2 x 10 litres or approved plastic containers of a maximum 2 x 5 litres capacity.

In Greece the rules are simpler as carrying spare fuel in a car is forbidden by law. Most Car Ferry operators also frown on spare fuel cans – if they take the trouble to check.

Holiday makers driving through France should also be aware that they are required by law to carry at least one and preferably two hazard warning triangles (highly recommended in Spain) and a hi-vis reflective jacket at all times.  This is also the case in Austria and Croatia if you take the scenic route to Greece. Interestingly in Switzerland the hazard triangle should be kept in the cab not the boot. It is also compulsory throughout Europe to carry your original vehicle registration document, proof of insurance and to decorate your car with a GB sticker unless you already have it on your registration plates.

Equipping your car with a fire extinguisher and first aid kit is not compulsory but is “recommended” in Belgium, Germany and the Scandinavian block.

On the spot fines are common in Europe and vary up to 150 Euro so it’s investing in the right safety gear.

For anyone considering a Greek odyssey by land I would recommend driving (or my preference taking the train) down to Venice and picking up the ferry to Patra and hire a car there. Drive further down Italy’s boot to Bari for a shorter Ferry trip. There is also a ferry that drops you off in Kefalonia but that may be from Brindisi – you will have to check as I always fly these days!!

Tony

The inquest will now no doubt begin into whether the risk was overstated. Surely that is the thing about risk assessment. If you are at 30000 feet in a glorified cigar case then any clear and present danger should be taken seriously until proved otherwise. To fall from that height is akin to dropping raw eggs off a cliff. None survive.

Despite a withering Northerly wind the sun was shining yesterday so we stepped out for an amble along the river bank to give us and the old dog a bit of exercise. Half way through the walk, high in the sky we saw the tell tale vapour trail of a jetliner so even before the Evening News confirmed it could be surmised the sky’s over the UK were once again open for business.

More encouraging for those not able to head for warmer climes we also spotted the first Swallows of summer skimming low over the sink pools in the flood basin. Those that know birds will be encouraged that, not before time, warmer southerly winds cannot be far away. Swallows ride these winds on their annual migration up from Africa and even for savvy Hirundininae the risk of getting that judgement wrong are fatal.

The arrival of warmer weather will also trigger the annual scramble to dust down the sun loungers, bring the barbeque out of hibernation and stock the fridge with sausages and canned beer.  Cars are loaded up with all but the kitchen sink for alfresco family picnics and thermal vests discarded in favour of fuller exposure to the warming Sun.

A risk assessment of these activities often comes low in our priorities but statistically the arrival of summer presages an increase in domestic fire related accidents and injuries.
I have given advice before on how to mitigate these risks but the basics are or should be obvious. Be prepared for the unexpected. Invest in a small powder fire extinguisher to smother an errant barbeque or picnic fire, keep the kids away from both and make sure the flames are out before you leave the scene.  Like the Swallow risk preparedness and avoidance is a skill worth learning when lives may depend on it.

Tony

It was some time ago that this Government announced its plans to “modernize” the Fire and Rescue Services (FRS) which included FiReContol – the creation of nine super regional control (read call) centre’s to replace the 49 local centre’s. The FRS network was generally opposed and highly suspicious that the real motive was manpower reduction not service improvement.

The report published appropriately on April Fool’s day by the Communities and Local Government Committee of MP’s damned the project as “inadequately planned, poorly executed and badly managed leaving it in a precarious position”. The IT element is in its usual mess and the report concludes that there is currently no agreed project plan with the principle outside contractors. This is truly unbelievable incompetence that would be unacceptable in any other organization.

The financial figures are dire. The original project costs have risen from a projected £120 million in 2004 to £460million today whilst the projected FRS efficiency saving have plummeted from 28% of running costs per annum to just 9% down from £28 million to £6million /annum in cash terms and falling. Overall the project that was intended to save the taxpayer £86million is now projected to end in negative territory to the tune of £240 million.

The CLG argued that not all the money has been wasted. They had built 9 bright new shiny Control Centres and 3 even had furniture and IT equipment. Of course they are nowhere near operational and the project is already 2 years behind schedule.

Given the amount of our cash already spent the Committee conceded it is arguably too late to cancel the project but warned that unless the CLG department can secure “urgent agreement on a viable project plan in which the main stakeholders can have confidence”, cancellation was not ruled out.

And therein is the rub. For now at least there is no legal compulsion for the main stakeholders, the local Fire and Rescue Services, to integrate their services into the FiReControl project.  As most were against the idea in the first place I can’t see them rushing to opt in if and when it finally gets operational.

Responding to the report, fire minister Shahid Malik – yes we have a minister for fire – said: “I believe the project is in a better position than ever before” from which we can only conclude it had been a whole lot worse if that were possible!!

Meanwhile the professionals in our local FRS’s continue to make significant strides to reduce accidental house fires. My own town registered a 25% reduction in 2009 over 2008 with fire injuries down 90% since 2006 thanks to community safety initiatives like free home checks, education in schools and free smoke alarms. Letting the experts do their job and encouraging them to look for efficiency savings that do not reduce fire safety will save the economy far more than the FiReControl project ever will.

Tony