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Berlin flat fire
EIGHT PEOPLE died and more than 12 others were injured in an apartment fire in the German capital, Berlin, in early August 2005. Some 150 firefighters tackled the blaze at the five-storey building near Tiergarten Park, extinguishing the blaze within 15 minutes of arrival. There were reports that some of the casualties fled their flats but became trapped on a staircase. Rescue operations were hampered by the fact that many residents were foreign and unable to understand directions by fire crews.
On the ball
WEST MIDLANDS Fire Service’s partnership with Birmingham County Football Association is proving successful in helping recruit physically fit women to the service. The partnership highlights the career opportunities for women to become firefighters, while developing girls’ and women’s football. Gemma McSweeney and Yvette Greenhouse, who play for Midland football clubs, have recently started their 14-week firefighter training after passing the demanding selection process.
Back to school
FIREFIGHTERS FROM Mersey-side Fire and Rescue Service have been visiting primary schools in Knowsley as part of a new initiative to highlight the effects of antisocial behaviour. Under the scheme, developed in conjunction with Knowsley Housing Trust, fire officers help pupils complete a specially-designed workbook, which tells the tale of two young boys who embark on a spree of antisocial behaviour, such as lighting fires, making hoax calls, violence and trespassing on railway lines.
Spanish wildfires
NEW MEASURES to help prevent wildfires are being developed by the Spanish Government. Ministers are discussing plans to introduce more severe restrictions on lighting fires in forest areas and harsher penalties for those who break the rules. There are also plans to ensure a more effective firefighting response to wildfires, including the creation of a national co-ordination centre and reinforced communication between authorities. The proposals come after 11 firefighters died as they attempted to tackle a wildfire in the Guadalajara province on 17 July 2005.
Rail standard
METRONET RAIL, the company responsible for maintaining and renewing two-thirds of London’s underground railway system, has revised its standard for fire-resistant compartmentation. The Category 2 standard requires fire protection products to be approved by a UK Accreditation Service (UKAS) accredited body and installed as tested, within the field of application for which it has been tested. The standard also requires that installers of such products are certified by a UKAS-accredited body.
For further information, contact Michael Turner Associates on tel: +44 (0)1908 696964; e-mail: admin@michaelturnerassociates.com
Active market
A NEW report on the active fire protection market in the UK has been published by MSI Marketing Research for Industry. Issued in June 2005, the report analyses the value of market products – detection and alarm systems, extinguishing equipment and emergency lighting – over the period 2000-2004, and contains annual forecasts to 2009. It is intended to help companies monitor competition and develop new products and services.
Active Fire Protection: UK, is available, priced £685, from MSI on tel: +44 (0)800 195 6756; website: www.msi-marketingresearch. co.uk. A 10% discount is available to journal readers when they quote ‘FP&FEJ'.
London history
THE HISTORY of the London Fire Brigade, from Victorian times to the modern day, is examined in a new book, In Case of Fire, by author Neil Wallington. It is a fully illustrated, full-colour hardback history of the brigade. Horse-drawn fire engines, the coming of steam power, the first motorised fire pumps and firefighting during the London Blitz are just some of the areas covered in the book. It also looks at the more diverse work of the modern-day brigade and the recent London Safety Plan.
In Case of Fire is available on web: www.jeremymillspublishing. co.uk; tel: +44 (0)1484 421674.
9/11 documents
AUTHORITIES IN New York City have released thousands of files detailing the emergency response to the attacks on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001. More than 15 hours of radio communications between dispatchers and firefighters, as well as 12,000 pages detailing the first-hand accounts of first responders, have been made public. The move comes after a lawsuit to release the information was filed by the New York Times, supported by relatives of the 340 firefighters who died in the attacks, in a bid to reveal the extent of communications problems between emergency services during the response operation.
Marina response
CREWS FROM Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service rescued five people from a boat fire at Hythe Marina in Southampton on 16 August 2005. Three women and two men were forced to jump into the water to escape after the fire spread through a 10m motor cruiser and a smaller boat at around 9pm. They were treated for smoke inhalation and shock. Some 30 firefighters worked for an hour to control the blaze.
Thatched fire
A COMPLETE row of thatched cottages in Oxfordshire was badly damaged by fire in the early hours of 21 August 2005. More than 70 firefighters from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service attended the incident in Church Green, Stanford in the Vale. The brigade was called at 1.20am when a local man spotted the fire while driving past and alerted all of the households. Some 15 people were forced to leave their homes. Local people from the village assisted householders and fire crews with the salvage of goods from affected properties.
Acid spillage
FIREFIGHTERS WEARING chemical protection suits and breathing apparatus tackled a spillage of hydrochloric acid in Ayrshire, Strathclyde on 20 August 2005. The acid leaked from a five-litre container at the Cargo Express depot in Kilmarnock. Fire crews from Kilmarnock and Dreghorn attended the incident, with a specialist technical support unit vehicle sent from Govan. A chemist was called in to confirm the nature of the substance before soda ash was used to neutralise it.
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