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New CLG fire director
SHONA DUNN has been appointed as the new director of Fire and Resilience at Communities and Local Government (CLG), the government department in England responsible for fire. She will move from her current role as head of Sustainable Buildings within CLG. As Fire Risk Management went to press, a CLG spokesperson said that a start date is still to be confirmed and that Sandy Bishop will continue as interim director in the meantime.
Firefighting foam tests
THE International Civil Aviation Organisation, in partnership with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Transport Canada, is challenging the foam industry to produce a new generation firefighting foam that is at least 20% more effective than the current level. Under the plans, foam manufacturers that supply the aviation industry will submit foams for testing against a new Performance Level C standard. An independent testing agency will be selected to carry out the tests.
Israel wildfires
HEAT WAVE conditions triggered a number of wildfires across Israel in early June. Some 200 residents were evacuated from the town of Roglit near Jerusalem as firefighting teams tackled a brushfire that damaged several properties. In a separate blaze near the port of Ashdod, two firefighting planes were used to contain the flames. Wildfires were reported in 20 other locations across the country.
Industrial emergency
A TOWN in British Columbia in western Canada declared a state of emergency after a major fire at an industrial site spread to adjacent buildings. Officials in Prince George Town reported that flames from a blaze at a plywood plant ignited materials at nearby warehouse. Both facilities were destroyed, but no-one was injured.
Nightclub fine
THE MANAGER of a nighclub on the Wirral in Merseyside has been ordered to pay a total of £4,000 in fines and costs after he admitted two breaches under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Lee Owen was prosecuted after he failed to get works done to the Hotel California in Birkenhead. The court heard that an enforcement notice was served by the fire service following a fire at the club in January 2007, however, the works it required were not completed until recently and not within the required time. Wirral district fire safety manager, Dermot Greene, said: ‘We had given a number of extensions to the completion timescale here and the work was only done after we had made it clear that we would use our enforcement powers’.
Firefighter wellbeing
THERE HAVE been renewed efforts to improve the wellbeing of US firefighters, with a Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week taking place in late-June. Organised by the National Fire Protection Association and the International Associations of Fire Chiefs and Firefighters, the initiative highlighted the need for US fire services to improve their organisational health and safety culture. A policy to mandate seatbelt usage by all firefighters travelling in emergency vehicles was also initiated.
Command manual
AN UPDATED incident command manual has been sent to fire and rescue services across England. The 3rd edition of Fire and Rescue Manual Volume 2: Fire Service Operations – Incident Command is a template that fire services can use to implement incident command policies, procedures and training. It also ensures that brigades can work effectively with other emergency response organisations. Issued by the Office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, the new edition supersedes previous versions.
No sprinkler review
COMMUNITIES and Local Government (CLG) has said it has no plans to amend the Building Regulations in England and Wales so that sprinkers are required in smaller-sized warehouses. There have been calls for the current requirement – for all new single-storey warehouses over 20,000m2 to be fitted with sprinklers – to be reduced. However, responding to a Parliamentary question, Iain Wright MP of CLG said there are ‘no plans to revisit this part of the Building Regulations in the near future’.
Building collapse
AN investigation is under way after a man died in a building collapse in West Bromwich on 4 June. Police and fire crews in the West Midlands attended the scene after the roof of the three-storey building caved in, causing the floors below to give way. Rescue crews were hampered by the precarious state of the building, as half the roof remained balanced on top of a gable end wall. One man was declared dead by paramedics several hours after the collapse. Two other men were treated in hospital for injuries.
Acetylene robot trials
LONDON Fire Brigade and Network Rail are trialling the use of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to deal with incidents involving acetylene cylinders. ROVs from QinetiQ will be used at incidents on or near railway lines, which can cause major disruption to train services. The ROVs, with their all-terrain capabilities, are able to enter environments that would be unsafe for firefighters. Their cameras can identify if acetylene cylinders are present and, using thermal imaging, gauge whether they are sufficiently cool for the brigade to safely approach and deal with them. In the last year, there have been an increasing number of fires on the side of railway lines, causing massive disruption to passengers. The total number of acetylene incidents across London – not just trackside – has also risen.
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