The course for 25 staff was extremely well received, Jonathan one of the Managers sent us some feedback which we are delighted to post below.

We firmly believe that course is often is as much about the trainer as the audience, The Warehouse Project’s staff are a lively and vibrant bunch and the training was really good fun, thank you all for making us feel so welcome.

Jonathan’s quote below:

“The fire warden training was fantastic, a real eye opener. Everything from the basic information, the delivery and the serious, hard hitting video’s was brought together extremely well in an informative manner that engaged my staff team. We all left with a new found respect for fire wardens and will all be taking our roles much more seriously now. The addition of the Extinguisher training meant that everyone left on a high with some real knowledge. Thanks to Steve.”

Fire crews were called to the Llys y Coed Care Centre at 21:21 GMT on Wednesday.

Senior officers praised fire crews and staff at the home for quickly leading the residents to safety, saying it could have been more serious.

The fire is blamed on an industrial tumble drier which accidentally ignited. No-one was hurt.

Mid and West Wales Fire Service said four fire engines attended the scene, along with police and ambulance staff.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

Credit to the staff, they calmed the residents down and assisted us in the evacuation to a successful conclusion”

Alan Sherman
Station manager, Mid and West Wales Fire Service
Four breathing apparatus and two jets were used in fighting the blaze, which was contained in the laundry room at an annexe to the premises.

Alan Sherman, fire station manager at the scene, praised his crews and staff at the home for dealing with the situation quickly and safely.

He said: “The rapid attendance and rapid actions of the crews contained the fire within the laundry room and extinguished the fire successfully.

“Also, they were successful in evacuating 37 residents and staff from the premises.

“It was very traumatic for them [the residents] – credit to the staff, they calmed the residents down and assisted us in the evacuation to a successful conclusion.

“We were able to evacuate them to a remote location within the residence itself which was far enough from the fire and afforded them protection.

“It was a small-scale operation but it could have been a lot worse if it hadn’t been for the rapid reaction of the crews.”

Mr Sherman said that once the fire service was satisfied the fire was out and the building clear of smoke, residents were able to return to their rooms little more than an hour later.

Source BBC

The fire started at Storey Court in Bushey Close, Bushey, at about 17:00 GMT on Tuesday and the building was evacuated.

Hertfordshire Fire Service said eight engines were called to deal with the fire at the two-storey building, which houses about 100 people.

Residents who were led to safety are being looked after at a nearby reception centre.

The fire service said all flats at the site had been searched and all the residents of the home had been accounted for.

The home, built in the 1970s and renovated in 1999, has on-site care staff and and non-resident management staff.

Source BBC

We completed the initial evening course tonight with 16 staff, the initial feedback was fabulous, one of the senior carers told us that it was the best Fire Training session she has been on in over 27 years employment.
We delivered our ‘Bespoke for Care homes’ training and discussed the findings from The Rose Park Care Home Fire enquiry, real life Case Studies really bring home the importance of getting it right.
We continue to develop our Care Home Packages and welcome enquiries from this sector.

Tutis Fire Training Team

Onn Yan Lai, joint proprietor of the Kings Chinese takeaway in Thatcham, pleaded guilty to 12 offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 at Reading Magistrates Court on 1 February.

Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA) brought the charges following an inspection of the restaurant by fire safety officers in July 2010. At the time of the inspection, the premises was used as a Chinese takeaway and also included sleeping accommodation for staff.

Breaches included no fire risk assessment in place; inadequate fire protection for and obstruction of escape routes; no adequate fire alarm system; a failure to take adequate fire safety precautions to protect staff and members of the public; inadequate fire evacuation training for staff; and a failure to maintain firefighting equipment.

The court heard that the breaches presented a serious and life-threatening risk to the staff who worked there and to members of the public who visited the premises.

According to RBFA, District Judge Matthews said the breaches should attract a very significant level of fine, but that she was obliged to consider the defendant’s mitigation regarding his current financial position.

Mr Lai was awarded credit for his early guilty plea and his previous good character, which was reflected in a lower level of fines. He was ordered to pay fines totalling £5,750 and costs of £5,469.50.

Source info4fire

The first fire, on Saturday 11February, affected the Bran Flakes production line at the factory in Wrexham, North Wales.

The fire started on the roof in of the facility, and was thought to have been caused by a blockage in a cyclone dust collection system, causing a motor to overheat.

Three appliances attended the scene where staff were evacuated, but the damage was minimal – thought to be restricted to around 10% of the extractor unit – so production was able to resume the same day.

The second more significant incident happened just a few days later on February 13, this time on the production line for Elevenses cereal bars.

The fire broke out in an industrial oven used to bake the bars, causing a complete shutdown of production in this part of the factory. However, impressively the fire did not mean a complete evacuation of the rest of the plant, meaning there was only minimal disruption to the ceral makers output.

One appliance attended this second fire which was confined to the oven. Thermal imaging cameras were used to ensure the fire had not spread.

Production on the brand was resumed the following day, resulting in an estimated 10 ton reduction in output.

A kellogg’s spokeswoman told foodmanufacture.co.uk that they were not worried about the timing of the two fires.

She said “Anything that happens in our plants in investigated fully. Are we concerned about there being two [fires in a short amount of time]? No. But we are investigating fully.”
Source Info4fire

In the worst prison fire for over a century over 350 people are known to have burned and suffocated to death, locked in their cells while firemen struggled to find the guards who held the keys.

The conflicting goals of keeping prisoners securely locked up and that of fire safety have clashed here in spectacular fashion, as indeed they did in 2004 when over 100 died in another Honduran prison.

Associated press footage from the prison in Comayagua, Honduras
Then, the message was that the prisons would be reformed, and that a disaster of this kind would never happen again. Clearly, that promise has been grimly reneged on.

In a country that sadly boasts the highest murder rate in the world (86 per 100k compared to 1.23 in the UK), prison overcrowding is inevitable. 856 prisoners were squeezed into a prison designed for just 500 on Tuesday night, and many of them were guilty of no crime.

Associated Press have seen a report, submitted last month to the UN, that states around half of inmates were either awaiting trial or suspected gang members.

Honduras has strict anti-gang laws whereby anyone can be imprisoned simply for having a gang tattoo.

Prisoner heard screaming “We will all die here!”
There are two theories as to the cause of the fire; it was either an electrical fault, or a prisoner who threatened to burn the prison down before setting his mattress on fire. Witnesses reported that the man screamed “We will all die here!”

Whatever the cause, what is known is that the 12 guards on duty overnight in the prison held back firefighters in the belief that that the screaming that could be heard was a riot, and that the prisoners were staging a prison break.

They were held back for 30 minutes before finally being allowed in to tackle the fire. By the time they were allowed in there was no sign of the keys or the guards, and fire crews were unable to save the men locked inside.

Many bodies were found in the prisons washrooms, where it is believed inmates hid in the hope that the water from the showers would save them.

Chaotic scenes outside the prison, where friends and relatives of inmates were gathering for news, caused further confusion and grief.

Shots were fired into the air, and tear gas was deployed to keep back members of the public, who were desperate to try and save their loved ones.

Prison reforms
Without widespread prison reforms, human rights groups and the international community are fearful that the scenes could be repeated again in the future.

Human Rights Watch’s Americas director, Jose Miguel Vivanco, said “Given that Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, authorities have been locking up convicted and suspected criminals, but failing to address the conditions in which they are being held.”

The president of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo, has promised a “full and transparent” investigation into what happened, and suspended local and national prison officials, in a bid to show that the Government are in control and serious this time about real reforms.

Preventing a disaster in the UK
We contacted the Ministry of Justice to find out what failsafes are in place to ensure that similar disasters would not be possible in the UK.

A Prison Service spokesperson said, “We have robust measures in place to deal with the risks posed by fire in our prisons.

“Each prison also carries out regular fire risk assessments to ensure staff, prisoners and visitors are as safe as possible.”

Emergency services were called to the home in Duggins Lane, Tile Hill, during Saturday afternoon.

A West Midlands Ambulance spokesman said 38 residents had been moved out of the property, with six needing treatment, one for burns on her leg.

The remaining five people, including a member of staff, were treated for the effects of breathing in smoke.

Both women were in their 80s.

West Midlands Fire and Rescue said when crews arrived they found staff and police moving the residents away from the fire and into other parts of the residential complex.

Spokesman Bill Gough said the fire had been small and in a ground-floor bedroom.

Congratulations to Steve on an excellent course with extremely positive feedback. His passion about what he does and how to avoid the potential risks of fire was apparent throughout the course.

Kind regards
Debra