On-Site Basic Fire Awareness Course
Very useful to update awareness of practical advice in the event of a fire and for fire prevention – A. Finlay
All aspects of the training were good and information was useful for work and home – K. Alleyne
Excellent training. I learnt a lot – R. Bonner
On-Site Fire Warden Training
Really informative. I have taken so much information away with me both for work and for home. The trainer (Dave) was really interesting . Excellent! – D Gee O’Brien
A great refresher course. Reminded me of many safety issues – D. Morrison
Very relevant training with great information for home and at work – S. Shentall
The course has highlighted many danger areas at home and work and has given me the confidence to tackle fires if safe – J. Oddy
I found the training very useful for both work and the home environment. Some very important information that could save lives – H. Lalli
Basic Fire Awareness with Fire Extinguishers
Visuals make you very aware. Raised awareness of fire safety at work and in the home – J Meyern
Very knowledgeable, clear and concise training. Excellent – A. Robson
Excellent. Very useful training – E. Cooper
Very helpful for use at work and in the home – S. Reynolds
The training was very interesting. The videos really brought the dangers home. It made me more aware of the dangers at home too – J. Glos
The training was very useful as I work with young people and I am the company fire warden – A. Joyce
Very relaxed presentation but also attention grabbing and very informative. I have gained important knowledge and have already put it to use at home – J. Dinsdale
Warwickshire Council fined £30,000 over firefighter deaths
Warwickshire council has been fined £30,000 over the deaths of four firefighters who lost their lives in a fire at a vegetable packing plant in Warwickshire.
John Averis, 27, Ashley Stephens, 20 and Darren Yates-Badley, 24 died in the building in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007. A fourth firefighter, Ian Reid, 44, died later in hospital.
Mr Justice Macduff described the deaths as a “dreadful accident”. Warwickshire County Council pleaded guilty to health and safety charges earlier this year.
Mr Macduff said the fine imposed “in no way” summed up the cost of the four men’s lives but highlighted deficiencies in record-keeping and information given to fire crews at the time of the blaze.
Speaking after the sentencing, Warwickshire’s community safety spokesman, councilor Richard Hobbs, apologised for the fire authority’s failings. He said: “We pleaded guilty to the charge because we recognised and accepted that there were failings on our part back in 2007. No fire service can guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong again but we are confident that our service is as safe as it can be.”
Earlier this year, 3 fire service managers were cleared of manslaughter charges in relation to the deaths.
Ian Reid’s widow, Julie said: “No matter what amount of fine is imposed, it will not bring Ian back or turn the clock back so that I can stop him attending the fire on that fateful night. The judge said at a previous hearing that if he imposed a large fine, the only losers would be the taxpayers. I would like to remind him that the losers in this tragic event are the four men who lost their lives and their still deeply grieving families.”
No fire safety certificate at Bangladeshi factory when 110 people died in fire
It has been reported that a Bangladeshi clothes factory did not have a valid fire safety certificate when a fire broke out killing over 110 people.
Abu Naim Mohammad Shahidullah, from the Fire Service and Civil Defence department confirmed that the factory’s certificate had expired in June and had not been renewed.
Mr Shahidullah said “The fire safety certificate was given [to the factory] last year. But he [the owner] is supposed to get it renewed this year any time after June 2012. We gave him a reminder that he should contact us for renewal. It was not done. If they had come [to us] earlier then the factory would have checked by our inspectors.”
The factory was making clothes for Western retailers such as Walmart, C&A and The Edinburgh Woollen Mill at the time of the blaze. Walmart later said that it was terminating the services of the factory.
More than 1000 workers were at the factory when the fire started on 24th November on the ground floor of the building on the outskirts of Dhaka.
A government inquiry into the fire will now be carried out.