On Tuesday morning a fire in Enfield saw smoke billow across the M25, then little more than a day later a blaze erupted at a Staffordshire factory. Hundreds of Stafford residents were evacuated from their homes on Wednesday after a loud explosion was reported at the nearby factory, which makes cleaning products.
According to eyewitness reports oil barrels have been propelled into the air, a situation which could worsen unless firefighters can control the fire before it reaches another 40,000 litres of industrial oil nearby.
The Enfield fire, meanwhile, which started at around 2am in Whitewebbs Lane, Enfield, destroyed a warehouse and damaged several vehicles, including eight cars, seven forklift trucks, six lorries and three caravans.
Drivers were warned to drive carefully as plumes of smoke drifted across the M25 between junctions 24 and 25.
Taking hold among stacks of wooden pallets it was “a difficult fire to fight”, according to LFB Deputy Assistant Commissioner Graham Ellis.
The presence of large volumes of highly flammable materials is why industrial fires remain a fiendishly difficult problem for firefighters, even as domestic fires and fires in non-industrial commercial premises have fallen steadily in recent decades.
“Aspirating smoke detection”
“The Enfield and Staffordshire fires illustrate how conventional smoke detection can be inadequate for industrial sites,” says Martin Norris, sales director for Xtralis. “While the cause of the fire is still unknown, what’s vital in these situations is very early detection to allow for threat mitigation.
“Aspirating smoke detection has proven to be the most effective way to detect fire threats early to give local response an opportunity to respond before lives, assets and business continuity are threatened.
“Further, with remote visual verification, first responders can be afforded valuable situational awareness that will help attack the threat in the most efficient way possible. The technology exists, and it’s just a matter of time before it’s widely deployed to prevent occurrences like this.”
A few more photos from the #enfield fire. @LondonFire pic.twitter.com/7xfOe8t607
— Paul Wood (@PaulWood1961) March 1, 2016
Another industry figure has previously aired concerns that conventional heat detectors are unsuited to outdoor fires.
“The three main means of detection are designed to work internally, but we now have a big problem with external fires, in the open, such as at recycling areas,” says David Bendall, business development manager at Spotfire, which develop cameras for remote visual verification. “Most devices out today are designed to work in an encapsulated airspace, whereas a camera can work externally.
Speaking to IFSEC Global in 2014 Bendall continued: “Right now, the fire services like confirmation that a fire really is a fire and visual verification is as good as you’re going to get. IP will do that.
“And these cameras actually record a series of events, so with arson, for example, they can actually see what’s going on.
“It can also be used inside a number of integrated systems and can replace your current security cameras, so you get the best of both worlds without huge expense.
“It can also be bolted onto 5839 part 1 systems, which is covered in the recommended installing standard and can be used as additional means of detection.”
With so much flammable material around industrial fires often take days or even weeks to control – which is often the case with fires at recycling plants, a common problem. “One fire in Swindon lasted eight weeks,” said Bendall.
“The speed of detection is [therefore] important,” says Bendall. “All other forms of detection require can take five minutes to detect smoke. A camera will pick up smoke or flames in about 10-15 seconds.”
Bendall also warns that cuts to fire service only make case for a change in approach more urgent.
“A lot of services have been cut with fewer fire stations in town centres, so they often have to travel further, so you need the earliest possible warning to save the building.”
Insurance pressure
Although saving buildings could only ever come a distant second to saving lives, pressure from the insurance industry could drive innovation, suggest Bendall.
“Fire services quite rightly were designed to save life in the first instance. Buildings are second choice, but the insurance industry gets a bit upset about this.
“They now require as much of the structure to be saved as possible because of the astronomical costs involved. That’s why cameras could be very useful.”
The presence of flammable gases is an issue, with 35 propane cylinders thankfuly moved from the Enfield site by firefighters, although they warned that others could still be in the vicinity of the blaze.
The cause of the Enfield fire has not yet been established.
Read the full interview with Dave Bendall here.
Do you agree that cameras could play a bigger role in reducing the severity of associated costs of industrial fires? Add your comments below!
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