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Adam Bannister is a contributor to IFSEC Global, having been in the role of Editor from 2014 through to November 2019. Adam also had stints as a journalist at cybersecurity publication, The Daily Swig, and as Managing Editor at Dynamis Online Media Group.
September 22, 2016

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Number of obese people rescued by FRS soars by a third in three years (fire news roundup)

Fire crews rescued obese people who were unable to move on their own during 944 incidents last year – up by a third on three years ago.

Firefighters used lifting equipment and special slings during the incidents, sometimes even removing windows, walls and banisters.

BBC Radio 5 live, which obtained the figures, was told about one case where lifting equipment was used to remove an “extremely large” patient who had been unable to leave the sofa for several days. In another, the fire service extricated a 40-stone man from the upstairs of a pub.

Some cases involved moving a deceased obese person from their home to an undertaker’s ambulance.

All 50 UK fire and rescue services have collected data on incidents involving obese people since 2012.

“Some of these incidents have become protracted overnight while we’ve needed to change certain elements to the building to make that rescue safe before we can bring the patient out,” said Chris Jones, watch manager from South Wales Fire Service, which carried out the highest number of rescues last year.

Speaking to BBC News, he continued: “If we are doing what we call an external rescue where we’re taking the patient out through a window, quite commonly we’ll remove the window frame itself and we will actually sometimes drop courses of brickwork down to create that space.

“Internally we might have to take doors off, move furniture, we may even have to put supporting systems into the house to make sure everything’s structurally sound as well.”

Read more about this story on BBC News.


Two recycling plant fires in less than a week

Recycling plants continue to pose a significant fire risk (and a particularly difficult challenge for firefighters), with another two unfolding in less than a week.

Burning wax ran “like lava” according to one witness to a blaze that destroyed a wax-recycling company in Worcestershire.

Sixty-five firefighters were sent to deal with the fire at Valan Wax Products, on Saxon Fields Business Park in Stoke Prior.

No injuries have been reported from the fire, which began about 6:30pm on Monday evening. Nearby workers were evacuated and some neighbouring businesses were also damaged by the blaze.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service is investigating the cause of the fire.

Kevin Pearson, who works nearby, said: “It was an absolutely huge fire. I’ve never seen anything as big as that.

“The scariest thing was that you were seeing the wax running down, and it was alight. It was just spreading, and the firefighters had to stand there to fight it back and try and push the fire back towards the building.

“It was like lava flowing down towards the next business estate.”

Meanwhile, 2,000 tonnes of wood chips went up in flames in Bridgend. Fire was reported at South Wales Wood Recycling just before 3:30am on Monday.

The cause of the fire has not been established, but the company said the “circumstances were suspicious”.


Landlord who crammed 16 people into four-bed house is slapped with £6,000 fine

A landlord who housed 16 people in a house with just four bedrooms has been fined £6,000 pounds.

The property, in Wembley, London, was also found to have inadequate smoke alarms and fire doors, as well as dangerously cramped conditions.

Mohammed Mehdi Ali was fined for failing to licence the property and for failing to comply with fire safety measures.

He was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,318 and a victim surcharge of £170.

“Given the serious overcrowding and poor fire safety in this house, we could easily be reflecting on a much more serious crime here,” said councillor Harbi Farah, Brent Council’s lead member for housing. “The contempt Ali has shown for this legal process by not even bothering to turn up for sentencing speaks volumes.

“The vast majority of landlords and lettings agents in Brent are honest and law abiding, but we take a zero tolerance approach to the minority who think they can treat their tenants like this.”


Two injured in industrial fire in Cornwall

Two people were injured as a huge blaze ripped through an industrial estate in Bude in Cornwall.

Firefighters from across Cornwall, Devon and Somerset tackled the blaze, which took hold across two units of an industrial estate at Bude.

A huge pall of smoke was visible for miles.

The fire began on Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

2023 Fire Safety eBook – Grab your free copy!

Download the Fire Safety in 2023 eBook, keeping you up to date with the biggest news and prosecution stories from around the industry. Chapters include important updates such as the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and an overview of the new British Standard for the digital management of fire safety information.

Plus, we explore the growing risks of lithium-ion battery fires and hear from experts in disability evacuation and social housing.

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