Features are carefully selected from across the website and magazine, these articles are contributed by a wide range of authors from across the sectors covered by Fire & Security Matters, as well as the editorial team. Addressing the latest topics in terms of technological developments, legislation and industry issues
IN EARLY April, when industrial fires broke out in two different locations, they both had the same devastating outcome. As Tom Roche observes, these outcomes once again create a focus on the debate about mandating fire sprinkler systems for buildings.
TESTING AN industrial enclosure to recognised standards ensures that the enclosure specified will do the job in real world conditions. For product development or bespoke enclosures, though, testing can delay projects unless a fast turnaround – that still meets exacting standards – can be achieved. Chris Lloyd explains the benefits of in-house testing for enclosure specifiers.
WITH NEW fire safety legislation demanding a renewed focus on safety in all residential settings, Karen Trigg explains why care home and sheltered housing associations must absolutely prioritise the maintenance of fire doors.
RECENTLY, AN article authored by Lars Rohde (the Governor of Denmark’s National Bank) was published in The Financial Times and highlighted the fact that a bank’s capital buffer should work much like a sprinkler system. In other words, writes Iain Cox, it exists to ensure a bank can continue to provide credit in times of crisis, much like a sprinkler contains a fire prior to the arrival of the Fire and Rescue Service.
BACK IN August 2019, a fire started in the roof area of a care home in Crewe, but then spread rapidly and completely destroyed the complex. Seventeen months later, a bedroom fire at another care home in Mobberley was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system in less than three minutes. According to Iain Cox, this begs the question: ‘With so many vulnerable residents in these buildings, why did one care home have sprinklers and the other didn’t?’
