THE ENVIRONMENT Agency has blocked access to land in Birtley, located in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, in order to reduce the “serious risk” that illegal waste storage can pose to the environment and the local community. A Restriction Order is now in place prohibiting anyone from entering or depositing more waste on the site at Shee Recycling on the Durham Road after waste stored there became a fire risk.

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DEVELOPED IN conjunction with Fire and Rescue Services and based on the principles of the Deloitte methodology, the maturity models and Workforce Good Practice Framework introduced by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) allow Fire and Rescue Services to assess current practice by using a self-assessment tool to determine their current level of maturity.

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THE FIRE Industry Association (FIA) has introduced a new training course focused on the latest revision of BS 5839-9 in relation to emergency voice communication systems. BS 5839-9:2021 both updates and replaces BS 5839-9:2011.

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ONE MANUFACTURER of fire-resistant cabling believes that building safety could remain a “ticking time bomb” if product testing for fire cables isn’t strengthened. Wrexham Mineral Cables has been calling for more stringent testing standards for several years. The business believes too many cables are classified as fire-resistant, yet are not fit for purpose in real-life fire scenarios.

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INDIVIDUALS WITH disabilities are being put at risk by the lack of clarity over where responsibility lies for escaping from a building in an emergency. That’s the view of safety expert and evacuation solutions specialist Evac+Chair International. That being so, the business is urging lawmakers to close the legislative gap and encourage more accountability and transparency on the evacuation equipment needed in order to save lives.

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A GLOBAL International Fire Safety Standards (IFSS) Coalition comprising upwards of 80 fire safety leadership organisations has launched a 40-page document entitled ‘Global Plan for a Decade of Action for Fire Safety 2022-2032’. The aim is to ensure an internationally consistent approach towards the safety and management of buildings and infrastructure and save lives by reducing risk as well as preventing devastating fires.

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SADIQ KHAN, the Mayor of London, has called on building owners and landlords to help leaseholders by sharing vital building safety information with their residents. More than four years after the Grenfell Tower fire, thousands of Londoners are trapped by the building safety crisis. Some leaseholders have been left fearing for their safety, while others have been unable to sell their homes. Some are facing substantial bills to remediate cladding issues they could not have anticipated when they bought their property.

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FOLLOWING ON from the publication of the Government’s Building Safety Bill and its 53 recommendations for driving cultural change and emboldening safety improvements in the construction sector, building control and regulation specialist Bureau Veritas is reminding developers of the importance of meeting the Gateway One regulations now in force across England and Wales.

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FIREFIGHTER NUMBERS have, according to the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), now “reached a new low” since the beginning of austerity in 2010. One-in-five firefighter roles that existed in 2010 are no longer in place, with a fall in number of 11,680 roles in the ensuing period.

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IAIN COX, chair of the Business Sprinkler Alliance, has urged that lessons from school fires must be learned sooner rather than later. Cox’s words of warning emanate at the start of a new academic term where a primary school in Wiltshire has already suffered from a major fire.

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