FSO: Landmark case - Fire Alarm Engineer Fined

A FORMER retained firefighter from Wales who failed to maintain a fire alarm in a care home has been fined £11,000 including costs in a landmark case.
Christopher Morris, 56, of Llandudno, Wales, appeared before Manchester Crown Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to two separate offences at Trafford Magistrates Court.
He was fined £2,500 for each offence and £6,000 in costs for failing to maintain a fire alarm system at a care home in Trafford, Manchester, to a recognised standard and failing to inform the owners of the home of the deficiencies in the system.
Morris is the first fire alarm engineer to be prosecuted as a responsible person under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (FSO). At the previous hearing the bench at Trafford Magistrates Court decided it did not have sufficient powers to deal with the case and what they described as 'culpable neglect' by the defendant.
The case was brought to court by Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority in what is believed to be the first of its kind under the FSO. The law allows the Fire and Rescue Authority to prosecute a person who has responsibility for a particular area of premises or, as in this case, maintaining fire equipment that requires specialist knowledge or skills to carry out repairs.
Deputy County Fire Officer Jim Owen said it would send a strong message throughout the fire industry that Fire and Rescue Authorities in England and Wales will not hesitate in taking firm action against anyone that falls short of their obligations under fire legislation.
Mr Owen said: "Whilst many owners have been prosecuted under the Fire Safety Order, this may be the first time a fire and rescue authority has prosecuted someone contracted by the owner of a property to maintain a fire alarm. Taking on such a contract extends the requirements of the order to the fire alarm engineer. Anyone we find who doesn't carry out their work to recognised standards is a danger and we won't hesitate to take action."
The court heard how Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service attended a fire incident at a care home in Trafford in May 2009. An elderly resident died following the blaze. During subsequent investigations into the fire safety arrangements at the premises, fire safety enforcement officers commissioned an examination of the fire alarm system by a specialist consultant who sits on the British Standard committee for fire alarm systems.
The examination report revealed that the system was estimated to have been installed during the late 1980s or early 1990s and that a number of issues were discovered within the panel that demonstrated poor practice remedial work had been carried out at some time during its lifetime. This included:
A blown fuse over-ridden with a piece of wireAn electronic component had been suspended between two terminal bocks instead of being attached to the circuit board, an alarm silence/fault warning buzzer was missing from the circuit board and the fault warning light on the front face of the panel had been almost covered by paint
Christopher Morris, an electrician who had taken over the maintenance of the system in 2006, had issued several annual certificates of worthiness to the owner of the home, stating the system was 100 per cent.
During an interview under caution, Morris initially claimed that although the system was old it complied with the relevant British Standard. However, when he was challenged about the poor repair issues and shown the specialists photographs he admitted that he was not aware of them.

If anything, surely the above is a good case for a premises Responsible Person contracting to BAFE/third party accredited companies?

IFEDA dry riser courses

The advertised january course and the February follow-up are now full. the next two day dry riser course is scheduled for May. Please contact for details.

Faulty Xmas lights

Frightening how quick this tree and the room go up in flames

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMtjGfr0tYs

FSO breach: marina store fined

The Hartlepool Mail reports that:-
A DISCOUNT store chain has been hit with a fine after a fire service found emergency exits were blocked during a blaze in one of its shops.

Opus Homewares has been slapped with a £7,500 fine and ordered to pay £4,000 in court costs after a fire in the firm's B&M Home Store, in Highlight Retail Park, Hartlepool, on September 30, 2009. Fire safety officers found bosses had breached regulations five times by blocking exits and took the company to court last week. Cleveland Fire Brigade is now warning other businesses to make sure their premises are up to standard, both to keep people safe and avoid hefty fines. Simon Arora, managing director of Opus Homewares, said his company regrets the incident and has since worked closely with the fire service to make the store safe. Barry Waller, head of fire engineering for Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: "The fire broke out at the front of the store and, after the fire was extinguished by responding fire crews, it was found that several exits were unavailable or obstructed. "The circumstances found at the time of the incident were such that they seriously compromised the safety of the occupants and that is not something the fire brigade can, or will, condone."It is important people realise we take these regulations very seriously and we will take such action whenever necessary."The company was in Hartlepool Magistrates' Court last week for the five offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. Ian Hayton, chief fire officer for Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: "I would also like to take this opportunity to remind people that the role of the fire service in relation to fire safety has changed to that of enforcement and that it is the responsibility of owners, occupiers or managers to ensure that suitable and sufficient fire safety arrangements are in place within their premises."

Announcing a New 2 Day Course from IFEDA

The Service & Maintenance of Dry Risers with regards to BS9990 : 2006

There will be a 2 day course on the Service and Maintenance of Dry Risers at our Stockport Training Centre on 18th and 19th January 2011

The objective of the IFEDA training course for the Service & Maintenance of Dry Riser Systems (also known as a Dry Fire Main) is to give competent Service Technicians guidance, together with a more thorough understanding of their responsibilities when carrying out work on these systems.

The course will include hands-on practical sessions on our purpose-built dry riser stack and a theory examination with regards to BS9990: 2006 and the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005

Members cost £305 (ex VAT)
Non-members cost £355 (ex VAT)
Price includes manual, certificate (for the successful candidate), lunch and refreshments, but excludes travel and accommodation costs.

To book please contact Karen on info@ifeda.org
SYLLABUS

British Standard 9990: 2006.
An introduction to the current “Code of practice for non-automatic fire-fighting systems in buildings” covering the design, installation, testing and maintenance of dry fire-fighting mains, including a brief description of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the duties of the “Responsible Person” in respect of Dry Riser provision and maintenance.

Health & Safety at Work
Duties and responsibilities of the employer and the employee particularly in respect of site service visits.

Dry Riser, Components and Parts
The purpose of Dry Risers their operating principles and an introduction to the valves and inlets/outlets associated with a Dry Riser System.

Testing, Servicing and Maintenance of Dry Risers
The outlined procedures for Service/Maintenance Engineers to carry out during the testing and servicing of Dry Risers. Fault identification and rectification: to include practical hands on instruction on our purpose-built dry riser stack