News

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HUMBER ESTUARY SHIP FIRES COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE BUT FOR TANKER CREW’S ACTIONS  (19/03)

Recent collision and subsequent fire involving a container cargo ship and an oil tanker was prevented from being far worse by the actions of the tanker crew before they abandoned ship. The tanker was struck mid ships by the cargo vessel rupturing one tank containing jet fuel which caught fire immediately. The crew activated the fixed firefighting monitors that provided boundary cooling. This prevented tanks adjacent to the one on fire becoming involved. The tanker was carrying 220,000 barrels of jet fuel but only about 17,000 barrels were lost to fire. Had the full cargo of fuel become involved the incident would have been even more serious than it was.

CFO & DCFO OF NORTHUMBERLAND SUSPENDED  (14/03)

CFO Graeme Billing and DCFO Jim McNeil of Northumberland Fire & Rescue Service have both been suspended. This action by the fire authority comes following an investigation into the service’s culture.

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Culture change needed at the top of Shropshire FRS  (27/02)

The Chief Fire Officer of Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service, Simon Hardiman, and his Assistant CFO, Adam Matthews, have been accused by the service’s own auditors of sending to each other emails that contain remarks insulting to female members of their own service. The auditors reported the two senior officers to the Fire Authority and an investigation followed. The Fire Authority has given a formal warning to CFO Hardiman but allowed him to stay in post. Adam Matthews resigned before the investigation was complete. The Fire Authority is calling upon the top managers to bring about a culture change in the Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service and to do so by setting a better example.
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AIR FRYERS CAUSING COSTLY FIRES  (19/02)

The increased popularity of air fryers has led to a spike in the number of fires in the UK. This has now become so serious that insurers have issued a warning. Many users of air fryers regard them as ‘fire safe’ but they can cause fires due usually to improper use such as overloading, overheating or electrical faults. The insured loss from these fires is a matter of concern and Aviva has given statistics that show the average cost of a fire caused by an air fryer is £30,000.

The UK National Fire Chief’s Council and the Home Office have yet to comment.

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TUNNEL FIRE CAUSES FATALITIES  (15/02)

A heavy goods vehicle passing through the Green River tunnel in Wyoming, USA has crashed and caught fire. Emergency services are facing an exceptionally challenging incident that is known to have killed two people and put seven in hospital. It is feared that further fatalities will be discovered eventually but a raging fire is keeping fire and rescue teams from gaining control. They have withdrawn to the tunnel exterior because a collapse of the tunnel structure is feared will take place.

FORMER LFB STATION ABLAZE  (15/02)

A 119 year old Grade II listed building that used to be A22 Manchester Square Fire Station in London caught fire shortly before 3.00pm on Friday 14th February 2025. 20-pumps attended crewed by 125 firefighters. The building is now the Chiltern Firehouse Hotel and Restaurant, a very prestigious venue often patronised by the good and the great of the city. At the time of the outbreak of f ire about 100 people were evacuated to the street. There are no reports of any casualties. Early indications are that the fire broke out in the kitchens of the restaurant and then spread through ducting to involve other floors and a plant room at roof level.

SLOW PROGRESS REMOVING DANGEROUS CLADDING  (10/02)

Speaking on BBC TV on 9th February, the Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner MP, said that there are 4,000 buildings above 18m high in the UK that the Government knows have external cladding as dangerous as that used on Grenfell Tower. The removal of these panels from buildings that are still occupied and in use is progressing very slowly. Angela Rayner declared that the Government is insisting that 50% of these buildings have the cladding removed by 2029.

The fire at Grenfell Tower occurred in June 2017. In addition to the 4,000 properties affected known to the Government, it has recently been admitted by ministers that there may well be up to a total of 7,000 buildings that need the dangerous cladding removed.

FIREFIGHTERS KILLED AT RUSSIAN OIL DEPOT FIRE  (14/01)

Ukrainian drones have successfully attacked and started a very serious fire at an oil depot near the city of Engels in Russia. In the struggle to contain and extinguish the blaze it is known that so far two fire fighters have been killed. It is believed that the fuel that is burning is some of that supplied to a nearby airfield which is the base for Putin’s nuclear bombers
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CALIFORNIA FIRES OUT OF CONTROL  (13/01)
Not enough firefighters and the unusually high winds grounds water bomber aircraft. Thousands forced to evacuate very expensive homes and contents.In addition to houses a large number of business premises have been totally destroyed and also some schools (Photos by Yahoo News)

DEATH OF FRED KEMP  (22/12)

We regret to announce the death of Fred Kemp. The funeral was held at Salisbury Crematorium on Tuesday 14th January 2024. Afterwards at a celebration of Fred’s life at Riverside Hotel, Harnham.

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DORIS (‘Dimps’) RICHARDS 100th BIRTHDAY  (22/12)

WRFA member, Doris Richards, became 100 years old on 15th November, the first member of this association to achieve such a great age. The photo is of Doris when she was 19. She is now blind and living in an apartment in Amesbury with carers visiting her daily. Paul Jaycock has kept in close touch with Doris and this association provided a bouquet of highly scented blooms on the birthday with a box of chocolates too. A card of congratulations was also sent. Warmest congratulations to ‘Dimps’ are sent with an assurance of our continued support.

HAROLD PORTER 100TH BIRTHDAY  (22/12)

Harold Porter OBE, QFSM, FIFireE, became 100 on 19th December. Harold is a retired CFO of Cumbria and served as one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Fire Services in the Home Office before retiring completely to a retirement village In Tetbury. Harold is a WRFA member. A party was arranged to mark the special day by his daughter and WRFA was represented by John Craig who presented a framed picture, A pump and crew from Chippenham also attended the party with Mike Grimshawm (WRFA honorary member) in charge. We hope Harold with have more years yet in membership.

LETHAL CLADDING ON BUILDINGS YET TO BE FOUND  (02/12)

Speaking on BBC TV News on 2nd December the Building Safety Minister, Alex Norris MP, gave information on the Government’s assessment of the threat still posed by the external building cladding that burns. The Minister reported that there are still many high rise buildings midway through having the external cladding removed and his department would take robust action to hasten the completion of the work. Even more concerning was the Minister’s statement that the Government believes there are between 4,000 and 7,000 buildings that have yet to be identified as needing the dangerous cladding removed. The Government hopes to have all the affected buildings made safe by the end of 2039