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This sad statistic was published during care is week 2015 which showed out of 30 people who died in fires in London 13 were receiving care at home or were in residential care this is an increase of the 11% from the previous year.  What makes the statistics even worse is that fire sprinklers could have saved most of these lives. 

Legislation in Scotland and Wales both require residential care homes to be fitted with automatic fire sprinkler systems and Wales will soon be going further and requiring all new domestic properties to also be fitted with sprinklers, is it only England where we cannot see the benefit or do not care about the consequences

In the first 5 months of this year, there have been 28 fire deaths in Scotland this is a considerable increase in deaths due to fire in Scotland from the previous year.  We already know those who are at greatest risk from death by fire, those who live alone, persons with physical or mental health conditions or have issues with alcohol and drugs. Last week saw the chief fire offices in Scotland making a public appeal for the public to put them in touch with those who are most at risk surely this can only be a short-term solution.

Scotland already has significantly better legislative requirements for fire sprinklers to be installed than we do in England. They already require sprinkler systems in residential care homes and sheltered housing and this was brought about after a change in the Scottish building regulations after a serious fire in a care home that costs the lives of many.

Yesterday we held one of our FHC training days in association with Xact and were delighted to have 10 delegates, 2 of which travelled from South Africa to be with us.  What’s encouraging is that all the delegates take away useful techniques to help them use our software to its fullest extent, from complete beginners to those who have been using the software for many years.

A fire broke out at Marriotts School in Stevenage on the second floor of the main building in a toilet cubicle.  The sprinkler system activated and extinguished the fire within minutes with minimal damage to the school building.  This has to be seen as another great example of a fire sprinkler system, saving both life and property. 

But apparently, there is a downside to the fire sprinkler saving the building as all the electrics had to be switched off, the school evacuated and pupils sent home. It's always interesting to see how the press has a negative spin on everything.  The fact that the sprinkler operated and did what it was meant to do properly saved more extensive damage means that pupils will be able to return to their education swiftly with minimal disruption.  The water released by the sprinklers will have been far less than would have been used in fighting a larger fire which is what would have happened is sprinklers were not installed. How many days with the school has been shut then?