Burning issues in Brussels: the EU building before the fire
Oh, the irony. On Saturday, a blaze broke out at the national Fire Service College at Moreton-in-Marsh, destroying eleven fire engines used at the college for fire training. Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service scrambled 58 firefighters to attend the college fire, assisted by crews from Oxfordshire and Warwickshire. A workshop housing the engines plus diesel and hydraulic oil was badly damaged by the fire, but the college said that despite the incident, it was “business as usual”.
By Monday, replacement engines had been provided by fire services across the country, so that training could resume without interruption. The Fire Service College provides specialist courses for emergency personnel from the UK and abroad, and up to 600 students can be studying at any one time.
In a separate incident, fire broke out in the basement of the European Commission in Brussels on Monday, forcing the evacuation of 3000 EU officials on 18 floors. It appears the fire broke out near the press room, where journalists were working. However, no alarm sounded within 20 minutes after smoke was first spotted, when a verbal command to evacuate was given.
Which only goes to prove, even if your job is to train people to put out fires, or draft the regulations for fire safety, you can never get complacent on fire safety in your own workplace! So, if your business premises fire risk assessment shows more provision required, or you are replacing old equipment, we’ve got some great bulk discounts on fire safety equipment to tempt you here at Fire Protection Online!
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photo by TPCOM at flickr.com
