A guest blog from Vetrotech, who are sponsoring of BWF Members’ Day 2014, on the dangers of fire and how to ensure successful fire protection.
It will never happen to me!
You hope and trust it’ll never happen. It’s an on-going concern for fire officers, building/business owners and the general public alike and that’s the way it should be.
So what are the facts?
We all know that fire is dangerous and can claim lives and damage property but do you know all the facts?
– In 2012 fire and rescue authorities attended 585,000 fires or false alarms in Britain. This included a total of 272,000 actual fires which were attended and 44,000 of those were fires in homes.
– Of those 272,000 attended fires 11,300 led to non-fatal casualties and tragically 380 lives were taken. Far too many! Compared to 987 in 1985 there has been a huge downward trend over the last 30 years but those 380 people are somebody’s loved one, friend, colleague or a neighbour.
– No smoke alarm was present in 14,800 fires attended in households – that’s 34%! And in 18% a smoke alarm was present but did not operate. Frightening when you consider the biggest killer is being overwhelmed by the gas, smoke or toxic fumes created by a fire and inhalation of these are responsible for 53% of all fire fatalities. Check your smoke alarm is fully functional!
Protection from fire is crucial
There are two types of fire protection. Active fire protection is a manual or automatic detection of fire – for example smoke alarms. The second is passive and is the use of floor and wall assemblies to prevent the spread of fire / smoke / heat / gases, thus enabling fire fighting and evacuation. Glazing or fire doors would come under this category. Successful fire protection relies on a combination of both methods.
How Vetrotech can help
Vetrotech is the world’s leading manufacturer of fire–resistant glass and also produces glass solutions for marine and security applications. With innovative research and development combined with state-of- the-art production technologies, Vetrotech creates bespoke solutions of the highest quality, consistency and complexity. All solutions are suitable for multi-comfort applications and meet the aesthetic demands of modern architecture.
Every project has a unique criteria and if required we are able to discuss every application case by case to ensure compliance to fire, security and building regulation. We can offer you the optimal glass for every fire-protection demand whilst perfectly blending with non-fire glass types.
With sensible building and planning regulation together with fire officers, research and design we can bring all these chilling numbers to zero. Our predominant business is fire glass manufacture but Vetrotech are always available to offer advice, simply because our industry is a matter of life and death. If you would like more information please contact Vetrotech Saint Gobain, after all 'We Know Fire'!
Statistics Source: Department for Communities and Local Government, Fire Statistics, Great Britain 2011 to 2012.
