With its continued effort to create safer communities Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, in partnership with other organisations, is to start installing stand-alone mobile sprinkler units. As part of a pilot scheme the first three fire suppression systems will be provided for residents in Hull.

Humberside Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) is one of the first fire and rescue services in England to be working with partner organisations to identify residents who are most at risk from fire and may benefit from having sprinkler systems fitted to help make them safer in their homes.

Daryl Oprey, Head of Safety at Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, said: "A fire can take hold very quickly and the products of combustion can have serious effects within minutes. These systems help by slowing this process making the atmosphere more breathable, increasing the chance of survival."

Earlier in March a partnership agreement was signed between HFRS, Hull City Council Adult Social Care, Hull City Council Housing, Hull NHS Trust, Hull Citysafe, ARC Safety, Arco, Kingston Communications, HICA and Age UK at HFRS headquarters. This agreement is a commitment by all agencies involved to support the initiative, either financially or by referring those who are most vulnerable to death or serious injury resulting from a fire in their home to the Service.

HFRS is working closely with its partners on the project which has been developed to identify residents who are most at risk of death or serious injury as a result of a fire in their home. The pilot scheme is aimed at helping residents who have limited mobility and who may have other issues that could affect their ability to react in an emergency who are also often confined to living in one room of their house. The fire suppression system will offer valuable time and keep the impact of a fire to minimum offering a much greater chance of survival.

Dedicated Community Safety staff from the Service continue to offer safety advice to all groups providing information about staying safe from fire. As part of this partnership funding has been set aside specifically to make the lives of the "high risk" residents safer, which may include the installation of sprinkler systems.

Daryl continued: "The scheme is aimed to help those residents who are at a particularly high risk from fire. We know that on average four people, who would have fitted the criteria for having a sprinkler system, die each year as a result of fire. Currently very few domestic sprinkler systems are installed in the Humberside area.

"However we need to increase the scale of these installations and the Service is committed to doing so. We will continue to work in partnership with other organisations to identify and install these life saving systems where they are needed the most.

"We do not have the advantage yet of the recently passed legislation by the Welsh Assembly which makes it a legal requirement for all new build domestic properties to have sprinklers fitted. Even so most of our vulnerable residents are not in new build premises and these stand-alone mobile units do provide an immediate means to fight fires whilst awaiting the arrival of our firefighting crews."

 

For further information visit www.humbersidefire.gov.uk.  

 

Posted April 3rd, 2012 at 1310 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com