Meeting to be held on 24 April 2023
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jon Charters, Director of Service Delivery
Tel: 01772 866801
|
Executive Summary
This report provides Members with information relating to operational incidents of interest since the last report to the Authority.
Recommendation
The Authority is asked to note the report. |
Information
This report provides Members with information relating to operational incidents of interest over the period 1 February 2023 – 31 March 2023.
The following summarises the incidents with further detail provided within the body of the report:
- Person missing in the River Ribble near Clayton le Dale (9/2/2023)
- 6 fire engines attend a building fire in Withnell Fold, Chorley (10/2/23)
- 6 fire engines attend a large outbuilding on fire in Burscough (11/2/23)
- 6 fire engines attend a fire at a restaurant in Rawtenstall (12/2/23)
- 2 people injured in a caravan explosion in Pilling (4/3/23)
- 7 fire engines attend a fire at Lancaster University (8/3/23)
- 6 fire engines attend a fire at a waste management plant in Preston (12/3/23)
|
LFRS station area: |
E71 Blackburn |
|
Date: |
9th February 2023 |
|
Time: |
14:37 |
The Drone Team was requested to assist the police in the search for a missing angler on the River Ribble, close to Clayton le Dale. Following further information from witnesses, a full attendance was requested from LFRS. Fire engines from Darwen (Swift Water Rescue Team), Water Incident Unit from Preston and a further fire engine from Longridge attended the scene to assist in the search for the missing gentleman. Two swift water rescue technicians entered the river with a rescue sled, along with the power boat. Unfortunately, after a period of searching the river bank and hidden underwater areas, the body of an elderly gentleman was discovered. The casualty was handed over to ambulance staff. LFRS was in attendance for approximately 3 hours.
|
LFRS station area: |
S54 Chorley |
|
Date: |
10th February 2023 |
|
Time: |
07:45 |
Six
fire engines from Bamber Bridge, Chorley, Blackburn, Preston,
Hyndburn, Darwen, the aerial ladder platform from Preston, the
water bowser from Leyland and the command support unit from Fulwood
attended a commercial building fire in Withnell Fold in Chorley.
The fire was well alight on arrival and involved a multi-occupied
commercial building, which was 50m x 20m in size.
Firefighters tackled the fire using the bowser, aerial ladder platform and 4 firefighting water jets. LFRS was in attendance for over 24 hours damping down and working with the local council to make the building safe.
The cause of the fire was not determined, but it is not believed to have been deliberate ignition.
|
LFRS station area: |
S51 Ormskirk |
|
Date: |
11th February 2023 |
|
Time: |
22:42 |
Six
fire engines from Ormskirk, Tarleton, Skelmersdale, along with the
command unit from Fulwood, the water bowser from Leyland and the
drone team, were called to reports of an outbuilding fire in
Burscough. On arrival, firefighters discovered a fire in an
outbuilding containing a large quantity of straw, which was well
alight. The building measured approximately 30m by 20m and
contained 100 tonnes of straw.
Firefighters extinguished the building and straw with 3 firefighting water jets. Crews were in attendance for approximately 15 hours. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
|
P74 Rawtenstall |
|
|
Date: |
12th February 2023 |
|
Time: |
16:37 |
Six fire engines, including one from Greater Manchester, the command support unit from Blackburn, and the aerial ladder platform attended a commercial building fire in Rawtenstall. The fire involved a large pub, restaurant and play area which was well alight when crews arrived. The building consisted of 2 floors and was approximately 50m by 20m in size.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus tackled the fire, along with water jets externally. LFRS was in attendance for over 24 hours, damping down and conducting the fire investigation. The most probable cause was an accidental fire, starting in the flat above the pub.
|
LFRS station area: |
N33 Preesall |
|
Date: |
4th March 2023 |
|
Time: |
18:12 |
Three fire engines from Preesall, Bispham and Blackpool attended a caravan fire in Pilling. The caravan and a nearby car were fully alight when fire crews arrived. Two casualties were treated for burns at the scene and taken to hospital.
Gas cylinders were involved and were the potential cause of the gas explosion, which led to the fire.
Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and used one hose reel to extinguish the fire. Crews were in attendance for over two hours. The cause is believed to be accidental, with an explosion occurring from a leaking gas connector on the caravan’s supply cylinder.
|
LFRS station area: |
N11 Lancaster |
|
Date: |
8th March 20223 |
|
Time: |
11:53 |
Seven fire engines responded to reports of a building fire within the Lancaster University complex. The fire involved a large trolley of Lithium-Ion batteries on the ground floor, which had ignited within the Engineering complex. The building involved consisted of 3 floors and was approximately 150m x 40m in size.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus went into the building and were able to roll the trolley out of the building. The fire was extinguished with several firefighting water jets. Once the fire had been suppressed, they were submerged into a tank of water, being overseen by university scientists.
Fire crews were in attendance for approximately 3 hours. The cause of the fire was recorded as accidental.
|
C50 Preston |
|
|
Date: |
12th March 2023 |
|
Time: |
08:10 |
Six fire engines from Preston, Fulwood, Penwortham, Bamber Bridge, Skelmersdale and Chorley along with the aerial ladder platform from Hyndburn, Incident Command Unit from Blackburn, high volume pumps from Burnley and Greater Manchester, stinger from Skelmersdale and the water bowser, attended a waste fire in Preston.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used water jets and a ground monitor to extinguish the fire, along with water from the aerial ladder platform and the stinger. The drone was deployed to provide an aerial overview and to spot signs of heat travel. On site staff used heavy machinery to move unaffected scrap metal to prevent further fire spread.
The fire involved piles of metallic waste, which had been through an initial shredding process. It is believed that a Lithium-Ion battery in thermal runaway was responsible for the fire. The fire involved approximately 300 tonnes of scrap metal.
Crews were in attendance for over 30 hours. The cause of the fire has been recorded as accidental.
Following the last fire on the premises almost a year ago, work has started to improve water supplies to the site. There is now a small tank containing 30,000 litres next to the main risk area and a 1-million litre tank at the site entrance. This will enable a continuous water supply onto a fire for a number of hours, prior to a further supply being accessed by the high-volume pump in the event of any further incident occurring.
Business Risk
None
Environmental Impact
Potential impact on local environment in relation to operational incidents. Significant incidents benefit from the attendance of specialist water tower resources (Stingers) which make a positive impact on firefighting operations and reduce the environmental impact.
Equality and Diversity Implications
None
HR Implications
None
Financial Implications
None
Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985
List of background papers
Paper:
Date:
Contact:
Reason for inclusion in Part 2 if appropriate: N/A