Meeting to be held on 18 December 2023
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Jon Charters, Director of Service Delivery
Tel: 01772 866801
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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. This has been a very busy operational period, therefore the report details only the larger deployments or more complex incidents attended. As a result, some incidents that Members have been made aware of locally, may not form part of the report.
The following summarises the incidents with further detail provided within the body of the paper:
- Six fire engines attend a commercial building fire in Bamber Bridge (6/9/23)
- Three fire engines attend a car on fire with persons trapped (9/9/23)
- Ten fire engines attend a commercial building fire in Blackburn (11/9/23)
- Four fire engines attend disused waste storage building in Lancaster (21/9/23)
- Fire crews attend a fatal boat fire in Nateby (30/9/23)
- Six fire engines attend a commercial building fire in Blackburn (3/10/23)
- Four fire engines attend a fatal incident on the river Lune (8/10/23)
- Fire crews attend a fatal house fire near Ribchester ((9/10/23)
- Ten fire engines attend a commercial building fire in Longridge (6/11/23)
- LFRS attend a suspected explosive device in Burnley (13/11/23)
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LFRS station area: |
L53 Bamber Bridge |
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Date: |
6 September 2023 |
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Time: |
05:09 |
Six fire engines from Bamber Bridge, Penwortham, Preston, Leyland, Chorley and Fulwood, together with an aerial ladder platform from Preston and a stinger from Blackburn, attended a commercial building fire on Station Road, Bamber Bridge. The incident involved a commercial property approximately twenty metres by ten metres in size. Firefighters used several firefighting water jets to extinguish the fire. At the height of the incident, the police evacuated several houses due to their proximity to the fire.
Fire crews were at the scene for approximately twelve hours, damping down and conducting a fire investigation. Although the cause of the fire was not determined, it is believed that it was accidental with no involvement of a third party.
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L92 Padiham |
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Date: |
9 September 2023 |
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Time: |
10:50 |
The Fire Control room received a call that a car had left the M65, flipped on its roof and burst into flames, with the driver still inside. As a result fire engines from Padiham, Burnley and Hyndburn attended. The crews were met with an established fire involving a classic car on its roof on the motorway slip road. Sadly, this was confirmed as a fatal incident. The fire was quickly extinguished and the drone team were requested to search for further casualties and gather evidence for the police investigation. Fire crews were on scene for approximately four hours.
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LFRS station area: |
L71 Blackburn |
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Date: |
11 September 2023 |
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Time: |
19:50 |
Ten fire engines from fire stations across Lancashire were called to a fire at Dinner Lady Ltd, on Shadsworth Business Park, Wilkinson Way, Blackburn. The fire involved a large warehouse approximately fifty-eight metres by twenty-five metres, consisting of two floors. Firefighters used several firefighting water jets, an aerial ladder platform and a stinger water tower to bring the fire under control. Several road closures were in place due to the number of resources at the scene. The hose layer and command unit also supported this incident.
Fire crews were on scene for three days, damping down and investigating the cause. The outcome was recorded as accidental, from a defective light within the warehouse.
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LFRS station area: |
L11 Lancaster |
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Date: |
21 September 2023 |
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Time: |
13:53 |
Four fire engines from Lancaster, Morecambe and Bolton-le-Sands, along with the aerial ladder platform from Morecambe and the stinger appliance from Skelmersdale, attended a derelict building fire on Lune industrial estate, New Quay Road, Lancaster.
This involved the site of the former A1 supa skips company, in which hundreds of tonnes of waste has been left within the former power station building. Firefighters extinguished the fire using five firefighting water jets and the aerial ladder platform and stinger.
LFRS had pre-empted issues at this site and led on the development of multi-agency plans should a major fire occur. Some of the planned tactics were used to extinguish the fire and prevent fire spread to the main bulk of the waste material. This incident was followed by further deliberate fires at the site, leading to strategic engagement with Lancaster City Council, a local MP and the wider partnership, combined with a debrief to extract learning and mitigate further risks.
Fire crews were on scene for over six hours, with the cause being recorded as deliberate.
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L18 Garstang |
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Date: |
30 September 2023 |
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Time: |
12:45 |
Two fire engines from Lancaster and Fulwood attended reports of a boat on fire at Bridge House Marina and Caravan Park, Nateby Crossing Lane, Nateby. The fire was out on arrival of fire crews, but sadly there was a casualty in the living quarters of the boat, who was later confirmed deceased by paramedics.
Crews assisted with the extrication of the casualty and a fire investigation was conducted. The cause was recorded as accidental.
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LFRS station area: |
L71 Blackburn |
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Date: |
3 October 2023 |
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Time: |
19:34 |
Six fire engines, two aerial ladder platforms, a water bowser, command unit and the drone team attended an incident on Croft Head Road, Blackburn. The fire involved a two-storey commercial property containing a quantity of vehicles. The building was approximately fifty metres by twenty metres in size. The entire building was involved in fire by the time the first fire crews arrived.
Firefighters used four firefighting water jets and one aerial ladder platform to extinguish the fire. Fire crews were in attendance for approximately forty-eight hours, damping down the scene and conducting early fire investigation procedures. Although the building was too dangerous to conduct a thorough internal investigation, the evidence gathered suggests an accidental fire.
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L11 Lancaster |
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Date: |
8 October 2023 |
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Time: |
07:34 |
Four fire engines, along with the drone and water incident unit attended The John O’Gaunt rowing club, Halton Road, Lancaster, where it was reported that two kayakers were in difficulty at the head of a weir. The coastguard and RNLI were also on route to the incident, along with a rescue helicopter. LFRS swift water staff entered the river and rescued the first casualty successfully, passing them into a safety boat from the rowing club. Sadly, the second casualty went over the weir despite crews successfully deploying throw lines. The LFRS boat and drone were launched to try and locate the casualty but were unsuccessful.
The unconscious casualty was recovered downstream by the RNLI, approximately two hours later. The casualty was confirmed deceased by paramedics.
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LFRS station area: |
L59 Longridge |
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Date: |
9 October 2023 |
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Time: |
12:55 |
Two fire engines from Blackburn were called by the police to reports of a carbon monoxide incident where a fatality had occurred. A station manager and hazardous materials officer also attended. On arrival, crews noticed that this was in fact a fire situation and entered the building wearing breathing apparatus. The fire appeared to have burnt itself out several hours earlier, with a deceased male within the property. The building was ventilated to reduce carbon monoxide levels, so paramedics could confirm the status of the casualty. An Incident Intelligence Officer attended the scene to conduct the fire investigation.
The fire was recorded as accidental and started within the kitchen, the night before. LFRS were involved at the scene for over twenty-four hours, conducting a joint investigation with police.
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LFRS station area: |
L59 Longridge |
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Date: |
6 November |
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Time: |
21:33 |
Ten fire engines from Longridge, Preston, Fulwood, Bamber Bridge, Penwortham, Chorley, Hyndburn, Blackburn, and Wesham, together with two aerial ladder platforms, one stinger appliance, a drone unit, a high-volume pump, and a command unit, attended a commercial building fire on Preston Road, Longridge. The incident was located at Butlers Farmhouse Cheese, within a commercial building approximately eighty metres by sixty metres in size. Firefighters used the aerial ladder platforms, three firefighting water jets, and a water bowser to extinguish the fire.
Local impacts included the closure of Longridge High School and St Cecilia’s RC High School in Longridge on 7 November due to access issues arising from the use of the High Volume Pump and smoke in the local vicinity. Community messaging incorporated advice on reducing risks from smoke in the area, and advice was to stay indoors, where at all possible.
Fire crews were at the scene for four days, damping down whilst demolition took place on site. Due to the extent of the fire and the compromised structural integrity of the building, it has not been possible to determine a cause at this stage.
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LFRS station area: |
L90 Burnley |
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Date: |
13 November 2023 |
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Time: |
12:21 |
The duty national interagency liaison officer (NILO) was notified of a potential improvised explosive device (IED) found on an allotment on Burleigh Street in Burnley. The NILO, 1 fire engine from Burnley and a station manager attended the rendezvous point (RVP) at the Asda car park.
The three blue light services jointly agreed to evacuate all premises within one hundred metres, which included two schools and a nursery. The police declared this a major incident and requested bomb disposal from the military. Once the evacuation had taken place using staff from all three agencies, the bomb disposal team deployed their robot to inspect the device. They decided to conduct a disruption shot from the robot, which would render the device safe. On closer inspection it was not a viable explosive device, but did have the potential to cause injury if it was ignited.
LFRS were in attendance for six hours until the scene was declared safe.
Business Risk
None
Environmental Impact
Potential impact on local environment in relation to operational incidents. Significant incidents benefit from the attendance of specialist water towers (stingers) and the hazardous materials unit both of which have positive impacts on firefighting operations and reduce environmental impacts.
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