Agenda item

The report provided Members with information relating to operational incidents of note over the period 1 February 2022 – 31 March 2022.

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised Members there were a number of incidents in the report that were subject to ongoing investigations. 

In relation to the incident at Recycling Lives in Preston (as detailed on page 67 of the report) County Councillor Woollam queried whether car batteries were involved (as per a previous recent fire on that site) and if so, what measures they were taking to limit this type of incident happening again.  The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that the Service worked very closely with some of the waste recycling sites across Lancashire (including Recycling Lives) to ensure their preparedness was appropriate; given there were complex processes on site and with the emergence of new risks such as the use of lithium?ion batteries in vehicles. 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer advised that pages 69-70 of the agenda pack highlighted some of the ongoing challenges the Service faced around vacant and derelict buildings across the county.  He advised that the Service was seeing an upward trend in incidents in these types of buildings.  The Service had therefore worked extensively with Local Authorities and partners across the county to identify hazards and reduce risks. 

The Assistant Chief Fire Officer introduced Group Manager Tom Powell who had attended to provide a short presentation on a large fire which had occurred on Church Street, Preston on 19 May 2022 at the former Odeon site (more recently the Evoque nightclub) which was a sizeable incident that ran for a number of days.  This was a complex incident because of the condition of the building and reports at an early stage there was potential for people to be inside.

The presentation gave an overview of the incident.  Hazards included: an unstable structure, large smoke plume, asbestos suspected, difficult access (due to the proximity of other buildings), electric and gas supplies were present.  Operational priorities were to: save saveable lives, firefighter safety, protection of property and the environment and the reduction of the impact on the community.  The incident lasted throughout the evening and a number of partnership agencies were on the scene (Lancashire Constabulary, North West Ambulance Service, Preston City Council, Lancashire County Council, Cadent gas and Electricity North West). 

Crews and Officers remained on scene for over 3 days.  Over that period multi-agency meetings were maintained to conduct a fire investigation, determine the involvement of persons, reduce the cordon and impact on residents and businesses and safely demolish the affected buildings and dampen hot spots.

GM Powell advised of a similar fire in Preston in May 2021.  Since that time proactive work had been undertaken by crews carrying out Arson Vulnerability Assessments of empty buildings and the Service had worked closely with Preston City Council to engage with owners to better secure these premises.  There had also been a number of multi-agency meetings to gather intelligence around the risk in these types of building (for example, which buildings were used by rough sleepers and which buildings were used for criminal or unwarranted activity ie: meter by?passing, cultivation of cannabis farms or urban exploring). 

Strategically working with partners, actions had been identified.  In the short-term letters had been sent to local authority chef executives and all Lancashire schools.  Council and Police patrols had increased in the area and 3 surrounding primary and high schools had been jointly visited by the Police and the Service.  Medium-term actions included continued education with primary and high schools and joint site visits with partners to address risk.  Long-term actions involved working with partners on youth engagement and signposting. 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Hennessy regarding whether the stinger appliance was used, Group Manager Powell advised that it had been considered but determined it would not be used due to the close proximity of other buildings (most of which were over 5 storeys high) and that the water supply in Preston was good. 

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Yates regarding the spread of any asbestos contamination from the incident, GM Powell advised that asbestos was considered to be present in certain parts of the building which was the reason operation Merlin was declared.  In relation to the smoke plume, the Service had systems through the met office to monitor wind speed and direction. On the evening the Service was in contact with the Environment Agency and United Utilities in terms of water run off to ensure any run off was contained and once they were happy, the water would be released into the sewage system to get treated.  The immediate area was initially evacuated and large crowds gathered.  The Police did a really good job managing the cordon.  Once firefighters came out of the building, they undertook a decontamination process. 

Councillor Smith acknowledged vacant and derelict buildings as a growing problem especially in town centres.  He commented that it was the owners’ responsibility to make sure the premises were secure however, he noted this was not a criminal offence.  

In response to a question raised by County Councillor Mein regarding the sentences for arson, the Chief Fire Officer advised that the Service worked with the Crown Prosecution Service in a limited way as an expert witness to determine the cause of the fire and didn’t have any input into the sentencing.

RESOLVED: -  That the Authority noted and endorsed the report.