ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Swift evacuation of the Cube ‘saved many lives’, says fire report

The swift evacuation of student accommodation during a major cladding fire last November saved many lives, an official report into the incident has found.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
The Cube caught fire in November last year (picture: GMFRS)
The Cube caught fire in November last year (picture: GMFRS)
Sharelines

The swift evacuation of student accommodation during a major cladding fire last November saved many lives, an official report into the incident has found #UKHousing

Swift evacuation of the Cube ‘saved many lives’, says fire report #UKHousing

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) has published an incident report for the blaze at The Cube student accommodation in Bolton on 15 November last year.

The report finds the fire started due to a discarded cigarette on a balcony and tore through the building in minutes, with high pressure laminate cladding igniting and spreading the fire around the building.

Burning debris caused new fires on lower floors and the blaze spread through the building and lift lobbies, with glass partition walls shattering and allowing fire to spread.

The report, published yesterday, credited a swift decision to evacuate the building and disregard any ‘stay put’ advice with saving many lives.


READ MORE

Bolton fire: combustible membrane pictured behind cladding on student hallsBolton fire: combustible membrane pictured behind cladding on student halls
Bolton student accommodation involved in fire clad with HPL, planning documents sayBolton student accommodation involved in fire clad with HPL, planning documents say
Guide for tenants on raising safety issues in tower blocks publishedGuide for tenants on raising safety issues in tower blocks published
It’s only a matter of time until the next Bolton unless the parties step up to the plate on fire safetyIt’s only a matter of time until the next Bolton unless the parties step up to the plate on fire safety
Meet Andy Roe, commissioner of the London Fire BrigadeMeet Andy Roe, commissioner of the London Fire Brigade

Firefighters rescued one resident from a second floor flat within the first 30 minutes of the blaze and another resident from a sixth-floor window using a high-reach ladder.

“It should be noted that almost immediately following the rescue of this resident by the high reach appliance, the flat she was rescued from became engulfed in smoke and fire, and was subsequently destroyed,” the report says.

At the peak of the fire in the seven-storey building, 130 firefighters were engaged – including a specific evacuation team tasked with administering the evacuation of the building.

GMFRS firefighters have trained in a dedicated high rise training facility, which opened in Bury in 2017, and received training in evacuation and the deployment of teams to protect stairwells from smoke, including using smoke curtains to protect means of escape.

Firefighters first arrived on scene three minutes and 17 seconds after the first 999 call. While smoke or flames were not yet visible, the blaze was already spreading across external decking outside flats on the north side of the building.

The early spread of the fire (picture: GMFRS)
The early spread of the fire (picture: GMFRS)

The team proceeded to the fourth floor and began to fight the blaze, but was initially unable to fill its hoses with water because the building was served by two separate dry risers (the hollow pipes filled with water from outside to fill hoses on upper floors).

This was described as “critical information that was not available on the site specifc risk information” for the building.

The stairwell quickly filled with smoke, forcing firefighters back to the ground floor. A positive pressure ventilation fan was set up at the base of the stairwell to try to disperse the smoke and enable access

At 8.45pm, 11 minutes after arriving at the scene, the incident commander notified the control room that the full evacuation of the building was to be implemented and an evacuation procedure was put into place.

The fourth and fifth floor of The Cube, minutes after firefighters arrived (picture: GMFRS)
The fourth and fifth floor of The Cube, minutes after firefighters arrived (picture: GMFRS)

The control room then began telling all callers to disregard any stay-put advice and evacuate immediately. An evacuation officer was appointed and an evacuation command unit established to manage information about those rescued and anyone still trapped.

The work of this team continued until all 217 residents were accounted for – which did not occur until the following day.

The report notes that while a fire alarm activated in the building, many did not leave as “it goes off all the time”.

“Where the fire safety arrangements for a premises include evacuation, it is essential that all occupants of the building understand the actions to take and evacuate when the alarm is raised,” the report said.

“This is a key challenge… and housing providers need to consider how action should be communicated, how frequently evacuation drills should be carried out and how a failure to evacuate in a drill should be followed up.”

Jim Wallace, chief fire officer at GMFRS, said: “The speed with which the fire took hold and the devastating impact it had on the building was immense. I want to place on record my appreciation of the actions of all who responded to the fire at The Cube. They demonstrated great professionalism in the face of extremely testing circumstances.

“Residents of The Cube – and, in particular, the student ambassadors – displayed great courage as they became involved in a major incident. Our firefighters and incident command team worked in a high-risk and rapidly developing environment and showed professionalism, effectiveness and dedication throughout.”

Despite the building’s internal compartmentation effectively containing the blaze on lower floors, the sixth floor was fully engulfed in flames and completely destroyed.

The report notes that with other incidents including a gas leak and two domestic fires occurring simultaneously, 45 out of 50 fire engines available to GMFRS were deployed.

A separate detailed report into the origin, cause and development of the fire will be published at a later date.

It has previously been revealed that Trespa Meteon high-pressure laminate cladding – laminated wooden boards – was used on the walls of the building. The building was managed by Urban Student Life.

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.