Guernsey's Chief Fire Officer has completed and released a debrief report looking into the Bulwer Avenue fire that happened on 3 August last year.
The report assesses each facet of how the fire took place, and how it was responded to by the island's emergency services. It also concludes with 14 recommendations, many of which are already being worked on by the relevant parties.
The 13-hour blaze was one of the largest incidents the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service have had to deal with in years, and the report found it started because a lithium-ion battery was left inside of a delivery of 'waste electrical and electronic equipment'. That delivery came from the States' site at the Mont Cuet, and was taken to Guernsey Recycling, who run the yard where the fire occurred.
As there is a well-known fire hazard with electronic equipment batteries, there is an obligation within the contract between the States and Guernsey Recycling stating that “batteries will be removed from the waste material by the States of Guernsey prior to delivery of the material to Guernsey Recycling”. That obligation has already been tightened up since the fire, but a full review of the process was recommended in Chief Officer Le Page's report.
Pictured: An aerial image of the fire by Stu Carre.
He said: “Last August’s fire pushed the Guernsey Fire & Rescue Service to its limits.
“Major incidents of this nature are, thankfully, rare in Guernsey, so it is important that when they do occur, we thoroughly review what happened to both prevent a repeat and ensure the response plan incorporates any lessons learned.”
“I am pleased that the majority of the recommendations included are already being worked on. While there are critical points made in the report, including ones I have directed at the GFRS, nothing can or should detract from what was a highly successful operation to extinguish a major fire in challenging circumstances. I am extremely proud of each and every one of the firefighters, and extend my thanks once again to all those who contributed to the operation on the day.”
Guernsey Fire was praised for its response to the incident, which took them a total of 13 hours to fully extinguish. However a review of the major incident response protocol was one of the recommendations.
At the height of the fire there were two Water Tenders, two Water Carriers, a Turntable Ladder and a Command Support vehicle at the scene, with two Water Tenders, an Emergency Tender and a mini-Water Tender/Off-road Fire Appliance, still available to be mobilized from the Fire Station for any further incidents. 23 firefighters were on the scene at one time, with 18 called back from off-duty to attend the incident or cover for other call outs. There were two other minor incidents while the fire was ablaze.
Pictured: Guernsey's Fire Station.
Chief Officer Le Page added: “Overall, it was found that the response and assistance provided by others to the Fire Service during this incident was excellent, with everybody working effectively together with a clearly identified and focused set of outcomes in mind.”
Other areas which came under scrutiny in the report included the States' communication with the public, which it was promised has already improved, and also the Fire Service's communication with the Airport fire team.
Speaking now they have added a range of extra securities to their Bulwer Avenue site, Guernsey Recycling Managing Director, Michael Grime, said he was thankful to the GFRS for their ‘tireless’ and ‘courageous’ work to get the fire under control.
“We are extremely grateful to them for all their support following the fire, and the support they continue to give us. We are working together, consulting on our site management and site safety to make sure that we work as safely as possible,” he said.
“We are also working closely with International Fire Consultants Ltd, the industry-renowned expert on fires in the waste sector, and one of the main authors of the Waste Industry Safety and Health Forum Guidelines.”
Chief Officer Le Page concluded that the recommendations had already proved worthwhile, and the debrief itself was a good exercise to have conducted.
Top image by Martin Gray.
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