News

Residents trapped in a blaze in Folkestone had to be rescued by fire crews after they ignored the sound of the smoke alarm.
 

The Channel Tunnel is to have a sprinkler system installed after the third fire in 12 years forced Eurotunnel to admit that it had underestimated the risk of disaster deep under the sea bed.

Burning trains will stop at “extinguishing stations” that will be built at intervals along the 31-mile (50km) twin tunnels.

Heat detectors will locate the fire and high-pressure jets of water or foam will be aimed automatically at the source as soon as the last passenger has escaped into the service tunnel according to reports in the Times.

Passengers and lorries have suffered delays and cancellations for the past five months because trains have been diverted to the other tunnel. Repairs are costing more than £50 million and normal train services will not resume until February 23.

Bruno Bouthors, Eurotunnel’s safety director, told The Times: “People might ask why it wasn’t done before, but the fire in 1996 was thought to be exceptional and the one in 2006 was small. The latest fire is showing we need to prepare for the worst case.”

He said that the system would prevent fires from spreading out of control, allowing time for the firefighters to get to the scene via the service tunnel. In the fires in 1996 and in September, firefighters arrived too late to prevent severe damage.

Mr Bouthors said that the extinguishing stations would be located so that a train could arrive at one within 15 minutes of a fire being detected. He admitted that a fire-suppression system had been considered before the tunnel opened in 1994. He said that it was easy to be critical in hindsight, but at the time the risk of a lorry fire was thought to be very low.

 

An 86-year-old woman cooking in her basement flat managed to escape from a blaze on Sunday (4 January) when her smoke alarms went off.

She immediately got out of the flat in Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone when the alarms, designed for people who are hard of hearing began to sound and flash.

Firefighters, who arrived on the scene just minutes later put out the fire in the heavily smoke filled property, wearing breathing apparatus and used a thermal imaging camera to find the source of the blaze.

The fire, which started in the living room, is believed to have been caused by an overheated television set.

Ambulance crews gave the woman, who was suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation, oxygen and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Watch Manager Mark Jones said: “As this incident demonstrates smoke alarms provide vital early warning to the outbreak of fire. Fortunately smoke alarms had already been fitted in the flat and this, combined with the prompt actions of the occupier and fire crews on the scene, meant the fire was quickly contained."

 

An investigation has begun following a blaze at a house near Folkestone which saw a police officer and two teenage girls  rushed to hospital.

The officer helped rescue the trapped girls from the fire which broke out at around 11.00am today (9 November) at a house in Hampton Vale, Seabrook.

One of the girls is reportedly in a serious but not critical condition. The police officer suffered from the effects of smoke inhalation.

Four fire appliances were sent to the fire. The cause is as yet unknown.

Kent Police said it was working with fire investigation officers to find out the circumstances.

A fire in a lavatory on a train passing through the Channel Tunnel  delayed a Eurostar service for more than four hours after emergency procedures were put into action.

The incident, caused by a discarded cigarette butt, occurred on  Friday night as the train, carrying almost 700 passengers from London to Paris, was approaching the French side of the tunnel.

A spokeswoman said: "Unfortunately, an irresponsible passenger decided to have a cigarette in one of the toilets in first class and throw away his or her cigarette butt and created a small fire in one of the bins in the toilet. That created some smoke while the train was going through the Channel."

"The crew put out the fire. But as we follow Eurotunnel's regulations, the train was put on emergency sidings outside the tunnel where the French side made sure that the train was safe and the fire was completely out," the spokeswoman added.

The smoker has not yet been identified, but Eurostar is soliciting passengers who might know the individual to contact the group as "we would certainly very much like to take legal action" against him or her, she said.

Smoking is banned on Eurostar trains.


 

One firefighter has been injured fighting a massive blaze in London Road, Dover this morning (5 October).

Six crews including a height vehicle fought the fire which started at around 6.00am. 

The fire destroyed a four storey terraced house and spread to the roofspace of a neighbouring property.

It was believed that the house was unoccupied but breathing apparatus teams searched the building as a precaution.

Nearby homes were evacuated and the road was closed.

The injured firefighter was later discharged from hospital.

A woman and her five children have escaped a blaze at their Folkestone flat after being alerted by a smoke alarm.

The family managed to flee their home in Darby Road, but the property was severely smoke damaged in the incident.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said the fire could have been "a far more serious incident" if a smoke alarm had not been fitted.