Blaze destroys wooden outbuildings

Breaking news from Channel Report:

http://www5.channelonline.tv/news/templates/jerseynews2.aspx?articleid=16033&zoneid=1

Blaze destroys wooden outbuildings

Wooden outbuildings at a light industrial site in Jersey caught fire this evening. At one time a plume of acrid black smoke was blowing over the St Brelade's Bay area. Two units were severely damaged - they contained cars and fishing gear - but a team of 20 firefighters managed to prevent the blaze spreading to other nearby buildings. The fire was in the La Moye Farm area and the cause has yet to be established. Nearby residents were advised to keep their windows closed. The fire was spotted at around 6.45pm and was under control within an hour. But had it not been for the prompt action of the first firefighters at the scene removing acetylene gas bottles, the blaze could have been far worse. Two crews from St Helier and a crew from St Brelade attended the blaze.

I was in the vicinity at the time, and noticed an ambulance also going to and from the scene, so perhaps some firefighters needed to be treated for smoke inhalation. The honorary police turned up promptly and directed traffic away from going towards the area - for some reason fires bring out the voyeur (or vulture?) in people, and the narrow road to Beauport could have easily become blocked for emergency services. Don't people think?

I spoke to a chap (a retired States' Chief Officer) who lives along the start of the road, and he told me that he had complained several times to States departments about how this light industrial estate was not properly monitored, and was a health and safety hazard. The same seems to have been true of the Broadland's area, which was also described as "a disaster waiting to happen". I do wonder how well regulated business like this are, and how often health and safety go to inspect them. Where acetylene gas bottles are concerned, regulation needs to be tight, and it appears to be extremely lax.

The Health and Safety Inspectorate enforces wide-ranging and effective legislation which sets standards for health and safety at work. It forms part of the Social Security department, and is already looking into the fairground accident which happened despite inspections.

The Minister for Social Security is Senator Paul Routier, standing again for election. The Assistant Minister is Deputy Peter Troy, hoping to try for Senator. Perhaps the forthcoming elections will help them to see that the Health and Safety Inspectorate ensures that fires like this are minimised, and ramshackle businesses, especially those who leave acetylene gas bottles on the premises, are properly monitored, and closed down if they pose a significant risk.

They do issue prohibition notices at:

http://www.gov.je/SocialSecurity/HSI/Whats+New/Noticedetails.htm

but there are not a great many, and you have to go back to 2004 to find "inappropriate storage of highly flammable liquids".

I've also - out at St Martin, near the chiropractor on the road down to St Catherine - seen people digging up the road with hammer drills, with no protective clothing, not even eye masks. That was only last year.

Please post any incidents where health and safety is definitely flouted on the comments area. Perhaps we can see the scale of the problem.