Beware grass fire risk

Beware of very high fire risk at present - please do NOT light fires, BBQs etc on grassland areas. This was a burnt-out area today near Shire Way, Yate.

Further update on warehouse fire

Council officers and Avon Fire and Rescue Service visited the fire site on the industrial estate last week. The building needs to be demolished before the fire can be extinguished completely. Rather than summarise a complicated document here, please check out the detailed information on the South Glos website.

Update 15/12/2017: Demolition of the warehouse has now started - see report in the Gazette

Update 21/12/2017: The fire has now been extinguished. 24/7 security will remain on site over the Christmas period just in case of any further problems - see South Glos warehouse fire page 

Update on warehouse fire

South Gloucestershire Council have released this update following a warehouse fire on the Beeches Industrial estate last month.

"A deep-seated underground fire is still smouldering at the affected warehouse unit and odour from the unit can be detected some distance from the site. This is because the structure is unsafe and it is difficult for the fire service to gain access and tackle the residual heat which causes it to smoulder and periodically reignite"

They go on to warn about prolonged exposure to the remaining smoke in the immediate area.

Please click this link for the full update.

Update 15/12/2017: Demolition of the warehouse has now started - see report in the Gazette

Update 21/12/2017: The fire has now been extinguished. 24/7 security will remain on site over the Christmas period just in case of any further problems - see South Glos warehouse fire page
 

Fire safety advice

South Glos Council has published some fire safety advice on its website, along with links to more comprehensive advice on the Avon Fire Service website.

Topics covered include:

• what to do if you have a fire
• preventing electrical fires
• preventing kitchen fires
• planning your escape route
• fire safety in blocks of flats 
• smoke alarms 

Well worth a read.

Better news about Yate Fire Station

Some positive news on Yate Fire Station. At the end of last year, Avon Fire Authority was consulting on cutting Yate Fire Station from a full time service 24 hours a day to having a full time crew 8am to 5pm and just one crew on call at night. We were very concerned that this could put people in the Yate area at risk - you can see Claire Young's response to the consultation here.

Our Yate colleague Cllr Mike Drew has been working hard with the Deputy Chief Fire Officer to develop an alternative. Instead of taking us down to one on call crew, the Fire Authority has now agreed there will be two part time crews on call. While not the full time crew we wanted, it's a step in the right direction.

Having two crews, even coming from home, makes a big difference. Because there will be two crews there at about the same time, they are allowed to do things like doing rescues. If there was only one local crew they could assess the situation but then they would have to wait for a second crew e.g. from Kingswood before they could actually enter a burning building.

The agreed two-crew manning is supported by the Fire Brigades Union, so we think it's a reasonable answer to the problem. A big thank you goes to Mike and everyone who has campaigned for a better outcome.

Yate fire station to lose full-time status?

Avon Fire and Rescue Service needs to save £5 million a year thanks to cuts in the funding it gets from Government. They are now asking you to have your say on their proposals on how to do this.

Their ideas include Yate station losing its full-time status - instead of it being staffed by crews 24 hours a day, it will only be staffed in the day time with "on-call" firefighters (Retained Duty System) at night. Retained Duty System crewing adds 3.5 minutes to target response time from the moment of the call to the fire engine leaving the station overnight, including the evening rush hour.

This takes Yate Fire Station back to more or less where it was in 2009. The 2009 change to a 24 hour duty system was because of higher risk in a growing, and now still growing area. According to the consultation, the number of fires in the area has reduced so the full-time crewing is no longer justified.

However we have been told that the reduction in fires is that is because of the large amount of preventative and community work that has been carried out. But this work is done by full-timers, who will now be available only in the daytime, unless extra overtime costs are incurred.

You can find out more and have your say on the Avon Fire and Rescue Service website until the end of December.

Community Fire Safety Volunteers wanted

Could you become a Community Fire Safety Volunteer with Avon Fire and Rescue Service and The Care Forum?

Community Fire Safety Volunteers research, contact and visit local social and community groups. They encourage these groups to sign up for Avon Fire and Rescue’s free Home Fire Safety Visits, a free lifesaving service that Firefighters deliver to people in their own homes. This is an important and worthwhile role that helps prevent devastating home fires and, ultimately, helps save lives.

You would be providing a valuable life-saving service in your community, gaining skills and using your experience and free time to help keep local people safer.

If you might be interested, please contact Steffie in Volunteering at The Care Forum, tel. 0117 9589308 or email volunteering@thecareforum.org.uk or check out the Community Fire Safety Volunteer web page

Become a Community Fire Safety Volunteer and help save lives

Help Avon Fire and Rescue Service prevent devastating home fires by encouraging social groups to sign up free Home Fire Safety Visits. Gain experience, training and references, and provide a valuable life-saving service in your community. Help make a difference.

Contact the Volunteering Team at The Care Forum  - you can phone them on 0117 9589308 or email them at  volunteering@thecareforum.org.uk

Barn fires in Chipping Sodbury area - police ask landowners to be alert and appeal for information

Poloice are asking farmers and landowners to be on alert after three deliberate barn fires in the Chipping Sodbury area early yesterday morning. (Tuesday Nov 11). They are also appealing for anyone who saw any suspicious vehicles or people in the area to call them on 101.

The fires were all started sometime around 2am. The first was at Ten Acre Farm on Horton Road in Chipping Sodbury where a stone barn was destroyed, including 350 bales of hay and a number of cars and farm vehicles.

The second fire was at nearby barn at Colts Green. An empty caravan was set alight which then spread to the barn, destroying it and farm machinery and vehicles inside.

A short time afterwards a third fire was reported at Ostland Farm in Wapley Road in Codrington. A barn and its contents were destroyed.

Anyone who has any information about the arsons, or who may be responsible, should call police on 101 quoting reference number 117280/14.

Check your smoke detector

Have you had a smoke detector fitted by Avon Fire and Rescue service? Unfortunately there was a faulty batch. If you test your smoke detector and find it isn't working please call the fire service on 0800 1412561 or email technicalsupport@fireangel.co.uk for advice. The fire service can't give a definite timescale for when the faulty ones were fitted, but the problems to date relate to some that were fitted more than 6 months ago.

Of course regardless of who fitted your smoke detectors, it's worth checking them regularly.

Yate Recycling Centre to reopen tomorrow (Mon)

SITA have just tweeted:  "We’re pleased to advise that the Yate recycling centre in South Glos will be open on Mon 24 Sep (8am - 6.30pm). Normal service resumed"

NEWS FLASH - Yate Recycling Centre closed until further notice

South Glos Council has announced that the SITA Recycling Centre at Collett Road will be closed until further notice.

No details have been given but we imagine it's connected to a Post report of a major rubbish fire in nearby Dean Road early this morning.

Update from SITA 23/09/2012: "We’re pleased to advise that the Yate recycling centre in South Glos will be open on Mon 24 Sep (8am - 6.30pm). Normal service resumed"

Is your home safe for winter?

Avon Fire and Rescue Service want to help you make sure you stay safe this winter. They offer advice on:

• Home Fire Safety Visits
• Firework safety
• Winter safety issues like chimney fires
• Electric blanket testing - take your blankets to Yate Fire Station between 9.30am and 4pm this Friday (14 October) to have them tested for free. To make a booking, call South Glos on 01454 863632.

Nationally, around 1,000 fires are caused by faulty electric blankets each year. Before you buy a blanket make sure it carries a recognised approval mark, such as the British Electrotechnical Approvals Board (BEAB) mark, or the International Standard number EN 60967.Don’t buy second hand and have your blanket inspected by the manufacturer or a qualified electrician in accordance with their instructions, usually every three years.

Chinese lanterns causing risk to crops, livestock, property, wildlife

You may have seen some strange "UFO" lights drifting above our area recently. These are Chinese lanterns, wire-framed miniature hot air balloons with a candle inside them.

These can be hazardous for various reasons. In dry weather, when they land they can set fire to crops or even damage conservatories with plastic frames or roofing. If the wire frames get into animal feed they can cause serious injury or death, and if they drop into lakes they can injure wildfowl such as swans.

If you're going to use Chinese lanterns, we suggest that you don't launch them when the ground is dry, and that you only buy versions with a biodegradable alternative to wire.

There's a good video about the dangers on the Direct.Gov website.

Increased fire brigade cover for Yate, Chipping Sodbury and surrounding area

Avon Fire & Rescue Service has announced that it will be expanding its fire cover by crewing Yate Fire Station 24 hours a day, in preparation for the expected increases in local population.

At the moment firefighters work out of the station between 8am and 5pm, with retained firefighters on call for the night shifts, responding to 999 calls from home or work via a pager.

From Thursday 1 January Yate Fire Station will be crewed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by a Wholetime Duty System, supported during peak times by their Retained Duty colleagues.

This is similar to the Bath and Weston-super-Mare stations, which have Wholetime and Retained Duty firefighters working together to protect the community.

Yate Fire Station Manager Steve Kendrick said: "I am delighted that Avon Fire & Rescue Service is expanding its resources at Yate Fire Station. We are hoping the new arrangements will mean we can spend more time working with community groups and members of the public to highlight fire safety messages. The changes will also mean we can be more flexible when offering free Home Fire Safety Visits, booking appointments at a more convenient time for members of the public."

"Obviously this means local groups can now use the Community Safety Centre in the evenings, which has a free meeting room and Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities. There will also be facilities for the local Police Community Support Officers so that they can use the fire station as a base."

Author's note: This is a nice meeting room if you want a good venue for a committee meeting - recommended.