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London Shopping Centre Fire
17 October 2021 @ 10:03 am - 1:09 pm
- Fire Rescue Service; London Fire Brigade
- Location; Stratford
- Occupancy; Shopping Centre
- Location of fire; single retail unit
- Date of incident; 17 October 2021
- Time of Call 10:03
- Activation premises sprinkler system
- Cause of the fire; electrical
- It is reported that 25% of a of a retail unit on the first floor was damaged by fire, the cause of the fire was electrical.
- The premises sprinkler system activated suppressing the fire, two jets were used by operational crews
- The shopping centre was evacuated with no injuries reported.
The benefits of sprinklers clearly demonstrated following the above mentioned incident.
It should be remembered sprinklers/ controls the size of the fire, reducing the amount of smoke produced.
In shopping centres, it is common practice to protect the commercial unit/shop with sprinklers to control the fire size. Sprinklers are not installed in the malls to prevent overcooling of the smoke, and the risk of wet slippery surfaces on escape routes
Shopping centres are one of the most complex buildings that often include a variety of uses within the complex, leisure areas, hotels, apartments, cinemas and offices. Therefore, retail centres require a high standard of management compared to other building uses.
Management is key ensuring the premises fire safety systems are operable in the event of a fire including sprinklers, fire alarm system, dry/wet risers, smoke extraction units and fire curtains
To highlight this, London Fire Brigade published an open letter in 2020, to those responsible for fire safety in shopping centres. Highlighting the importance of maintaining fire safety systems including the premises sprinkler systems
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