Fires caused by hot work accounted for 16% of all fires in buildings under construction in the last year, findings from CE Safety have revealed.
Despite the downturn in construction due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry saw 309 fires take place in buildings undergoing renovations in the UK, 52 of which were caused by hot work.
The health and safety training company conducted an investigation to find out how many fires there had been in buildings in construction, how many were caused by hot work, and how locations in the UK ranked.
Freedom of Information: UK Fire and Rescue Services
CE Safety contacted the UK’s 45 fire and rescue services with Freedom of Information requests for data involving fires in buildings under construction. Thirty-eight responded with recorded construction fire figures, with the rest either not holding the relevant information or having no such fires recorded.
The findings revealed that London, Merseyside and Scotland were the regions with most fires in buildings under construction. In London, 84 fires happened in the last year, and in Merseyside and Scotland there were 19 in each.
Top 10 regions with most fires in buildings under construction between September 2020 and September 2021:
1) London: 84
2) Scotland: 19
3) Merseyside: 19
4) West Midlands: 16
5) Lancashire: 14
6) West Yorkshire: 13
7) Hampshire and Isle of Wight: 13
8) Humberside: 13
9) Greater Manchester: 10
10) South Yorkshire: 10
=10) Derbyshire: 10
Places with most fires caused by hot work in UK
The statistics for fires caused by hot work saw the rankings change slightly. London still remained at the top, with five of the 84 fires being caused by hot work, and Derbyshire also had five hot-work fires, despite only having 10 construction fires in total.
Top 10 regions with most fires caused by hot work in buildings under construction between September 2020 and September 2021:
1) London: 5
2) Derbyshire: 5
3) South Yorkshire: 4
4) West Midlands: 4
5) Scotland: 4
6) Devon & Somerset: 3
7) South Wales: 3
8) Cheshire: 3
9) East Sussex: 2
10) Hampshire: 2
=10) Cleveland: 2
=10) West Yorkshire: 2
=10) Merseyside: 2
Type of hot work causing fires
Records show that the cause of the fires were largely incidents involving blow torches, cutting and welding equipment or other equipment.
Some injuries were recorded, and most hot work fires took place in domestic buildings where renovation work was happening.
Most common causes of hot work fires
Because of the nature of hot work in the building sector – the application of heat, flames, sparks, high temperatures and electricals – special attention must be paid to equipment and working practices. Negligence is often the main factor when a hot-work fire ignites, from being either unprepared or failing to get the right training. Hot-work permit and hot-work passports training courses outline exactly what kind of preparation is vital before undertaking such high-risk construction duties.
Gary Ellis, hot work permit training specialist from CE Safety, said: ‘There is no doubt that most hot-work fires are caused by negligence and oversight, usually down to a failure to train properly or manage projects effectively and safely.
‘Every year we see fires in construction in regions of the UK, and most fire and rescue services have at least one hot-work fire to tackle. They are dangerous, can cause injury and ruin projects, not to mention extremely costly. Ultimately though, they are avoidable. More vigilance is vital.’
To read the full report, go to cesafety.co.uk/news/data-reveals-areas-with-most-hot-work-fires-in-the-uk-2020-21/
For more information about CE Safety, go to cesafety.co.uk
