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Homes Evacuated Due To Large Fire At Clothes Recycling Warehouse

Image copyright: Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service

A fire that broke out in an industrial unit in Mansfield completely destroyed the building, caused local residents to evacuate and will result in the temporary closure of the business. The building did not have the benefit of an automatic sprinkler system.

The blaze on 18 March broke out at the Savannah Rags clothes warehouse in Forest Road and required 15 fire crews and more than 100 firefighters from the Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service to contain it. The fire required huge resources including an aerial ladder platform in order to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby homes. Residents reported hearing explosions shortly after the fire broke out.

While there were no reported injuries in the blaze, the impact on the local community and environment was significant with local road closures, power outages and nearby residents forced to evacuate to a local leisure centre due to the close proximity of the fire and to ensure their safety. There were a number of measures employed to minimise the impact of pollution to the local environment and the environment agency went door to door to reassure and support residents in the following days.

The family-run business recycles large quantities of textiles and clothing, which is then exported to countries around the world that are in need. What remains of their approximately 4000m² building is currently being demolished and disposed of. It is great to see that they will restart collections with the support of others in the trade and start the tough road back to rebuilding the business.

The fire at this clothing recycling centre was not unique. It is one of many recycling fires in the UK in the past 12 months. All were typified by large numbers of firefighters being required to contain a blaze where there was a presence of a high fire load due to highly combustible materials.

Under current building regulations guidance, the building that suffered the devastating fires were not subject to any guidance for sprinklers. People are sometimes confused by this as they see the consequences of the fire, the scale of the fire service response and are told there is no guidance in current regulations to limit this and wonder how this can be.

Halting the spread of fire when it is first detected is the best way to limit damage and minimise costs and impacts. Sprinklers have been shown to contain, control or extinguish fires in 99% of cases when caused to operate.¹ The impacted business can be operational within hours, avoiding the economic and social costs.

Having sprinklers fitted would have protected these businesses in the long run. They safeguard against potentially disastrous losses and also aid life safety. By preventing large fires, sprinklers also protect the environment by avoiding CO₂ emissions, reducing excess water use by the fire brigade and eliminating water supply contamination. Above all, they maintain business continuity. In the event of a fire, many businesses with sprinkler systems find they are back up and running in a matter of hours.

For more information about the BSA visit the www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org

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