Fire Investigation on Scarborough Civic Hall Incident - Report Example

Introduction and curriculum vitae I have been employed in Lancashire Fire and Rescue service since the year 1986. My present role is job in the service is that of an Incident Intelligent Officer. My duties include carrying out fire investigations in Lancashire. This is more so fires of criminal arson, involving high financial loss and also those involving serious injuries. I have very wide experience in investigating fires of different nature and magnitude. I have finished training at service training centre and also passed the statutory exams in the Fire Service. I have the relevant membership of the Institution of Fire Engineers. This was after passing the examinations of the institution. This report relates to fire investigation carried out on Scarborough Civic Hall incident. Description of premises General description Scarborough Civic Hall is found in Scarborough village. This is a very small village that has approximately seven thousand people. The hall is located three miles from the Scarborough fire station. This building was constructed in the year 1965 and was used as for public amenity purposes. It was basically used for recreational facilities, had a bar that was licensed and also offered catering service. The recreational activities were mainly carried out in the stage area and the dance floor. It is essential to note that this was a single storey building that measured thirty six by twenty two metres. (Lentini, 2006) Internal description The internal wall linings of Scarborough Civic Hall were made of plasterboard with glass fibre in fill. The walls stud framed, had cedar boarding to the outside and the inside had fibre boarding. The walls had also been treated with gloss varnish. The hall did not have suspended ceilings. The main hall had six double fluorescent tubes that were used for illumination. There were also nine pendant lights attached from the ceiling in three sets. The heating system in the building was served by a main gas. . A fan assisted heater in the main hall and two wall mounted heaters in the bar lounge were used as the main source of heating. At the time of the fire incidence, the main hall heater was not in good working condition and a supplementary electric heater in the bar area provided the required heat. (NFPA 921, 2008) Furniture and fittings Analysis of the Scarborough Civic Hall furniture and fittings reveals that the bar lounge had fixed bench style polyurethane foam upholstered seats. The main hall also had two hundred polyurethane chairs that were foam upholstered. These were placed at the main entrance in ten piles. The cloakroom had one hundred and ten similar chairs. Approximately thirty polyurethane foam upholstered PVC covered stools were in the main hall and while twenty of the same material were in the bar lounge. The high level lighting platform had two of the stools and six of the chairs. The bar lounge and main hall also had tables that were covered by Formica. (Lentini, 2006) It was noted that the hall also had Christmas decorations and fabric draping were specifically placed at the opening between the hall and the bar lounge. In fact the ceiling had two large plastic bells that were also used as decorations. The ceiling also had streamers and tinsel decorations that were hanging in nature. There were also artificial Christmas trees on both sides of the stage. The walls also had eight plastic fan decorations that were zero point seven five metres in diameter. There was a flying gallery that was situated directly above the stage and it had fabric backdrops. Stage props with miscellaneous items, clothes and three carpets were also stored in the Green Room. (NFPA 921, 2008) Type of incidence Foreword The information shown below was collected from records from interviews with the personnel who handled the fire incident. Very high accuracy levels have been ensured in this report. In situations where there is conflicting information the weight of the evidence is given an upper hand. In cases where the information does not have enough support but are deemed as important in showing the exact occurrence is included. The incident The Scarborough Civic Hall incident was reported on sixth December the year 2003. This was carried out to the Scarborough Fire and Rescue Service received the first of nine calls to the Civic Hall Market Street Scarborough at 0311.11 hours. The attendance of two appliances from Scarborough P73 station was mobilised. The Assistant Divisional Officer Smith was then informed about the issue. Within four minutes after getting the information, the appliances arrived at the scene. The crew the discussed the issue of location of water supplies only on route. The incident was then booked in attendance by appliance P730 at 0321.56 hours. They approached it using the Millfold and Industry Street. Just as they arrived at the scene, they noticed the appliance in the car park. This was situated at the rear of the premises half-way down the building adjacent to the external double fire exit door. As this was taking place, Ado Smith was in dressing in fire kit at the back of the hall. His presence was noticed by sub officer Jones then made a four pumps request for additional appliances at exactly 0322.54 hours after leading fire fire-fighter Brown asked him to do so. (Lentini, 2006) At that particular time, smoke was noticed coming from the building. Sub officer Jones and Ado Smith thought that it was a minor incident because of the signs. This was also the idea of fire-fighters Gordon, Laycock and O’Riley. Fire fighter Dodson and leading fire fighter Brown however had the opinion that the fire was well established and would require a lot of effort. By this time no flames that could be seen at the rear elevation. It was also noted that there was a 5mph northerly wind blowing. (NFPA 921, 2008) The former fire fighter who was also the key holder advised the crew to enter the building via the kitchen door. He however used the main entrance off Market Street. As he entered he saw what looked like a fire that was well developed at the roof vent. He later told fire fighter O’Riley that he had noticed fire in the south east corner of the building. He however indicated the extent of the fire. Appliance P731 then used the off market street to enter the building and booked attendance. This was exactly one minute twelve seconds after appliance P730 had booked its attendance. Sub officer Jones was then instructed by Ado Smith to access the building and locate the fire source. He took the direction of appliance P731 so as to fully asses the situation. (NFPA 921, 2008) On entering he noticed light smoke in the kitchen ceiling and opened the high level windows so as to emit the smoke. He then ordered a BA team to use a hose reel to enter the building and try to locate the fire. The BA team was noted to enter the building accompanied with their MT2100 radio. There was reasonable progress from the team. The smoke and temperatures at that time was low. When the team entered the main hall, the temperatures increased but visibility was considerably reduced. They felt fire moving above their heads but could not see any flame. Sub officer Lobby informed Jones that the fire was going well after deploying appliance P731 crew. After observing the fire extent, Smith ordered the Breathing Apparatus Team to withdraw. This was because of negligible visibility and very high temperatures and the order was adhered to. A message was sent to the control at 0332.26 hours showing that the tactical mode was defensive and the BA teams had been withdrawn. The time between the initial team entering and all teams leaving was noted to be around seven minutes. (Lentini, 2006) Situation prior to discovery It was recorded that on third December 2003, Dave Moreton asked an electrician to check on the electric system in the hall. This was after noticing that the stage light circuit breakers kept on tripping time after time. This was done in order to prepare for talent contest that was to take place on fifth December the year 2003. The electrician who was contacted was known as Andy Townsend. He refused to handle the problem and said that any poor work on the issue would result in a fire outbreak. (NFPA 921, 2008) The talent contest went on as earlier on planned and around three hundred people attended the event that went on until midnight. One stage light was re-instated during the event by plugging the light into a spare electrical socket. This was carried out because it tripped in the middle of the show. After the event Frank Davis did not deposit the collected money in the safe because maintenance was being done in the bar store where the safe was situated. It was however noted that the £ 4000 was stolen. Mr. David Moreton was the last person to leave the premises after preparing for craft air that was to take place the next day. He had prepared by stacking two hundred chairs in ten groups. These polyurethane seats were placed next to the main entrance. He claimed to have heard a buzzing noise but affirmed on having switched off the stage lights and secured the building at around 0255 hours. (Lentini, 2006) Discovery of fire The fire was discovered at around 0306 hours. This was after an intruder alarm was received at the ADT alarm call centre. Frank Davis was informed immediately but refused to go to the scene of the incident. He asked the staff at ADT to contact Mr. Ron Smith who was the Company secretary. After failing to access him, Mr. Davis was called by the same staffs. He was reported to arrive at the scene after five minutes. On arriving he asserted that he noticed fire at the main entrance foyer and smoke at the roof vent. He approached the Scarborough Civic Hall using the market street. (NFPA 921, 2008) Area where the fire started When Frank Davis arrived at the scene, he noticed fire at the roof vent and at the main entrance foyer of the building. Mrs. Earnshaw, a neighbour of Scarborough Civic Hall also noticed fire at the main entrance at the South east corner of the hall. Her house was located on sic six seven market street. On noticing the flames, she made the initial call to the fire service and reported the fire incident. (NFPA 921, 2008) Development of the fire One of the reasons that enabled the fire to develop very fast is the fact that Frank Davis delayed to attend to the alarm. After being informed, he refused and requested the staffs to get in touch with Company secretary instead. It took time for the fire to be noticed since it was first seen by a neighbour, Mrs Earnshaw. The fire fighters entered the building when the fire was at the growth stage. It was noted that the fire grew once the fire fighters accessed the building. This is because the fire fighters left the doors open once they accessed the building. (NFPA 921, 2008) For instance, when Ado Smith entered the building, he noticed light smoke in the kitchen ceiling and opened the high level windows so as to emit the smoke. The Northerly wind that was blowing allowed oxygen into the hall and this made the fire to develop to stage two. That is when they said they felt fire travelling above their heads. As oxygen entered the building, the combustible materials easily started catching fire. At this stage, the team was advised to fight the fire from the outside. As most of the materials burnt up, the fire started subsiding entering into the decay period as shown in the graph. There are various factors that probably helped in the development of fire. The furniture and fittings in the Scarborough Civic Hall highly played a part in the development of fire. It is clear that the bar lounge had fixed bench style polyurethane foam upholstered seats. The main hall also had two hundred polyurethane chairs that were foam upholstered. These were placed at the main entrance in ten piles. (Lentini, 2006) The cloakroom had one hundred and ten similar chairs. Approximately thirty polyurethane foam upholstered PVC covered stools were in the main hall and while twenty of the same material were in the bar lounge. All these materials are highly ignitable and therefore enabled the fire to spread from the main hall to the other parts of the building. Other decorations included Christmas decorations and fabric draping that were specifically placed at the opening between the hall and the bar lounge. In fact the ceiling had two large plastic bells that were also used as decorations. There were also wooden tables covered with Formica. These enabled the fire to spread very fast. (NFPA 921, 2008) The building was also constructed using highly ignitable materials such as timber. The timber platform was used to control the two lighting banks and the timber Jacobs Ladder played a great role in the fire spreading very fast in the building. The level of the ceiling of the Scarborough Civic Hall definitely helped the fire to spread very fast. It was noted to be very close of the stage area which also had some wooden materials. This therefore allowed the fire to spread very fast. (Lentini, 2006) Causes considered In the venture to find out the exact cause of fire in Scarborough Civic Hall various factors were considered. These include the possibility of deliberate ignition, electrical sources, heating system appliances or possibility of fire starting from smoking materials. The evidence of information from various people is highly given an upper hand. (NFPA 921, 2008) Electrical sources As earlier on noted by Dave Moreton, prior to the contest, the stage lights were tripping. The electrician who was contacted, Mr. Townsend refused to handle the problem but asserted that any poor work on the issue would definitely result in a fire outbreak. This took place on third December the year 2003. When stage light tripped during the show, it was re-instated by plugging the light into a spare electrical socket. There was no further tripping that was later reported. David Moreton confirmed that after preparing for the event that was to take place the next day, he switched off the stage lights. He claimed to have heard a bussing sound but did not see the source though his allegations have no evidence at all. He confirmed that he had switched off the main switch before leaving the premises. Though the information shows that there had been an electric problem, it is unlikely that this was the source of the fire. (Lentini, 2006) Smoking materials The building had an area that was specifically used for smoking. This is the bar lounge area. This area in the building had ash trays that were used to dispose off ends of cigarettes after smoking. It was also noted that the entrance foyer, gents’ lavatory and bar store had large swing lid waste bins. There was no cigarette ends that were noted anywhere in the building and this therefore could not have been the cause of the fire in the hall. Heating system appliances At the time of the incident, there were electric heaters that were used to warm the premises. Mr. Dave Moreton however checked on them before leaving the building and confirmed that they were switched off. Analysis of the main hall shows that it was supplied with gas. This was used as the primary source of heating. Further analysis of the case however shows that the gas was not in use when the fire occurred because it was defective. There were also two gas heaters in the bar lounge. These had been switched off because the environment in the hall was warm. This is according to the information from Frank Davis. All these information does not point a finger to heating system appliances as the source of fire in Scarborough Civic Hall. (Lentini, 2006) Deliberate ignition There are very high chances that fire in Scarborough Civic Hall was caused by deliberate ignition. This is considering the fact that after the talent contest, £ 4000 that had been collected was stolen. This points a finger to the possibility of deliberate ignition of the hall so that investigators can fail to get about the thieves. The fire fighters upon arrival at the scene noticed an appliance in the car park at the rear part of the building. There are possibilities that this was used in setting the building on fire. It is also questionable why Frank Davis declined to attend to the incident when he was informed about the fire. It was expected that he would do all that was at his disposal to get to the scene as soon as possible and also contact the fire service crew to handle the situation. This was instead done by Mrs. Earnshaw, a neighbour to Scarborough Civic Hall. All this information indicates that that the fire was started deliberately to cover up the theft of £ 4000 collected after the talent contest. (Lentini, 2006) Conclusion In conclusion, analysis of the incident in Scarborough Civic Hall shows that the fire was caused by deliberate ignition. The hall had been connected to gas that was not being used at the time of the incident. The electric heaters in the building were also confirmed to have been switched off when the fire started. The building was noted to have tripping stage lights prior to the incident. The electrician, Mr. Townsend refused to handle it and warned of fire outbreak if poor work was to be done. Stage lights were noted to trip during the talent contest but were re-instated. David Moreton confirmed having switched off the main switch of the building. The nature of the fire does not indicate an electric fire. This is therefore not the possible cause of the fire. The furniture and fittings in the hall played a great role in the development of the fire. This also includes the materials used to construct the hall. The fire fighters enabled the fire to develop very fast from the first to the second stage because they left doors open when they accessed the building. Some of them opened the windows and all this allowed in oxygen that propagated the fire development. References Lentini, J. (2006): Scientific Protocols for Fire Investigation; Powell, CRC Press NFPA 921(2008): Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations; 2004; National Fire Protection Association Read More