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FIRE SERVICE AND GENERAL FIRE SAFETY TOPICS => Fire Safety => Topic started by: Thomas Brookes on August 30, 2008, 08:57:04 AM
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I am currently in Ibiza spain, and looking at the hotel im staying in, I assume yet again all the fire saftey rules and EU reg only apply to the British.
Apart from having fairly good exits of each floor (how ever very badley signed, no picture just spanish words), nothing eles seems to comply.
Why is it that other countrys seem to get away with doing bugger all, There is no wonder why when we assess businesses owned by people from abroad they think we are talking bollocks when we tell them they need a proper fire alarm or safety signs etc. How ever they do serve a great Vodka and Lemonade and tuna steaks!!!!!
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Where did you say you are Thomas? Sounds a bit like some places I know in Blackpool or Bournemouth?
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TRUE, Very TRUE.
However this hotel has 300 bed rooms on five floors!!
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I am currently in Ibiza spain, and looking at the hotel im staying in, I assume yet again all the fire saftey rules and EU reg only apply to the British.
Apart from having fairly good exits of each floor (how ever very badley signed, no picture just spanish words), nothing eles seems to comply.
Why is it that other countrys seem to get away with doing bugger all, There is no wonder why when we assess businesses owned by people from abroad they think we are talking bollocks when we tell them they need a proper fire alarm or safety signs etc. How ever they do serve a great Vodka and Lemonade and tuna steaks!!!!!
Thomas. If you don't want to get properly chilled out on your holiday then come home and I will take your place.
Maybe not. Blistering heat here. Around 32 in the shade and not a cloud in the sky. Hear there's a cyclone brewing near Ibiza. Hope you packed your wellies and brolly?
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Can one smoke in the bar ?
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I am currently in Ibiza spain, and looking at the hotel im staying in, I assume yet again all the fire saftey rules and EU reg only apply to the British.
Apart from having fairly good exits of each floor (how ever very badley signed, no picture just spanish words), nothing eles seems to comply.
Why is it that other countrys seem to get away with doing bugger all, There is no wonder why when we assess businesses owned by people from abroad they think we are talking bollocks when we tell them they need a proper fire alarm or safety signs etc. How ever they do serve a great Vodka and Lemonade and tuna steaks!!!!!
Have seen that in Spain and France, that's why I said once, in some post, the British fire safety 'system' is the best in comparing to other European countries. I guess the legislation is quite similar but, In England there is a permanent serious control to force things to be done, while in other European countries either they don't care or 'corrupt......' is profoundly the main issue...etc
Also the Golf countries Emirate Arab, Qatar, Saudi Arabia… take more care about the issue of fire safety, because buildings are private, owned by multi-millionaires… also they have got more than enough money to secure their properties...
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The last hotel I stayed in, in Merseyside was missing fire doors and extinguishers, fire alarm in fault, heat detector only in the bedroom, timber doors, no compartmentation between my first floor room and open plan reception area, every door either hooked open or missing or closure broken. I think it is a myth that we are brilliant and everyone else is rubbish.
And I did drop the local brigade a note about it.
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The last hotel I stayed in, in Merseyside was missing fire doors and extinguishers, fire alarm in fault, heat detector only in the bedroom, timber doors, no compartmentation between my first floor room and open plan reception area, every door either hooked open or missing or closure broken. I think it is a myth that we are brilliant and everyone else is rubbish.
And I did drop the local brigade a note about it.
and i bet your car was gone in the morning too...
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I was there to do some training for customers. I did consider making some jokes about my hub caps being stolen, but wasn't sure if the scousers would find it funny and being from Glasgow myself.......
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true Chris. both very similar Cities in that you are likely to get your hub caps nicked except in Glasgow you would also get stabbed in the process...
joke before i get jumped on...
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Chris we have prosecuted hotels like that a number of times and they were usually the bottom end of the market and mostly used as knocking shops, is there something you are not telling us.
I think you were wise not making jokes about hub caps being stolen, when the same inane comments are made too many times it sort of loses its humour.
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So my jokes about hubcaps would have been too tired? Perhaps I'll make one about the hotel being brothels next time :lol:
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The last hotel I stayed in, in Merseyside was missing fire doors and extinguishers, fire alarm in fault, heat detector only in the bedroom, timber doors, no compartmentation between my first floor room and open plan reception area, every door either hooked open or missing or closure broken.
I think it is a myth that we are brilliant and everyone else is rubbish.
And I did drop the local brigade a note about it.
I think UK is the best of the worst comparing to European countries but not yet brilliant enough... and/or
European countries are the worst of the best in comparing to UK and other countries... but not totally rubbish…
It's according to what we see on a daily basis… :)
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You've said this before, but I've yet to see any actual evidence of this. Are we supperior to Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Ireland? Or is this just speculation based on visiting cheap hotels?
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Chris
Don't expect high standards just because you are in a Nordic country.
Last year I stayed up by the Artic Circle. Obviously, as I was on holiday - I am not sad as you lot to look at the fire safety measures in my Hotel.
If I had of done, I would have noticed:
* no fire separation between basement and third floor (single stiarcase),
* fire escape signage on the 3rd floor leading to a balcony
* and a CTC extinguisher still in use!!
Just as well I didn't look then!
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I think everywhere has it's bad pennies, this country included.
I think the only way to effectively judge is by the ratio of bad to good overall.
Bits of Spain I've seen seem to consider fire precautions as a 6 kilo Powder extinguisher and a 'Salida' sign, but I've seen far worse over here, we aren't the most shining example everywhere either.
The last CTC extinguisher in use I found was in Birmingham about 4 years ago in a lift motor room, a perfectly preserved Nu Swift E1000 (from the days when they were indestructible). Needless to say it didn't stay there long and is now in my museum.
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You've said this before, but I've yet to see any actual evidence of this. Are we supperior to Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Ireland? Or is this just speculation based on visiting cheap hotels?
Very true, do you think employees in fire industry can afford ***** Hotels payed from their salary...
Regarding other countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Iceland... I will tel you my opinion, when I get cheap hotel during some holidays out there :)
I have seen big hotels in 'night bridge' London, owned by Saudies and its fire alarm systems in very poor conditions...
I think as long as there is no fire officer, who turn up, to control things in fire safety of the building, don't expect the owners will care in removing spiders from the fire alarm equipment... this applies to UK and none UK countries :)
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I think everywhere has it's bad pennies, this country included.
I think the only way to effectively judge is by the ratio of bad to good overall.
Bits of Spain I've seen seem to consider fire precautions as a 6 kilo Powder extinguisher and a 'Salida' sign, but I've seen far worse over here, we aren't the most shining example everywhere either.
The last CTC extinguisher in use I found was in Birmingham about 4 years ago in a lift motor room, a perfectly preserved Nu Swift E1000 (from the days when they were indestructible). Needless to say it didn't stay there long and is now in my museum.
Agreed, but, you Know Anthony, it is just according to what we see on a daily basis...
More then ten years ago when I worked with a multinational American company, each field we go to as usual, there is an induction about fire safety, the main jobs usually consist in fact on a collaboration of so many oil companies, Petro- Canada, Halliburton, BP, Sonatrac... and each has certain tasks to undertake…etc
I can tell you 90% of the fire safety officers of these Multinationals I have known, are English. Why? I don't know! The Germans were successful in running the workshops like a clock, the French as supervisors... etc
Not just fire safety rather the whole so called ‘the work safety’ in which fire safety is part of … the majority of safety officers were English ( English born) Why? I don’t know!
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Stayed in a well known chain hotel in southern Spain earlier in the year. This hotel was a 4 star hotel but obviously the efforts did not spread to the fire safety standards.
12 floors, unprotected single stairway, no AFD manual system only.
Well I say single stairway, there was an "emergency staircase" but you had to pass the other staircase to reach it.
Magic!
I would have had no problem slapping a prohibition on it here, so why should the rest of europe be any different?
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Its an interesting debate and i am suprised by the amount of people who go on holiday to the these lovley places to get away from the hum drum of fire safety...and end up commenting on the fire precautions.....its OK guys we all do it there is no shame in it...well not much anyway.
however i am aware that some holiday companies do get british consultants to look at there hotels abroad that are exclusivley for the british market. Recent one i stayed at in Majorca was a lovley place good level of AFD and protected staircase with an alternative escape in the one wing....but not in mine....40m single direction travel to reach the alternative but luckily not through the head of the main stairs so bettre than some but it is a big world out there!
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Izan FSO said "however i am aware that some holiday companies do get british consultants to look at there hotels abroad that are exclusivley for the british market. "
Now thats a job, I could do. Anyone know where to apply.
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And I did drop the local brigade a note about it.
Whats the rules with that? Who here does it? I stay in plenty of hotels and am disgusted at the level of fire safety in most of them.
One i stayed in in London the other night had fire door retainers on the ground floor but the basement had its fire exit blocked with loads of building material. To get up the staires i had to climb over loads of laundry and ALL of the fire doors in the basement were wedged open. I didn't actually want to stay there but i get in trouble with the other half if i go on about fire!! Would you drop the local fire & rescue a call?
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Yes and they will deal with it.
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And I did drop the local brigade a note about it.
Whats the rules with that? Who here does it? I stay in plenty of hotels and am disgusted at the level of fire safety in most of them.
One i stayed in in London the other night had fire door retainers on the ground floor but the basement had its fire exit blocked with loads of building material. To get up the staires i had to climb over loads of laundry and ALL of the fire doors in the basement were wedged open. I didn't actually want to stay there but i get in trouble with the other half if i go on about fire!! Would you drop the local fire & rescue a call?
Any member of the public is entitled to let the local fire brigade know of any problems they see.
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Apart from the chef burning the toast at 05:30 in the morning and setting off the fire alarm, (yes its happened in a couple of hotels I stayed in and we all troop out to the car park....), has anyone actually seen or taken part in a hotel fire drill that they seem to have recorded in their fire log book some 2 weeks previous to the consultant carrying out a FRA...