"At first glance I appreciate that the call to ban plastic products as the sole means of cable support may seem somewhat hard to fathom, but I am absolutely certain that once everyone has read the reasons for it they will share my need and desire to push through the necessary legislative changes needed to make it happen.
Earlier this year, Mr K St J Wiseman, the coroner for Southampton and New Forest, published his recommendations into the deaths of two fire fighters in Southampton in 2010.
Alan Bannon and James Shears died from sudden exposure to initially intense heat from 8.38pm to 8.41pm, and thereafter to excessive heat, while dealing with a fire in a flat on the ninth floor of a high-rise tower block in Southampton.
What made this tragic event even worse is that in my eyes it was a tragedy waiting to happen. In 2005, firefighter, Jeff Wornham died in similar circumstances when he became entangled in cables in a high rise fire in Stevenage.
The HM Coroner’s report following Mr Wornham’s death called on Stevenage Borough Council to remove "all the surface mounted plastic trunking/conduit used to protect and support the fire alarm and automatic fire detection system in the common areas of all their premises and replace them with a method of cable support which as a minimum conforms to BS5839- Part 1: 2002; clause 26.2 (f:);"
For reference, this clause of the Building Regulations states that, "methods of cable support should be such that circuit integrity will not be reduced below that afforded by the cable used, and should withstand a similar temperature and duration to that of the cable, while maintaining adequate support.
In effect, this one recommendation, which pre-dates the deaths of Mr Bannon and Mr Shears by two years, precludes the use of plastic cable clips, cable ties or trunking, where these products are the sole means of cable support. The issue though is that it only covers fire alarm and other emergency systems.
To an extent it has had an impact. Far greater effort is now taken in ensuring that these cables are correctly and safely restrained. A measure that ensures they not only remain operational when needed, but that they don’t pose an unnecessary risk to fire fighters or members of the public.
The on-going problem though is that the regulations simply don’t go far enough. As mentioned, clause 26.2 (f:) only looks at cables for fire alarms and other emergency systems. It doesn’t take into account any other cable types, which can pose exactly the same risk to life if not correctly restrained.
Walk into any building today and you are certain to see cables solely supported with plastic clips, while plastic trunking is installed in a large number of commercial premises and presents exactly the same dangers.
Mr Wiseman’s report on the 2010 deaths highlighted this deficiency and very firmly recommended that the Building Regulations (BS 7671 (2008)) are amended to ensure all cables, not just fire alarm cables, are supported by fire-resistant cable supports.
As an industry with the responsibility for creating the means of distributing electricity around homes and offices we need to ensure every possible safety precaution is taken and put simply plastic cable supports are not suitable for situations where there’s a risk of the cable falling in the event of a fire
I know this, and everyone I have spoken to about this topic knows it. Therefore let’s make our voices heard and demand that a new addendum be added to the Building Regulations that stipulates all cable systems, not just fire alarm and automatic fire detection systems, are safely supported so that in the event of fire they remain intact and in place and don’t make the job of the fire service harder than it already is.
Of course, a new regulation won’t change everything overnight, but it will help. And if everyone pulls together in the same direction even age old problems like initial specifications being altered to cut costs, or the question of how to tackle existing installations that would need retrofitting can be addressed.
Add to that the potential for criminal prosecution for those involved in the development of installations that don’t meet the standards and I’m sure this issue can be satisfactorily and safely resolved.
