If you need to tackle a fire (simple rules)

Lots of people put out small fires in their homes and at their businesses quite safely. Some people, however, are killed or injured as a result of tackling a fire that is beyond their capabilities. Here are some simple rules to help you decide whether you should tackle a fire:

- Only tackle a fire when it is in its very early stages.

- Give consideration to your own safety and to the safety of other people and make sure you can escape from the fire if you need to. Never let a fire block you exit.

- think about the position of yourself, the fire and the escape route.

- Remember that fire extinguishers are only for fighting a fire in its very early stages. Never tackle a fire if it is starting to spread (of has spread) to other items in the room or if the room is filling with smoke. More people are killed by the smoke than by the fire (in the order of 70% of fire deaths are caused by smoke and fumes).

- If you cannot put out the fire or if the extinguisher becomes empty, get out and get everyone else out of the building immediately, closing all doors behind you as you go.

- Telephone the fire brigade.

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A worker at a Glossop packaging manufacturer was killed when a machine he was working on was activated while he was still inside. The Company was fined £50,000 with £76,150 costs.

A fifty year old maintenance worker suffered fatal head injuries back in September 2006. Following an investigation into the death by the HSE the company was prosecuted and later sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court. The Court heard that the father of three was carrying out maintenance work to the inside of a 'cut and crease' machine, used to manufacture packaging, when it was switched on by the operator. The maintenance worker, who had been working for the company for less than two months, was struck on the head by bars that transfer cardboard through the machine and was killed instantly.

At an earlier hearing at Chesterfield Magistrate's Court on 21 May 2010, Glossop Carton and Print Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching Sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by putting workers at risk. The firm was fined £50,000 with £76,150 costs.

The maintenance man’s ex-wife and mother of two of his children, said:

His children have been totally devastated by Clive's death and continue to miss him terribly ... The hardest thing was telling them their dad had been killed. I remember it vividly and they still find it difficult to accept he's gone. He was a good dad and loved them very much ... The last few years have just been horrendous. His children now have to live without a father for the rest of their lives because of the company's negligence.

After sentencing, the investigating HSE inspector commented:

Mr H tragically died because simple measures were not taken by Glossop Carton and Print to prevent the machine being switched on while he was inside. The maintenance of machinery often involves people working in dangerous situations not encountered during normal production work. People will continue to die in horrific circumstances if employers don't plan, control and monitor maintenance work to machinery. Both machine operators and maintenance workers should be given adequate training. If a simple procedure for cutting the power supply to the machine had been followed then Mr H's death could have been avoided.

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