GE Druck Fire Incident

June 2015

The Groby Fire - a look back at June 9th 2014

At 6.34am on Monday 9th June 2014 Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service (http://www.leicestershire-fire.gov.uk) received a call to attend at GE Druck on Fir Tree Lane, due to a report of smoke inside the building. This was to be the start of a day unlike any other that most employees or residents had experienced. A day in which a 5 litre spillage of nitric acid led to a fire which Leicestershire's Chief Fire and Rescue Officer Dave Webb said was large and hazardous and was only prevented from becoming a major incident by the teamwork of crews from nine fire stations across the county.

Breathing Apparatus and a Hose Reel Jet were used initially for investigation purposes to the ground floor, where crews discovered the nitric acid leak. In response two officers in chemical protection suits were deployed accompanied by onsite staff also wearing protection.

At 08:39 a fire was reported in the building due to a chemical reaction, with the fire spreading rapidly. The Fire and Rescue Service were withdrawn from the immediate area due to further chemicals potentially being involved. The whole immediate site was then evacuated.

At 09:54 the Leicestershire Police set up a full Silver Control. “Silver control is where tactical decisions on dealing with the incident will be made by representatives from the main responding agencies,” one Emergency Planning Officer explained at the time the Civil Contingencies Act came into force. “Silver Controls are initially managed by the Police but when the incident progresses to the clear up/return to normality phase, it is common for control of the incident to pass to the local authority.”

Appliances from Fire and Rescue Stations at Market Bosworth, Western, Coalville, Birstall, Eastern, Central, Southern, Hinckley and Wigston attended. Additional vehicles included the Command Support Vehicle, Water Carrier, Hose Layer, Welfare Vehicle, Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) and Heavy Equipment Vehicle.

How the fire was reported

The Leicester Mercury (http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk) had extensive coverage of the incident. Keith Yarwood, who lives about 60 yards from the factory, told the Mercury: "At about 8am we saw a plume of smoke rising up and I thought it was a bonfire. Then within ten minutes it was a huge black cloud. Someone rang us - a contractor from Druck - and said we better leave because if the tanks did blow it would take the roof off our house. We left. We sat in the car at the end of the road for about 20 minutes. We went back when we saw the colour of the smoke going from thick black to grey and it seemed it was coming under control. It's horrible. There's a thick dense smoke swirling through the village stinking out people's houses. It's like the aftermath of Bonfire Night but worse."

John Thornton, who lives about 600 yards from the factory, said: "The smoke was really black and thick and the flames were 40 or 50 feet into the air." He added that he had been told by a firefighter who was first on the scene that they had saved the village by cooling these huge oxygen containers which were in danger of going up, though the validity of this pessimistic assessment has been questioned.

Councillor Peter Batty said the village was “effectively sealed off. There were huge palls of thick black smoke that could be seen from surrounding villages,” he said. "I live about a mile a way and you could taste the chemicals. It’s a worry because there are all sorts of chemicals on that site.”

A resident of Fir Tree Walk shared these concerns: “When we moved here 30 years ago, it was just a small unit. Since then they’ve taken over a lot of other units. “If it contains such dangerous chemicals in such quantities what the hell is it doing so close to residents?”

But Cllr Batty and Cllr Jim Coley were reassured after a site meeting at Fir Tree Lane. Cllr Batty said: "It was very interesting. They allowed us a complete tour of the affected area, which was an office block. It was a mess. You could see the girders and the windows had melted, so it was clearly a high-heat fire. They showed us the chemical store which was protected by fire walls and there was only smoke damage. They were very open and didn't try to avoid any questions."

And although any smoke inhalation is best avoided there was more re-assurance from Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service group manager Paul Weston who said the toxicity of the smoke from the blaze was “no worse than from an average house fire”.

Neil Elson, head teacher at the nearby Martinshaw Primary School, said the vast majority of the school’s 185 pupils attended as normal, apart from “a very small number, about 10, whose parents took them home as a precaution. “The fire service told us to keep windows and door shut and we explained to the children what was happening,” he said.

The regulatory background

Companies are required to meet stringent statutory safety standards. Shakespeares are the second largest law firm in the Midlands and has grown to become one of the region’s leading legal advisers. Commenting on the incident on their website (https://www.shakespeares.co.uk ) Ashleigh Harold, a key part of Shakespeare’s regulatory team said, “What is significant about this case is whether GE Druck Ltd will be found wanting under the onerous provisions of the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999. These regulations require businesses to take all necessary measures to prevent major accidents involving dangerous substances and to limit the consequences to people and the environment of any major accidents which do occur.”

He added that “The Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency are the relevant ‘Competent Authority’ in England and Wales. The Regulations place duties on the Competent Authority to inspect activities subject to COMAH and prohibit the operation of a business if there is evidence that measures taken for prevention and mitigation of major accidents are seriously deficient. GE Druck Ltd will be required by the Competent Authority to have a robust Major Accident Prevention Policy (MAPP) in place detailing the safety management procedures to be implemented in the event of a major incident.”

Alan Millband, Regulatory Partner in Shakespeares Nottingham offices said : “Officers of the Environment Agency were present during this blaze and are believed to have commented that there did not appear to be any imminent harm to the environment or contamination of water courses. GE Druck Ltd together with the Health and Safety Executive will undoubtedly now be reviewing their procedures to ensure all measures necessary were taken to mitigate the consequences of the accident on both people and the environment. Time will tell therefore whether any prosecution is brought against GE Druck Ltd given the onerous and dual responsibilities placed upon the company and the competent authority.”

“Commercial buildings, non-domestic and multi-occupancy premises in England and Wales are already forced to undertake a 'suitable and sufficient' fire risk assessment carried out under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005,” explains the website of the Fire Industry Association(http://www.fia.uk.com). “While the overwhelming majority of premises do this, if the assessment is thought to have been carried out to an insufficient extent, the Responsible Person can face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison.”

The Health and Safety Executive said at the time they were aware of the incident but the enquiry was 'fire service led'. GE Druck has an excellent safety record and 12 months later it is re-assuring that there have been no reports of shortcomings. The company set up an email address for residents to ask questions about the incident, had a stand at the Groby Street Fair and also arranged a site open evening at which questions could be raised.

Thanks to the people of Groby

GE Druck's site manager, Ryan Crocker, said: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Leicestershire fire emergency services, area business owners and community members of Groby for their patience and support as we dealt with the incident. Although your own lives were disrupted as a result of the fire and the street closures, you still opened your hearts and homes to those involved in the incident on Monday. Residents were quick to offer a place to sit, drinks and use of their facilities to those employees who were evacuated. Some local shops opened earlier to accommodate our displaced workers and even offered free drinks to some. I'm sure there were other very quiet moments of generosity shared that I am not mentioning here, but you know who you are, and we are so very thankful for your understanding and generosity.”(http://www.groby.com)

Although twelve months on the rebuilding has been completed there is no doubt that the day of the Great Groby Fire is one that will be remembered. If readers want to read more all the sources acknowledged are in the public domain and available online.