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Dramatic Bedford Fire At A Derelict Pub

Yesterday morning saw a dramatic Bedford fire that kept Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue busy through the night.  Fire Fighters went to  extensive efforts in bringing the blaze under control as you can see in these images. It took three fire engines, an aerial platform, two hoses and the Kempston water carrier. They had it under control by 2am and put out by 2.20am but still had to go back and check two hours later.

We do not know the cause of the fire and an investigation is under way. The Brickmaker’s Arms was a derelict building and has now been mostly destroyed by the fire. We have no idea what the Brickmaker’s Arms situation was but it has made us think about protection of any derelict buildings that you might have.

There is no legislation that covers derelict buildings but that does not mean that you do not need to protect them.

  • Even if it is not covered by legislation you will probably still have responsible to keep people out of the property and minimise any risks the property may present.
  • If your derelict building is insured you will probably have an obligation to protect it from fire and we will be happy to advise.

It may be that the property is derelict now but you have plans for the future. A fire may significantly damage those plans so you will want to put some protection in place. If the building is derelict there is no gas or electricity supply and therefore no fire source. There is probably no activity taking place on site that could lead to accidents which means that arson is your main risk. To guard against arson you could:

  • Keep the site secure if possible with locked doors and boarded windows.
  • Put up keep out signage and CCTV signage to deter potential arsonist.
  • Put up dummy CCTV camera or actual CCTV to deter potential arsonists.
  • You could put up a basic monitoring system that will alert yourself or the emergency services in event of a fire.

If you have a derelict building that needs a fire risk assessment then we at Fire & Electrical Safety Ltd would be happy to advise and help you decide the best level of protection for your peace of mind.