Derbyshire fire officer calls on government to take action after ‘devastating’ infant school fire

Following the severe fire at Ravensdale Infant School, Mickleover, Derbyshire’s Chief Fire Officer Gavin Tomlinson, is calling on Government to take action and change fire safety legislation that would see all new build and refurbished schools fitted with sprinklers.

Most of the infant school was lost during the devastating blaze, and Gavin Tomlinson has said that it should be ‘mandatory’ for the sprinklers to be fitted in schools across the region and nation.

The call comes on the morning of the second devastating school fire to affect Derbyshire in a 48 hours period and the third school fire in the county since May, following fires at St Mary’s School, Darley Abbey and at Harrington Junior School in Long Eaton.

A further five schools have been affected by fire in Derbyshire since April 2019.

Gavin Tomlinson said: “It is absolutely heart breaking to see the devastation caused by fire at two Derbyshire schools over the last 48 hours.

“The effect that losing a school has on the community is huge. A school is right in the heart of a community, providing our children with the education they need, so to see this taken away at a time when schools are just starting to recover following Covid lockdown restrictions, is both a huge shock and totally unacceptable when there are fire safety measures that can prevent such devastation.

“Over the last few years, through the National Fire Chiefs Council, we have been calling for Government to make changes to fire safety legislation that would see sprinklers fitted as mandatory in all new build and refurbished schools.

“Sprinklers are one of a range of fire safety measures that would not only protect our schools from fire and prevent injuries, but they would also protect against costly rebuilds and of course, protect against the stress and anxiety caused to the children who need their education.”

It is currently a mandatory requirement for sprinklers to be fitted in schools in Scotland and Wales, and the National Fire Chief’s Council chairman has said England is ‘lagging’ behind in what could be an even more catastrophic lack of foresight.

NFCC chairman Roy Wilsher said: “England is lagging behind Scotland and Wales when it comes to introducing legislation to fit sprinklers in schools. NFCC believes all new schools – and those undergoing refurbishment – should have automatic fire suppression systems fitted.

“In our response last year to the ‘Technical Review of Building Bulletin 100: Design for fire safety in schools,’ we highlighted that the rate of schools being fitted with sprinklers may have fallen from 70 per cent to as low as 15 per cent of new builds.

“We have a responsibility to ensure buildings are safer; sprinklers in schools is clearly a move in the right direction.

"Children across the UK have had their education severely disrupted this year due to the pandemic; a fire in a school will only make this worse, putting additional pressure on the education service and parents.”

Fire investigations into the cause of the fires at St Mary’s School and Ravensdale School are ongoing.