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February 2009: Fire hits College of Arms

Firefighters were tackling a blaze at the College of Arms. Parts of the third and fourth floor of the six-storey office building on Queen Victoria Street in Blackfriars were alight, a London Fire Brigade spokesman said.

Eight fire engines and about 40 firefighters were tackling the blaze after they were called shortly before 11am.

The College of Arms is the official repository of the coats of arms and pedigrees of English, Welsh, Northern Irish and Commonwealth families and their descendants.

Its records also include official copies of the records of Ulster King of Arms, the originals of which remain in Dublin.

The fire service spokesman said: "Eight fire engines and around 40 firefighters tackled a blaze at a six storey office building on Queen Victoria Street in the City.

"Fire crews from Dowgate, Islington, Clerkenwell, Soho and Euston are attending the incident."

The current college building, which is just south of St Paul's Cathedral, dates from the 1670s and replaced Derby Place, which burnt down in the Great Fire of London in 1666.

It is one of the few remaining government heraldic authorities in Europe and is overseen by the Earl Marshal, a hereditary office held by the Duke of Norfolk. A spokeswoman for the current Duke of Norfolk, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, said he was unavailable to comment at the moment.

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said 35 people were evacuated from the College of Arms, and a further 100 people were moved out of adjacent buildings.

The London Fire Brigade spokesman said the blaze was under control by 2.30pm.

He said there had been a "small amount" of damage to the fourth floor and to a mezzanine roof level.

"Firefighters were also involved in salvaging the work and different artefacts," he said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

October 2008: The RRO Has Teeth! Landlord jailed after fatal fire in Tottenham

A landlord has been jailed for breaching fire regulations after a fatal fire in Tottenham. The person in question was sentenced to four months in prison and his company, fined £21,000 for breaches of the Regulatory Reform Order (RRO).

The prosecution followed a fatal fire at a flat in Ruskin Road, Tottenham, on September 16, 2007.

A man was rescued from the building by fire-fighters and taken to hospital but later died from his injuries.

The landlord was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty to eight breaches of the RRO. It was the first custodial sentence to be given in London under the new fire safety regulations.

The breaches included failing to assess fire risks or provide appropriate fire fighting equipment and smoke alarms.

London Assembly member Brian Coleman, Chairman of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority which runs the London Fire Brigade, said: “This fire resulted in a man dying and highlights why landlords and businesses must take their responsibilities under the regulatory reform order seriously.

“The London Fire Brigade works hard to bring irresponsible companies and individuals to court, which can as this case has shown result in a custodial sentence.”

01 September 2004: Mains powered smoke detectors could save more lives

More than 100 lives a year could be saved if every house in the UK was equipped with a mains powered smoke detector, a Belfast conference was told today.

Clive Norris, Director of the Fire and Rescue Service Directorate at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, revealed to the opening sessions of the 3rd International Symposium on Human Behaviour in Fire that more than 20% of homes do not have a smoke alarm of any kind fitted.

If battery powered alarms were installed in every home that could cut the death toll in domestic fires by around 70 a year. Installing mains powered alarms would save around 106 lives annually.

It is estimated that 75% of fire deaths in the UK occur in the home. Mr Norris said that fatality rates are far lower among the elderly, geriatric and young people in homes with smoke alarms fitted than those who do not have alarms.

The Home Office mounted a major smoke alarm campaign from 1987 to the mid-1990s which contributed to a major increase in the use of alarms and a fall in domestic fire deaths of around 50 a year. About half of those lives were saved by mains powered alarms, although such alarms were in the minority.

He pointed out that although firefighters rescue some 1,650 people from domestic fires each year, around 345 lives are lost effectively before the Fire and Rescue Service is alerted to the outbreaks. “These deaths can only be prevented by fire safety measures other than firefighting intervention," he added.