Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service responded to a report of fire at a food processing plant in Thetford at 13:00 hours on Saturday 14th February 2015.
The fire was reported to be in a large roof void at the plant and when crews arrived they found a difficult situation with access and smoke logging a problem.
It would appear that a build-up of fatty deposits ignited in a flue pipe ignited prior to the air cleansing unit. This then is understood to have ‘flashed’ causing a pressure wave in the flue pipe which blew both inspection panels, resulting in fire deposits falling on to combustible boards in the location.
The sprinkler system in the immediate area of the fire activated to cool the trunking and surrounding area, preventing fire spread to other combustible material nearby. Unfortunately there were no sprinkler heads in the roof void itself which meant an awkward situation for the crews involved in extinguishing the fire.
BAFSA comments: This incident demonstrates the false economy of providing less that compliant coverage of a manufacturing facility
Posted on: Tuesday 10 March 2015
