MP introduces Bill to improve fire safety in schools
24 March 2010
Jim Cunningham, MP for Coventry South, has today introduced a Bill to the House of Commons to require all educational establishments to be compulsorily fitted with automatic fire sprinklers.
Current government guidance states that all new schools should have fire sprinklers fitted, except for a few schools judged to be at a very low risk of arson. However, this guidance is not mandatory, and schools are therefore under no legal obligation to include fire sprinklers as part of their plans. It is estimated that fewer than 200 out of 30,000 in the UK are fitted with fire sprinklers.
According to government statistics, the total cost for fires in schools stood at an average of £58 million per year from 2000-4. However, it has been estimated by teaching groups that the true cost is closer to £100 million.
Speaking after he presented the Fire Safety (Schools) Bill to the House of Commons, Jim Cunningham MP commented:
"I am delighted to have secured this opportunity to present such an important Bill to the House. This simple Bill could help to significantly reduce the risk of fire in schools, and save lives.
"90,000 children a year suffer disruption to their education as a result of a school fire. This is unacceptable. School fires have a devastating impact on communities. As well as the obvious loss of buildings, there are serious knock-on effects to children's education, ranging from disruption to teaching, loss of coursework and postponement of exams. There are also serious effects on school morale, as well as a wider impact on the community which may also use the school facilities, for example adult education or sports groups.
"Fires also have a devastating financial impact. Sprinklers can reduce this by reacting faster to an outbreak of a fire and keeping it contained. Recent research has shown that property damage has been reduced by 80% where sprinklers are fitted. They also improve fire-fighter safety.
"Sprinklers are a simple, efficient way to improve fire safety for our children in school."
Vij Randeniya OBE, chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS), added: "For many years, WMFS has actively called for schools and other public buildings to be fitted with sprinkler systems. The simple fact is that they not only help prevent major fires from taking hold, they can save lives too.
"Too many schools are not being fitted with sprinklers. That's a major cause for concern when you consider that 20 school buildings a week are damaged or destroyed by fire across the UK. It's a major problem, which leads to increased insurance premiums, disrupted schooling and, obviously, cost in replacing damaged buildings which in these tough economic times, we simply can't afford to ignore."
