{"id":72403,"date":"2020-02-25T14:01:21","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T14:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=72403"},"modified":"2020-02-25T14:01:21","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T14:01:21","slug":"handle-hot-work-fires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/health-safety-news\/handle-hot-work-fires\/72403\/","title":{"rendered":"Insurance provider calls for thermal cameras to handle \u2018hot work\u2019 fires"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zurich<\/a> is calling for contractors to adopt thermal imaging cameras to help reduce the number of fires started by ‘hot work’<\/h2>\n

‘Hot work’<\/a> \u2013 such as grinding, welding, and torching \u2013 is a major cause of blazes on construction and refurbishment sites, leading to millions of pounds worth of damage each year.<\/p>\n

Home Office<\/a> data obtained by Zurich under Freedom of Information show that between January 2015 and March 2019, fire crews in England attended 1,587 construction fires \u2013 of which 28% were caused by hot work or other sources of heat.<\/p>\n

But the insurer says handheld thermal imaging devices, costing as little as \u00a3400, could help tackle the problem and is urging contractors on all non-domestic construction, refurbishment, and maintenance projects involving hot work to consider adopting them as standard.<\/p>\n

Zurich\u2019s claims data<\/h3>\n

The data shows that 15% of the total cost of all UK fires in commercial and industrial properties involve hot work. The last three years have seen the cost of damage spike to \u00a3250m.<\/p>\n

Zurich is also calling for contractors to adopt a voluntary licensing system that would see contractors complete a training course before carrying out or supervising hot work.<\/p>\n

A similar \u2018passporting\u2019 approach has been in place in Scandinavian countries since the 1980s, where it has significantly reduced hot work fires to less than 5% of fire losses over the last decade. Contractors complete a one-day training course giving them a licence valid for five years.<\/p>\n