It’s easy to think of hazardous area equipment as only being needed in industrial settings, but a recent incident in Weybridge, Surrey, shows why it can be a sensible precaution in other environments too, especially where young people might be at risk.
On Friday March 13th, Surrey Police were called to St George’s Primary School after a fire broke out.
According to reports, the fire was preceded by explosions – with one Twitter user simply known as ‘I.T’ commenting: “Never heard such an explosion in my life thought it was game over.”
His tweet was accompanied by a photograph of the scene, with thick black smoke pouring from the school.
It seems the fire was started by an explosion in a part of the school that is currently undergoing construction work – a reminder of the risks that can be posed by industrial work on any premises, not just factories and similar settings.
With the pupils safely evacuated, the only lasting damage was to the school building itself, but while the exact cause is not yet known, the use of hazardous area equipment might have helped to prevent the initial explosion, and so avoid the outbreak of fire that followed.
