Fire Safety Stick | 5 min read

Increasingly, plant and industrial factories are turning to the Fire Safety Stick as an added protection layer against the high costs and the potential loss of production in the event of a fire.

Having a low-cost, no corrosive mess and zero servicing solution, right next to the high-risk machines, means that in case of a fire starting on the machinery, it can be quickly and cleanly extinguished. This effective solution means that, unlike the use of traditional extinguishers, there is far less impact on production as well as the potential loss of the machinery.

Here we have a prime example with Reflex Group, one of the UK’s leading print production facilities and why having the Fire Safety Stick a part of their fire protection is so important for them. Additionally, they were so impressed with the Fire Safety Stick’s benefits they are also encouraging their staff to have the Fire Safety Stick at home too!

Reflex History

Founded in 2002, Reflex Group includes a range of international companies across seven countries. Here in the UK, Reflex Labels is one of the country’s leading label and food packaging printers. Products include self-adhesive labels, linerless labels, bunch tags, flexible pouches, sustainable lined board, litho printing, premium self-adhesive labels and much more! They are very much at the forefront of innovation and are always looking at continuous improvement with their investment in people and technology. They are also on a quest to become the world’s most sustainable packaging company.

The UK operation has 16 production factories across the country, each having various printing and hot foil presses. These large machines are not only very significant investments, costing from several hundred thousand to over a million pounds, but are renowned for running at high temperatures. As a result, they are a prominent fire risk with such instances an all-too-common occurrence despite plentiful precautions taken. When a fire, even a very small one, does occur, it has significant costs in repairs and downtime not just for the affected machine but quite possibly the whole plant, along with all stock becoming unusable and being written off.

How did they learn of the Fire Safety Stick?

Richard Quinlan, one of the managers at their Grimsby factory, had already been looking at the Fire Safety Stick as a potential benefit to their existing fire safety strategy. Features of the Fire Safety Stick he liked included that it is completely safe to breathe for those in the vicinity, it is safe for the environment (thereby not impacting their green initiatives), and is a no-corrosive mess extinguisher meaning it would not damage any nearby machinery or add to the damage from the fire. This ‘secondary’ damage to nearby machines is a big concern as the discharge from many traditional extinguishers, such as dry powder, can cause extra damage to heavy machinery and its electrics. Often it is the extra damage which is much more costly, not only in the clean up, repair and replacement of the machines, but also the downtime for the whole plant/factory. In addition, any stock or produced goods may have been contaminated with the use of a traditional extinguisher.

Fire incidents impact the UK Economy each year: £12 Billion

Workplace fires: 22,000 approx.

Those attended by the Fire Services: 10,000 approx.

The majority of workplace fires occur in the Industrial/Manufacturing sectors.

Losses due to fires in the Manufacturing sector alone: £800 million each year

The most common cause: Electrical faults

Many small to medium-sized businesses are unable to recover from the losses caused by fires in their workplaces. Recommendations by the fire services to minimise the impact of fires are good fire safety training for employees, and early detection with efficient responses to deal with such fires.

What actions were taken next?

Richard was then directly prompted to reach out to the Fire Safety Stick team to obtain some sticks following a relatively minor fire at their production facilities in the Autumn of 2024. These were swiftly ordered and despatched to Richard’s office during the following day of the fire. He didn’t waste any time installing them in some key areas right next to some of the presses, particularly those prone to the risk of fire and running at high temperatures.

Initially, the first few sticks installed were going to be part of a pilot scheme for just one of the Reflex Labels production sites in Grimsby, North Lincolnshire, but following a second press fire at another location just a few weeks later, the senior management soon decided to roll out the Fire Safety Stick installations across all their key locations across their UK estate as a matter of urgency.

It is important to note that these Fire Safety Stick installations are to complement their existing fire extinguishers at each site. There was no intention of replacing the older traditional type of extinguishers. The purpose of the Fire Safety Sticks is simply to allow the machine operator to rapidly reach over and deploy the stick at the early sign of a fire. This saves valuable time for the operator before the fire can become established, as they don’t need to run to the nearest fire extinguisher point, select the correct type of extinguisher for that particular class of fire, carry the heavy extinguishers back to the point of fire, and if it was still safe to do so, hopefully, extinguish it. However, if they were unsure which would be the suitable extinguisher to use, they may need to carry both back, each potentially weighing over 10 kg. During this time, it’s likely the fire would have grown in size, thereby endangering the safety of any nearby staff.

Result of the Fire Safety Stick being implemented

Having the Fire Safety Sticks installed as an additional measure, a likely more effective first-line response, and keeping the existing extinguishers means there is no need to renew the facility’s fire risk assessment, but instead has improved and evolved the fire safety strategy. This keeps the role of the management of the business much simpler and cost-effective, considering the very real risks of fire to the plant machines.

Key advantages over traditional extinguishers

The Fire Safety Stick, being located right by the print operator’s workstation, is completely clean causing no residual or corrosive damage, which presents a very significant cost saving for the business.

The vapour from the discharging stick will not adversely affect the user. Whereas with Dry Powder and CO2 extinguishers, the discharging agent can cause additional health concerns to operators. Additionally, guidelines now state that Dry Powder extinguishers are not to be used in confined spaces.

Unlike a dry powder, foam and water extinguisher, the Fire Safety Stick discharges its vapour to fill any voids within the machines, thereby being able to reach and extinguish the flames that might otherwise be obscured. Plus, if the fire is within a cabinet or encased machine (as seen in the foil press), the operator can activate the stick, place it within the cabinet, and close the doors. The vapour from the stick will fill the sealed cabinet, at the very least slowing the fire, and in many cases extinguishing the fire. No other extinguisher can offer this hands-free approach that allows the staff to escape and fight the fire in their absence at the same time.

Follow-up and Training

We offered that upon delivery of the Fire Safety Sticks, we would provide a training video for their staff. This has ensured that all operators and staff know how to activate the Fire Safety Stick and the best techniques to use in various circumstances. This bespoke training video is also being used during the staff’s ongoing training, as well as for new employees.

The management of Reflex Group was also very keen not only to promote good fire safety for their staff onsite but also for them away from work. Therefore, the team at Fire Safety Stick and Reflex have also offered a staff discount, so they can purchase the sticks for their home, cars, caravans or wherever they need protection against a potential fire risk in their everyday lives.

Quote from Richard at Reflex

“Here at Reflex, fire is a real risk for us, having recently had two separate fires starting within the production units. The impact of a fire from the hot running presses can be devasting in terms of equipment loses, production downtime and loss of client stock. And of course, more importantly, the safety of our staff. For these reasons, when we researched the fire safety stick, it ticked a lot of boxes for a quick and safe response to a fire starting and having it dealt with before it can escalate into a disaster.”

“It was important to us that we still kept all our other fire protection equipment, including the existing fire extinguishers, but the added benefits of the Fire Safety Stick as that very first line response meant that it will more than pay for itself should we have another similar fire start.”

“Following the training by the Fire Safety Stick team, the reception by our staff with the product was very positive, not only at work but also, they saw the benefits for themselves and their families away from work. And so, we decided on offering the sticks to our staff at a discount as a benefit, with the assistance of the team at Fire Safety Stick.”

As you can see, the direct cost savings for the Reflex Group, should a fire start in any one of their presses across their 16 sites in the UK, are demonstrated in terms of significantly reduced repair costs of the press directly affected, but also the heavy plant assets in the vicinity, as well as less downtime and of course, must less impact to getting their urgent orders out.

Contact the Fire Safety Stick team via the contact details below.

📞 +44 1582879529

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