London Fire Brigade call for disposable BBQ ban, M&S remove them from sale, fires on balconies are caused each year by barbecues
Summer is a time of year that many across the UK look forward to, with a burning desire to enjoy the weather on these sunny days many of us look forward to relaxing outdoors with family and friends. Barbecues are a popular summer cooking appliance and disposable BBQs have become immensely popular in recent years due to their convenience.
London Fire Brigade (LFB), though, have recently called for a total ban and Marks & Spencer have already removed them from sale. Disposable barbecues have been reported as the start of wildfires in England due to them being used on dry ground, and with July 2022 seeing the driest weather experienced for over a hundred years in the UK there have been a spate of such fires recently.
Numerous avoidable fires that have added to the challenges faced by London Fire Brigade over this period. LFB commissioner, Andy Roe, has asked all local authorities in the capital to implement bans following a grassland fire the size of two football pitches caused by a disposable barbecue at Wanstead Flats.
Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s largest supermarket chains, has removed these items from sale in their stores across the UK to “protect open spaces and reduce the risk of fires” with Aldi also doing this in March 2022. Similarly, Co-Op had previously decided to stop selling disposable barbecues in 130 shops situated in or within a one-mile radius of national parks in June 2021.
The AliDeck Balcony Fires Report is an annual report that we produce to show the incidence and causes of Balcony Fires each year across a twelve month stretch. In our previous edition of this report, we discovered that disposable barbecues were directly responsible for 21 balcony fires across the UK between August 1st 2020 and July 31st 2021.
Banning these disposable barbecues on balconies has got to be a minimum requirement for building owners and property managers, with many older buildings with balconies that are made out of combustible materials as they await remediation.
Switching to non-combustible decking materials such as aluminium is a cost-effective and future-proof solution which all stakeholders must consider to safeguard their properties and leaseholders.
AliDeck aluminium decking is thoroughly tested and along with our powder-coat finish all balcony decking boards are fire-rated to A2-s1, d0 and A2fl-s1 standards and capable of passing any EWS1 Survey, providing peace of mind to leaseholders. Other benefits include a 60-year life expectancy with 30-year manufacturer guarantee, allowing for a future-proof design to prevent future remediation costs.
If you would like to discuss our range of aluminium balcony decking components and how you can make the change, please contact us on 01622 235 672 or via info@alideck.co.uk.
