Articles by James Mountain

Recent years have seen fire risks and resulting insurance claims in commercial premises grow significantly. This increase has been influenced by various factors, such as unusually hot and dry weather, increasingly demanding work schedules with prolonged hours, and an ongoing drive for sustainability in the UK. James Mountain, sales and marketing director, Fire Shield Systems, examines the factors influencing risk and the role of insurers in strengthening policies surrounding fire protection, to...

The UK’s electric bus fleet is set to become the largest in Europe by 2024, with numbers projected to grow by almost 180%. Risks associated with fire safety The primary technology fuelling our electric buses is the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, and, although much more sustainable, these batteries are bringing about fresh fire safety risks to the transport sector. If they become damaged in any way – through overcharging, mechanical failure, physical impact, or overvoltage, for examp...

The greatest fire risk to waste and recycling businesses is, without doubt, battery waste. You can find batteries everywhere – in children’s toys, mobile phones and other general WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment) that gets processed through waste streams, as well as in machinery and vehicles as part of the move towards more sustainable operations. And where there are batteries, there are fire risks. James Mountain, sales and marketing director, Fire Shield Systems, h...

The global drive towards sustainability is causing businesses to continually search for alternative fuel sources, seeing an increase in rubber and plastic recycling across the UK. However, recycling these materials tends to relies on high volume storage for lengthy periods of time, as well as intense processing. This creates unique fire risks, as evidenced in the troubling fire record for recycling plants in the UK. James Mountain, sales and marketing director, Fire Shield Systems, explains the...

The UK’s demand for sustainable heat and power sources is increasing rapidly. This is seeing a growing dependence on renewable energy sources for electricity, and, as we’re facing a landscape of constrained power generation, consistency of this power source is becoming a key concern. Fire is an evolving risk for power stations. It can cause prolonged outages, which are damaging to sites’ personnel, equipment, and fuels. However, these fires are very common. James Mountain, Sal...

Businesses operating within the waste industry are susceptible to a wide range of fire risks. Storage of combustible materials, the ongoing use of industrial vehicles and waste’s natural ability to rise in temperature all add to these risks. The sector’s safety has improved over recent years, with the Environment Agency (EA) making Fire Prevention Plans (FPPs) mandatory for every waste and recycling site. However, there’s still a way to go to ensure maximum safety - and insurer...

In any business, fire can cause significant damage and substantial loss of revenue, assets, or productivity due to a period of downtime. However, fires can be prevented through continuous temperature monitoring, as it can detect hot spots or rising temperatures that may lead to a fire. Temperature monitoring, in combination with effective suppression systems, can largely reduce fire risk and safeguard your teams, assets and the environment. How thermal imaging supports fire detection and suppr...

Due to the nature of their design and uses, tunnels have particularly unique fire risks, and any fire can spread quickly, risking damage to assets or injuries to teams. Mining, cable and communication tunnels are subject to significantly high risks, as they utilize heavy-duty machinery, flammable materials and cables, which are all subject to the production of excess heat. Here we discuss the prevalent fire risks in tunnels and explain how businesses operating within them can assess and mitigat...