Trial by fire
PAUL STEPHEN examines how the rapid and highly co-ordinated response to a major fire at Nottingham station earlier this year earned East Midlands Trains and its partners the 2018 National Rail Award for Outstanding Teamwork
How East Midlands Trains won the 2018 National Rail Award for Outstanding Teamwork.
East Midlands Trains, Network Rail and the emergency services across Nottinghamshire have been recognised at RAIL’s National Rail Awards for their efficient and effective joint response to the fire which occurred at Nottingham station on the morning of January 12.
Having detected the blaze in ladies toilets on the southern concourse at 0620, staff from the station’s operator East Midlands Trains swiftly effected a safe and controlled evacuation of 200 people from six trains.
Tram and bus services were also suspended, while Nottingham City Council’s Traffic Management and Community Protection teams worked quickly to close surrounding roads.
Having reviewed its evacuation procedures just three months earlier, the speed of this first response by EMT ensured that no major injuries were sustained while the flames began to spread rapidly into the roof space, and an adjacent ticket office and footbridge.
As attention swiftly turned to bringing the fire under control, by 0800 a multi-agency structure was in place comprised of EMT, Network Rail, British Transport Police, Nottinghamshire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service, Nottingham City Council, Interserve and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service.
Having already generated significant amounts of attention from national and regional news outlets, 60 firefighters from eight fire stations took more than 12 hours to extinguish the flames which had threatened to destroy much of the historical fabric of the Grade 2-listed station - which is an outstanding example of Edwardian Baroque Revival-style architecture.
Used by some 7.5 million passengers per year, the closure of such a vital transport hub affected services across a large part of the regional network, including in Lincolnshire, the Midland Main Line, Liverpool to Norwich, and local services to Worksop, Newark and Grantham.
As the morning went on, teamwork
between EMT and NR helped minimise disruption as far as possible with some services being diverted or replaced by buses.
Following an inspection of the building and railway infrastructure by structural and track engineers, EMT and NR staff then worked through the night (some voluntarily) to reopen five of the station’s seven platforms at 0500 the next morning.
Close teamwork and relentless effort over the days that followed meant that further parts of the station could be reopened, and water, electricity and IT connectivity all restored after suffering significant fire damage.
Network Rail’s London North Eastern and East Midlands Route Managing Director Rob McIntosh was among the first industry leaders to praise the work of station staff and emergency services. He told RAIL: “There are lots of phone calls you dread to receive as a Route MD, and that was certainly one of them. We didn’t expect the fire to take hold in the way it did, but the response was phenomenal.
“My first thoughts were for the welfare of staff and passengers, but I have a very capable team who stepped up to the mark alongside colleagues from EMT. I have enormous pride in the whole team at Nottingham, who dealt with it swiftly and brilliantly.”
Jake Kelly, EMT Managing Director adds: “This is a fantastic achievement and one that really marks just how much can be achieved by working as one team.
“From our frontline staff at EMT, who played a remarkable role in looking after customers, to the firefighters who tackled the fire, to the BTP who took control of the site with detailed forensic investigations, and to all the other partners who played a crucial role in our response to this major incident, this [National Rail Award] is deserved recognition of your work during extremely challenging circumstances.
“We remain truly grateful for the hard work and support of everybody involved.”
Three days after the fire, only the most seriously fire-damaged areas of the station remained closed to the public, including the main footbridge span between platforms 6 and 7, and part of the southern concourse, which was opened in 2014 as part of a £ 60 million redevelopment which had itself won a National Rail Award in 2016.
These areas remained a crime scene as British Transport Police began its investigation into the cause of the fire, which was being treated as arson.
There are lots of phone calls you dread to receive as a Route MD,andthatwas certainly one of them Rob McIntosh, London North Eastern and East Midlands Route Managing Director, Network Rail
CCTV evidence and other items of interest were quickly collected, while an extensive appeal was made for witnesses and members of the public to come forward with footage recorded on mobile phones or dash cams that might help identify the guilty party.
Further appeals were also jointly co-ordinated between all organisations involved in order to maximise coverage.
A 33-year-old woman from Derby was arrested in connection with the incident before being released. No further arrests have been made.
Repair work costing some £ 2 million has been taking place since January, with the final piece being the toilets on the southern concourse, which reopened on September 17.
All those involved are now actively working to build on their response to the fire to help the wider industry learn from the incident and to help better prepare for similar incidents.
EMT, Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service, Nottinghamshire Police and BTP have developed a multi-agency training exercise to support emergency planning and incident management preparation, and are engaging with other train operating companies and industry stakeholders to share best practice.