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Vape shops “don’t have a clue” about fire safety, an expert has told LBC following a devastating blaze near Glasgow's historic Central Station.
The devastating fire nextdoor to Scotland's busiest train station should be a "wake up call" for fire safety, warned Jonathan Bartle, the Director of Source Fire Risk Management – a team of independent fire safety experts.
He added any resulting fires are “very difficult to put out”.
The station has been shut since Sunday, after flames spread from the vape shop on Union Street through the B-listed Victorian building.
Accompanying LBC on a visit to a West London vape shop, he warned about potential risks associated with ignorance about safety.
“It’s creating its own source of oxygen and heat, two of the three elements of the triangle of fire.
"You need to either cool it rapidly or starve it of oxygen, but you can’t because it’s creating both of those itself”.
“If we look at the [vape] shop which we’ve just been in, and the building, you’ve got at least three if not four floors of residential above. And they don’t have a clue about fire safety and fire risk assessment”
“Heaven forbid that something should happen in the shop it potentially has a life safety risk to the residents above – they’re sleeping risks”.
Mr Bartle also expressed concern that the traditional forms of water fire extinguisher foam were simply “ineffective”.
“It’s fundamentally almost impossible to be able to put that fire out once it’s going”.
The blaze, in which no one was injured, saw residents, shops and hotels forced to evacuate – as well as causing days of cancellations and delays at Glasgow Central station.
Whilst the cause of the fire is still being investigated, politicians have called for stricter checks to be enforced on vape shops.
Scottish Conservative MSP Annie Wells said that it was “understandable that many people are extremely concerned about the location of vape shops”, adding that the premises “can pose a real risk to public safety”.
Meanwhile Labour MSP Paul Sweeney told The Sun there were “serious questions about the suitability to have these types of businesses share space with our landmark buildings.”
'Perfect recipe for a fire'
LBC purchased a 6,000 ‘puff’ vape for £12.99 to identify the location of its small lithium battery.
Jonathan Bartle noted that the fact the product is made of combustible plastic made it “a perfect recipe for a fire risk”.
Mr Bartle also expressed concerns with the level of fire safety management at the West London premises.
“They don’t know the risks that are inherent inside their shop. I don’t think they know what could happen in the event of, or indeed what to do in the event of, a lithium battery fire, and clearly there are many, many lithium batteries stored in that shop”.
“The battery potentially could be overcharged, you have the potential for thermal runaway, which is where the battery gets hotter and hotter and essentially starts to self-combust… the lithium-ion itself it can start to generate heat and then the heat self-combusts”.
The fire safety expert also explained how a new type of technology brings a ‘new type of challenge’.
“Most people don’t know the impact it could have. But we’ve seen issues with e-scooters and e-bikes as they have a lithium battery”, he explained.
Speaking to local businesses, Jonathan Bartle added that any operating with five or more employees is required to carry out a written fire risk assessment of their building. He urged people to seek professional advice and guidance.