Romford Mail Centre Parcel Explosion & Fire Incident Wednesday 27.4.16:

In response to a number of enquiries received by the CWU/HQ Health, Safety and Environment Department, this is to inform Branches that an incident occurred at Romford Mail Centre involving a minor explosion and fire at 20:35pm on Wednesday 27th April.
The known facts are as follows, as confirmed by Royal Mail’s CPC and the Security and Dangerous Goods Team:
A package containing a Lithium Battery caught fire and exploded, in the secondary packet area of the Mail Centre last Wednesday, causing minor damage.
The Fire alarm was activated and the Mail Centre was evacuated at 20:40 in an efficient manner and there were no injuries of any kind.
The minor explosion and fire was quickly controlled and the packaging and surrounding materials were put out by use of fire extinguishers.
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) subsequently attended the scene and the Chief Fire Officer gave the all clear at 21:10hrs, following which the building was re-occupied and returned to normal working.
The item was subsequently contained within a 10ft x 10ft cordon as requested by the LFB and a forensic investigation team undertook an examination of the item concerned which was identified as a Lithium Battery enclosed in a parcel.
The internal Royal Mail Security and Dangerous Goods Team investigation is ongoing and the progress to date is as follows:
The item concerned has been identified as a Lithium Battery enclosed in a parcel which is a ‘Prohibited Item’ and should not have been put into the Postal system.
Despite the outer packaging, address and details being destroyed in the fire, investigators have determined that the item was believed to have been sold on eBay, the world famous on-line auction and marketplace website.
EBay were contacted by Royal Mail, requesting removal of Royal Mail as a preferred carrier for this type of item from any sellers, to which eBay immediately complied.
The Royal Mail Security and Dangerous Goods Team investigation has continued efforts to identify both the seller of the item and the distributor which has been difficult due to the fire damage to the offending item. However, various lines of enquiry are continuing in order to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to proceed with a prosecution of the seller. One particular seller of these items, who may be the seller in question, has removed all similar items from the eBay website and this individual is a focus of attention and a person of interest. At this stage however the investigation continues.
Experts have recently identified shoddily made Lithium-ion batteries with faulty circuitry as the cause of a series of unrelated incidents involving new type self-balancing “hoverboard” scooters which have caught fire or exploded and before that faulty and poorly made counterfeit laptop batteries have been identified as the source of incidents or overheating units exploding and causing fires.
Such packages incorrectly posted, containing such goods are not always easily identified. Such incidents are rare but Members should be vigilant and report any suspect packages if they come to their attention and management should follow the “Stay Calm/Be Aware” guidance and call CPC for further advice and the Emergency Services as required.
Water Fire Extinguishers have little effect on Lithium Battery Fires but wetting the surrounding area can prevent fire spread as a precaution pending attendance by the Fire Service.
The CWU Branch Area Safety Representative is fully involved locally and I would like to record my thanks to the Romford and Dist Amal Branch for their due diligence in connection with the incident.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
 
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