Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service reported the following incident near Glasgow in Scotland on Thursday 2 March 2006:

"This morning at approximately 0700 hours four fire appliances attended the report of an explosion at the GlaxoSmithKline processing plant in Irvine. On arrival crews were confronted with the results of a small explosion. Four casualties at the incident were being attended to by the Scottish Ambulance Service. The small fire within the area was
extinguished by the sprinkler system installed within the plant, therefore no firfighting action was required. On arrival of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Technical Support Team a full survey of the incident site was carried out by our scientific advisor and the GlaxoSmithKline Emergency Response Team. This survey was carried out to establish the
damage caused and potential damage to the area. A further survey is now being carried out and we await the results."

BBC Scotland reported that of the four casualties two are being treated for burns and two for shock. The explosion happened in the plant's Actives facility, where raw chemicals used in the production of malaria and HIV drugs are treated. One side of the factory building was blown off in the blast but the sprinklers still performed and extinguished the
fire.

Alan Brinson
Executive Director
European Fire Sprinkler Network