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On Tuesday the 6^th of September, the Howard College Law Library was set on fire at the University of KwaZulu-Natal as part of the current protests occurring on campus. The fire was started around 4pm, but was extinguished before any real damage could be done. This follows a large auditorium being set alight at around 11.30pm on Monday night.

So what does an act of vandalism have to do with SHE principles? For one thing, this incident proves that one of the dangers of fire is its suddenness – that it can happen in a moment, and it is best to be as prepared as possible so that if a fire does occur, you can minimise both the danger to people and the damage to property.

Let’s first take a look at the most common causes of workplace fires, and then the strategies to counteract them.

Photo credit: News24

In our last blog, we discussed the six NOSHCON 2016 presentations that could have an impact on how we see health and safety in the near future. Today, we’re offering you a chance to view some of what other leading industry experts had to say at the conference. Take a look…

This week, the 55th NOSHCON conference took place at the Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensburg. As one of the leading risk management conferences, NOSHCON explores the latest in in risk management products and services, and showcases practical solutions and best-practice risk management concepts to a host of industries.

From Twitter: @ER24EMS

Let’s be honest – here in South Africa, we’re pretty smug when it comes to our weather and climate. No earthquakes, volcanoes or other horrendous natural disasters so often reported in other parts of the world (Asia seems particularly hard hit of late).

And then last week happened. On Tuesday afternoon, Tembisa residents were shocked to witness a funnel-shaped formation tearing through the area, damaging a number of shacks, a local mall and the Tembisa Hospital. Now the community is slowly assessing and repairing the damage.

Tornadoes are uncommon in South Africa – but not as rare as you might think
Here are some of the biggest tornadoes to hit South Africa in recent years:
• 15 November 1998: Harrismith
750 homes damaged or destroyed.
• 16 December 1998: Umtata
11 people killed (former President Nelson Mandela was visiting the town at the time).
• 18 January 1999: Mount Ayliff
25 people killed, 500 injured, 95% of people in the area lost their homes.
• August 1999: Surrey Estate, Marenberg and Gugulethu
Five people killed (including a baby), 5 000 homeless, 180 injured.
• October 2011: Duduza and Ficksburg
One child killed, hundreds left homeless.

On October 14 2015, South Africa was left reeling when the bridge under construction over the M1 at Grayston collapsed, killing two people and injuring 19 others. Since then, several attempts have been made by the Department of Labour (DoL) to conduct an inquiry into the incident, and the causes behind it. Here we take a look at the state of the inquiry as of now, as well as what we can learn from a health and safety point of view.