NHS machinery
Sterilisers, washer-disinfectors and clinical equipment run hot all day. Motors and solenoids are common ignition points, and a fire stops patient care.
In-cabinetCylindrical FP Generators
UK fire & rescue call-outs · 2025
1,760 lithium‑ion fires reported.
And batteries aren’t the only machines burning.
NHS machinery. Diesel generators. Laundry. Vending machines. Li-ion battery storage and charging. Production machinery. A fault inside one unattended machine can take down a whole site, and the consequences are catastrophic.
Business disruption
Lost revenue
Smoke & water damage
Environmental pollution
Source: QBE Freedom of Information data from 42 of 49 UK fire & rescue services, published May 2026 (FPA, Circular Online). Background: inside an NHS sterilisation machine after an unprotected fire (FirePro case study, NDA).
Fires reported · UK
Every one started inside something
Battery fires are climbing fast, and thousands more workplace fires start in machinery, wiring and equipment every year. These are confirmed fire and rescue figures.
Li-ion · UK · 20251,760
lithium-ion battery fires attended by fire and rescue services.
Li-ion · UK147%
rise in battery fires in three years. 23% were in commercial premises.
Li-ion · UK4.8
battery fires a day. One every five hours.
Workplaces · England · 2024/2513,172
fires in non-residential buildings.
Workplaces · England · 2024/251,656
fires in industrial premises, the largest single sector.
Workplaces · England · 2024/25433
fires in hospitals and medical care premises.
Sources: QBE FOI data, May 2026 (Circular Online) · Home Office FIRE0301/FIRE0602 data as analysed by SBS (International Fire & Safety Journal, Dec 2025).
Where fires start
Six machines that burn unwatched
Each one packs heat, motors and wiring into a closed cabinet. A fire can grow out of sight behind the panels until it breaks out, and by then portable extinguishers are too late.
Diesel generators
Standby power for hospitals, stadiums and data centres. Fuel, hot exhausts and switchgear share one room, and the generator has to work when everything else fails.
Room floodBoxed FP Generators
Laundry
Industrial washers and dryers combine heat, lint and big motors, often running overnight with nobody in the room.
In-cabinetCylindrical FP Generators
Vending machines
Compressors, lighting and wiring switched on 24/7 in receptions, corridors and escape routes. Unattended by design.
In-cabinetCylindrical FP Generators
Li-ion storage & charging
Forklift charging, power tool cabinets and battery rooms. Thermal runaway makes its own heat and toxic gas, and cells can re-ignite.
In-cabinetRoom flood
Production machinery
Process control cabinets, CNC and mining machinery. One fire stops the line, and lost output costs more than the repair.
In-cabinetCylindrical FP Generators
Applications from FirePro UK’s in-cabinet and room flood portfolio. Generator choice depends on enclosure volume and risk; we design each system to suit.
Catastrophic consequences
The fire is only the start
The bill arrives after the flames are out: business disruption, lost revenue, smoke and water damage, and environmental pollution.
NHS sterilisation machine
Patient care halted
Business disruption
- A fire inside one machine in a 4th-floor NHS sterile services unit. Staff tried portable extinguishers without success.
- The service that sterilises surgical instruments was taken out, and critical patient care was seriously disrupted.
With FirePro fitted: a second fire seven months later was put out inside the machine, and service resumed within two days.
FirePro UK case study (NDA)
Lithium-ion · on charge
£180,000
Lost revenue
- The tennis ball machine cost £1,200 to replace.
- Its lithium-ion battery ignited on charge. Damage, repairs and lost trading came to more than £180,000.
The machine risk: the fire cost 150 times more than the equipment it started in.
FirePro UK case study (NDA)
Electrical fault · unattended
£265,000
Smoke & water damage
- An electrical fault inside a single vending machine on a university hospital campus.
- The machine burned out, smoke blackened the entrance around it, and the damage reached an estimated £265,000.
The machine risk: nobody watches a vending machine. A fire behind its panels has time to grow.
FirePro UK case study (NDA)
Toxic smoke
10–100 g
Environmental pollution
- Burning lithium-ion cells release 20–200 mg of toxic hydrogen fluoride for every Wh of capacity. One 500 Wh battery could produce 10–100 g.
- Firefighting water runs off carrying soot, oils and combustion products into drains and the ground.
The machine risk: smoke contaminates the building, your stock and the area around it long after the flames are out.
Case study · under NDALithium-ion · on charge
£1,200The cost to replace the machine.
£180,000Damage and repair costs.
Plugged in.Charging.Destroyed.
Tennis equipment was destroyed after its lithium-ion battery ignited while on charge, resulting in over £180,000 in damage and repair costs. Replacing the machine itself cost £1,200.
Once thermal runaway starts, a lithium-ion cell produces its own heat and toxic gas, and portable extinguishers do little to stop it.
Case study · under NDAElectrical fault · unattended
One fault.One machine.£265,000.
It stood in the entrance of a university hospital campus, lit up and humming, with nobody watching. Then an electrical fault developed deep inside the cabinet. The fire took hold behind the panels, gutted the machine to a blackened shell and filled the entrance with smoke. A single vending machine. An estimated £265,000 of damage.
Incidents like this show how quickly a fault inside a compact, unattended enclosure can escalate, and why protection has to act automatically, at the source, before anyone even knows there’s a problem.
This is avoidable
Put the fire out inside the machine
LPCBCertificated condensed aerosolProduct certificate 1417a
FirePro is LPCB certificated condensed aerosol fire suppression. A generator sits inside the cabinet or room. When detection senses fire it releases a fine potassium-based aerosol that puts the fire out in seconds. No pipes, no pressurised cylinders, no water.
Cylindrical · in-cabinet
FP-20T
20 g of agent for very small and compact enclosures.
fireprouk.com
Cylindrical · in-cabinet
FP-200s
200 g of agent for small to medium enclosures.
fireprouk.com
Cylindrical · in-cabinet
FP-500S
500 g of agent for larger cabinets.
fireprouk.com
Box · room flood
FP-4200
4,200 g of agent for medium to large enclosures.
fireprouk.comBox · room flood
FP-5700
5,700 g of agent for large enclosures.
fireprouk.comA selection from the range. FirePro makes more generator sizes than the five shown here, which are picked to show the range of volumes FirePro can protect. FirePro agent density is calculated on a gross volumetric calculation and the class of fire, so every system is designed to suit the enclosure. See the full range on fireprouk.com
Controller
FPC-2V2
Watches thermocable or smoke detection and fires up to four generators. Signalling for the fire alarm and other devices.
fireprouk.com → Stand-aloneFPC-5 V2
Thermal activation module with a bimetallic sensor for box-type generators. Detects and suppresses with no panel or controller.
fireprouk.com → DetectionThermocable
Linear heat detection cable routed through the machine, so it senses heat at the source, wherever it starts.
See the full system →Proven in the field
Second fire. No damage.
An NHS sterile services unit lost a machine and flooded a floor in its first fire. FirePro designed in-cabinet suppression. Seven months later a second fire broke out, and the system put it out inside the machine. When the fire service arrived 12 minutes later there was nothing left to fight.
0smoke or water damage
12 minfire service arrival. No fire to fight.
2 daysto re-arm and resume patient care
Fire 1 · before FirePro
Fire 2 · FirePro fittedMachinery & battery fire newsdesk