Hawkes Fire
Proven protection
In business since 1974, Hawkes Fire remains to this day a family owned company, specialising in mobile and fixed fire protection solutions for flammable liquid risks.
Utilising its deep knowledge, expertise and experience to deliver the highest standard of protection against fire, Hawkes Fire’s customers can look forward to receiving informed advice from first call through to final delivery.
Serving high risk industries where the refining, blending, storage and transport of flammable liquids pose a hazard and a risk of fire, the company is experienced when it comes to working in markets including refining, blending, chemical processing, fuel storage and power generation: “When it comes to its work with oil and gas companies, amongst other things Hawkes Fire is a specialist in the field of foam fire protection,” states business development manager, David Owen. “The medium of choice for flammable liquids, Hawkes Fire designs, supplies, installs and commissions low, medium and high expansion systems, and all the delivery solutions that go with them.
“In addition to these systems the company also has its own range of high-volume, high-pressure fire pumps, fire fittings, hose reels, landing valves and trailer pumps and monitors. Truly a one-stop-shop when it comes to mechanical fire protection, Hawkes Fire is also able to provide consultancy services as well as carry out GAP analysis, provide service and maintenance tasks and draw up emergency response plans.”
Working for a host of different oil and gas majors, including the likes of BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips, Hawkes Fire’s business is definitely one that can be described as global, with recent contracts coming from countries like the US, Mozambique and Tanzania. As well as its work with the aforementioned companies, Hawkes Fire is proud to be a long-standing distributor 
for Angus Fire, a pioneering company whose fire hoses, foam concentrates and fire fighting equipment are some of the best known and most trusted brands in the fire industry. Furthermore, a similar partnership exists between the company and SIDES, one of Europe’s largest fire truck manufacturers that specialises in airport fire support vehicles.
One of the company’s more recent undertakings is the work it has carried out on behalf of Oikos Storage at its bulk liquid storage facility in the South East of the UK: “What Hawkes Fire has successfully done is supply the main fire pump set for the entire Canvey Island site, which involved the delivery and on-site assembly of three, 15,000 litre-per-minute Patterson diesel pumps,” David continues. “As is the case in most, if not all, projects of this nature, what the company found was that Oikos Storage was primarily looking for good value for money. Following a competitive bidding process, Hawkes Fire won the day down to the fact that it offered the best solutions at the best value.
“In the last several months the company has also successfully supplied a 23,000 litre-per-minute trailer monitor to the BP Hamble storage terminal and a 6000 gallon, high-pressure/high volume trailer pump to the MURCO refinery in Milford Haven. We will soon deliver a similar 23,000 lpm monitor to BP Chemicals in Hull.”
As David goes on to highlight, the landmark event that helped bring about today’s ever-improving standards within the storage terminal industry was the Buncefield incident of December 2005: “There is no question that the Buncefield event made people and companies within the industry reassess their own approaches to storage terminal fire fighting, something that led to what was effectively the complete rewriting of all risk assessments and industry expectations.”
Interestingly enough, in the weeks that followed the incident, Hawkes Fire’s engineering director Marty Hawkes and its Sales Director, Andy Hawkes, were contracted to provide post-fire securing operations: “In many ways it was from the company’s very direct experience of the Buncefield incident and its aftermath that Hawkesfire has since gone on to be able to respond to the specific needs of other storage terminals wanting to upgrade their fire protection systems in the months that followed,” David explains.
In its pursuit of growth and its desire to remain a leading authority in fire protection systems, the coming years will see Hawkes Fire strive to develop and increase its presence in all the major high hazard industries, including oil storage, while at the same time expanding its operations across Europe and other parts of the world.
“Going forward, it would be great to play a part in helping some of the more marginal business in high hazard industries adopt more stringent fire protection methods and strategies,” David says. “It is not uncommon to find companies within the UK that shockingly have no fire protection whatsoever and it is of significant importance that those businesses are given the information needed to see fire protection as not a grudge purchase, but as something that helps protect both their people and their assets.
“Also playing out in the background is the fact that with local fire services facing increased cost pressures there is likely to be a shift in trends whereby more resources are directed towards targeting residential hazards where there is the risk of loss of life and away from industrial hazards that deal in asset protection. This is a particularly big challenge for companies like Hawkes Fire. However, with the unrivalled level of knowledge and experience it holds in its field of expertise, Hawkes Fire is well equipped to adapt and cater for its customers’ rapidly evolving fire protection needs.”
Hawkes Fire
Services: Mobile and fixed fire protection solutions