Schools warned of handheld fan and spray risks
BBCSchools have been warned of the dangers of hand-held fans and water sprays by a local council as the UK continues to experience a heatwave.
Amber and yellow heat-health alerts are in place as temperatures could rise as high as 36C (97F) for parts of southern England this week.
Cambridgeshire County Council has written to head teachers highlighting what it said were "potential risks", including the risk of fire from handheld fans which may contain lithium-ion batteries and the "misuse" of cooling spray bottles.
The authority said it was "for individual schools to consider their local circumstances, undertake appropriate risk assessments and determine whether such items should be permitted".
The Midlands, eastern and southern England have been placed under amber heat-health alerts by the UK Health Security Agency until 21:00 BST on Sunday, 12 July.
The Liberal Democrat-controlled council said it had sent a "heat checklist" to help schools take "appropriate action".
It said it wrote to head teachers "highlighting the potential risks associated with handheld fans and water sprays on school sites".
It claimed that some handheld fans contain lithium-ion batteries "which can overheat or fail in extreme temperatures, with the potential to cause a fire".
Lithium-ion fires can generate their own heat and oxygen, which means these fires can spread faster than some others.
"If schools wish to permit handheld fans, they will need to carefully consider how to manage these risks," the council said.
"Schools may, for instance, consider banning only rechargeable fans, or prohibiting the charging of fans on site."
It added that schools "cannot easily verify the contents of spray bottles and there is risk of misuse".
However, it said schools could consider "requiring spray bottles to be brought to school empty and then filled under controlled circumstances".
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