Executive bids to reassure residents of NI tower blocks

NORTHERN Ireland housing bosses are to carry out health and safety inspections on dozens of blocks of flats in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. The Housing Executive said people who live in highrises under their management should not worry about their safety after the London disaster. The Mirror understands local fire chiefs are also under pressure to review their capability to tackle a similar blaze. The inferno has raised a number of questions about safety standards and prompted concerns from people living in the blocks here. A spokesman for the Housing Executive said: “Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and all those affected by the fire in Grenfell, London. “We want to reassure our tenants their safety is taken extremely seriously. We have robust fire safety regimes and carry out regular inspections in all of our 32 tower blocks. “In light of the fire in Grenfell we are undertaking health and safety inspections of each block. We are currently refurbishing three blocks in Belfast and completed one last year. “We want to reassure tenants any cladding systems which have been installed, or are being installed, are required to comply with the relevant fire regulations. “Kensington and Chelsea Council has confirmed an investigation into the cause of the fire will be undertaken. We will of course take on board any relevant findings that come out of this investigation.” A Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service spokesman added: “NIFRS have four specialist highrise appliances based in Derry, Portadown, and two in Belfast. These remain available for operational deployment by crews from their host station in the event of an incident.” But one senior firefighter told the Mirror a review of local aerial appliances used to tackle blazes in tall buildings must be carried out as they are no longer staffed full time following a cost-saving exercise in 2015. Reacting to news in London, he said: “This has been like watching a building on fire in somewhere like Bangladesh. It’s just unbelievable that a building built in 1974 has gone up like this. “There should be in-built fire protection, like a mix of half-hour and one-hour protective material to ensure the building is compartmentalised, like a ship. “Locally, there’s the issue of aerial appliances that are no longer full-time staffed. That could cause a delay in them being deployed in the event of a similar situation here. “The chiefs will no doubt be looking at that over the next few days.”