Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FIRE CHECK FOR ULSTER TOWERS
Residents get advice after Grenfell horror
FIRE drills are not carried out at Housing Executive tower blocks but could soon become routine, a senior official said yesterday. North Belfast housing services manager Liam Gunn was speaking after Teac Grainne Tower in the New Lodge was given a clean bill of health by safety experts. He added: “With nine towers here in Belfast we have to get it right. “The advice to residents would be that if there is a fire evacuation procedure, if they feel it’s safe they can leave the building. “Alternatively, if they have some reservations about leaving they can remain in their flats, which are compartmentalised and await the Fire Service calling with them to assist them from the building. “Fire measures in all the flats are so effective that they will be safe for a period of time. “We have leafletted all the homes in terms of the appropriate procedures to use. “In terms of fire drills it is probably something we will look at and consider.” Since the horrific fire at the Grenfell Tower in West London, which claimed the lives of at least 80 people, there have been heightened safety concerns for high-rise residents. It prompted Fire Service officers to distribute advice leaflets to multi-storey properties in Northern Ireland. Group commander Geoff Somerville, who was also visiting Teac Grainne, said: “The public are concerned after the events at Grenfell Tower, and rightly so. “We saw those harrowing images on the television... but we want to give them reassurance that we are doing all that we can at this time to protect public safety and give them the advice they need. “We are currently visiting premises to provide public reassurance and advice on what to do in the event of a fire. “In addition to that we also carry out an inspection of the common areas in domestic premises to confirm that measures fitted for the protection of firefighters are adequate and maintained. “By this we mean the dry risers and smoke extraction valves etc. “We need to make sure that our firefighters, in the event of a fire, are able to respond immediately. “We inspect all of the commercial premises across Northern Ireland, which is 80,000, and because of the Grenfell fire we are now focusing on domestic high-rise premises to look at the facilities in those. “That will be ongoing in the next few weeks.”