MSP in sprinkler plea for new-build council homes
Political Correspondent ALL new housing association and council homes should be fitted with sprinklers in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy, according to a Labour MSP.
If the Bill proposed by David Stewart is successful, it would be compulsory for every new house built by registered social landlords to have a sprinkler system installed.
Mr Stewart, who is launching his Bill today, said, before Grenfell Scotland had a higher rate of fire deaths and injuries than the rest of the UK.
He adds that deaths and casualties are higher in deprived areas which have more social housing.
In June, last year, 71 people died in the fire at Grenfell Tower in west London.
Hundreds more were left homeless when the fire spread from the fourth floor upwards engulfing the 24-storey block in flames.
In England, new high-rise flats have had to be built with sprinkler since 2007.
In Scotland it was law that sprinklers are fitted to new-build highrises two years earlier.
The Bill would see all new social housing required to be installed with sprinklers regardless of height
Mr Stewart said there has been no instance of multiple fire deaths in Scotland where a working sprinkler system was installed.
Following the fire many fire safety experts and the London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton, called for sprinklers to be retrofitted to existing high-rise flats.
The MSP’s Bill proposal only includes social housing new-builds in Scotland and not retro-fitting in existing homes, of which there are more than 100,000 in Glasgow.
Mr Stewart said: “The scandal of Grenfell last summer was that protection was not available to those who were most in need.
This simple change in law is a practical step that will save lives.
“Councils in Angus, Fife and Dundee already install sprinklers into their new developments as standard and I want to see this approach extended all over Scotland.”
In Glasgow in 2016/17, statistics show there were 929 dwelling fires with six deaths.
Mr Stewart, a Highlands MSP, said fires are more prevalent in areas of socio-economic deprivation.
He said the 2009 Scotland Together Report into Scottish fire deaths and injuries found that 31 per cent of all accidental dwelling fires occurred in the 15 per cent of most deprived areas of Scotland.
He has the backing of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association who want to go further and also retro-fit.
Keith MacGillivray, chief executive, a former adviser to the Scottish government, said: “We would also support the retro-fitting of automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) into all Scottish high-rise social housing.”
He added: “Automatic fire sprinklers have a proven track record for the mitigation of fire and the prevention of loss of life through fire, this goes back more than one hundred years. The installation of sprinkler systems to the appropriate British Standards by competent, third party accredited installers will ensure that the risk from fire to the public and Firefighters is reduced significantly.”
The Scottish Government has a target of 35,000 new build social homes over the next five years. they would all need to be fitted with sprinklers under Mr Stewart’s plan.