Council reassures tenants over fire safety regulations

A BARROW-upon-Soar resident has contacted the Echo as he fears “something similar” to the Grenfell Tower fire may happen in Charnwood as he believes the material used by the council to clad thousands of properties is unsuitable.

But Charnwood Borough Council states the materials it has used meets all fire safety regulations.

The resident, who does not wish to be named, told the Echo he owns properties and used to working in the building trade.

He said he fears tragedy may strike in the area as he has inspected the materials the council used to install cladding at a neighbour’s house.

The resident said: “Having looked closely at the stuff it appears to be glass fibre with mineral wool inside.

“The problem with the wool is when it’s first applied it’s treated with a chemical that slows down combustion but the chemical deteriorates with age.

“In five to six years it becomes extremely flammable. I worry we’re going to have something bad happen to a family around here.”

A spokesperson for Charnwood Borough Council said: “We understand that residents are worried about materials used on their council property following the Grenfell Tower fire.

“The government investigation into materials used at Grenfell is ongoing, however as it stands as far as we’re aware we have not used any materials on our properties that appear to have been used on Grenfell Tower.

“We are writing to residents living in around 1,000 properties in the borough which do have cladding.

“We want to reassure residents that when we let our homes we make sure that they all meet fire safety regulations.

“We will be providing residents with information about the materials used on their property, along with fire safety advice.

“We will also check the condition of the cladding to ensure it’s compliant, as part of our planned maintenance programme.”