Inferno prompts safety checks on flats
COUNCIL CHIEFS START EXTRA TOWER BLOCK ASSESSMENTS ACROSS CITY
HOUSING associations are carrying out safety checks at high-rise flats across Greater Manchester after the horrific blaze at Grenfell Tower in west London.
Council chiefs in Manchester said fire safety was being reviewed at all council-owned and housing association residential blocks in the city.
The review will include enhanced fire risk checks and fire alarm checks.
Deputy town hall leader, Coun Bernard Priest, said: “Residents should not be unduly concerned. These check are on top of the regular safety checks carried out on residential buildings.”
Twelve people were last night confirmed dead and more than 70 others were injured after flames tore up the 24-storey residential tower block in north Kensington during the early hours of yesterday morning.
The fire left people trapped on upper floors and police said the death toll was expected to rise.
Grenfell Tower, built in the 1970s, had been recently refurbished in a £8.6m project which saw new cladding and windows installed.
The construction firm involved said the modernisation work ‘met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards’ as an investigation into the cause began.
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, meanwhile, moved to reassure residents in our region and said every high rise building in Greater Manchester is subjected to a detailed assessment. Assistant county fire officer Geoff Harris said officers and crews regularly visit each building to familiarise themselves with layout in case of a fire, but he added: “We would urge everyone to ensure they have a working smoke alarm and if your smoke alarm sounds, or if you become aware of a fire in another flat, our advice is to get out, stay out and then call us out.”
Northwards Housing, which manages more than 13,000 homes for the council in north Manchester, said robust fire safety systems were in place in all properties but confirmed that following the tragedy, a ‘full review’ of arrangements would be carried out.
The stance was echoed by other housing associations and councils.
Salix Homes in Salford operates high-rise tower blocks across the city and confirmed a number of them have recently undergone multi-million pound refurbishments. Bosses said they would be working with the fire service and other Greater Manchester housing providers to ‘look at any lessons that can be learnt’ in the wake of the London disaster.
Trafford Housing Trust, meanwhile, said it had carried out checks of cladding at all the high-rise blocks yesterday morning. A spokesman said: “We have checked the construction of the cladding on our high-rise towers and can confirm that the cladding systems are different to the cladding system used on the tower in London.”