Why sprinklers are a must for tower blocks
FIREFIGHTERS AND TRADE ASSOCIATION SAY MOVE SAVES LIVES
IT would cost less to install sprinkler systems in every flat in a highrise block than to buy each of them a new three-piece suite, it has been claimed.
British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), which has backed our call to have high-rise flats retro-fitted with sprinklers, believe it could cost as little as £1,150 per flat to safeguard against fire.
BAFSA, and leading firefighters, argue sprinklers are the most effective way to prevent tragedies such as Grenfell Tower.
Our What Price Life? campaign, calls for high-rise flats to be retrofitted with sprinklers as part of improved fire safety for residents, and demands central government help councils pay for the work. Why? Because, despite consensus that sprinklers are the most effective way of stopping a fire from spreading, they are installed in just two of Tyne and Wear’s 112 high-rise blocks.
And, although other parts of the UK have tighter fire safety laws, rules in England don’t force developers to put this right.
Alan Robson, chief assistant fire officer for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said he is in no doubt that sprinklers are the best fire prevention tool.
He stressed they must be seen as part of a wider range of fire safety measures, though it is too early to say if they could have prevented what happened at Grenfell Tower.
He added: “What we would say is that sprinklers save lives and we would encourage housing providers through our normal partnership working arrangements to think about installing sprinklers in the domestic properties that they’re responsible for.”
That message has been echoed nationally. Roy Wilsher, chairman of the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), said: “Sprinklers are the most effective way to ensure that fires are suppressed – or even extinguished – before the fire service can arrive. The cost of installation is estimated to be about 1-2% of the total cost of construction, and ongoing maintenance costs are minimal. “However, it is very important in the case of Grenfell Tower that we do not speculate on whether the retro-fitting of sprinklers would have affected the outcome of this fire – there is an investigation underway and the government has also called for an inquiry into the fire.” Retro-fitting is often dismissed as expensive and impractical, but BAFSA claim that’s misleading. In a bid to prove to housing providers how simple and cost effective retro-fitting can be, they retrofitted Callow Mount, a 1960s tower block in Sheffield, in 2012. And residents did not need to leave their homes while work was carried out.
They help save lives and reduce injuries, protect firefighters who attend incidents and reduce the amount of damage Roy Wilsher
Work on the 13-storey building took four weeks and the average cost for a one-bedroom flat was just under £1,150.
Keith MacGillivray MBE, BAFSA chief executive, said: “For many years, BAFSA has campaigned for sprinklers to be retro-fitted in tower blocks and other residential buildings.
“We know it is economical and practical to retro-fit sprinklers and we are pleased to support the Newcastle Chronicle’s endeavours to ensure that all tower block residents in the North East have the most robust fire protection available, and have worked closely with Tyne and Wear Fir e and Rescue Service to that end.
“After all, a modern three-piece suite can cost more than the installation of fire sprinklers”.
It’s tough to say how much it would cost to retro-fit all the highrise blocks in Tyne and Wear, but it could cost somewhere in the region of £16m to do it for the North East’s 112 blocks.
It’s estimated that it would have cost £200,000 to do it for Grenfell Tower. The Chronicle is calling for government to make money available so that local authorities can set about carrying out the life-saving work.
Residents of high-rise buildings in Newcastle are planning to protest to councillors on today (Wednesday). The demonstration has been called for by a protest group set up by tenants of Riverside Dene, off Scotswood Road, who are demanding better safety standards in social housing.
Tenants are aiming to put pressure on their landlord, Your Homes Newcastle, the arm’s length body who manage social housing on behalf of Newcastle City Council.
Residents demanded Your Homes Newcastle review safety standards of their homes and retrofit sprinklers.
The group is planning to meet outside of Newcastle Civic Centre at 5.15pm ahead of the 6pm meeting of full council.
Tenants in Grenfell Tower repeatedly warned they felt fire safety standards were not up to scratch in the months before the fire.
Your Homes Newcastle residents say they want to make sure there isn’t the same sort of breakdown in communication in Newcastle.
Hannah Reid, 22, one of the organisers of the protest, said: “We’ve already got Your Homes Newcastle to speak to us and they’ve promised that the fire service will come out and assess our buildings.
“Now we want to talk to the council leader so we know he is listening to our concerns.”
Tina Drury, Managing Director, Your Homes Newcastle, said: ““I’d like to reassure YHN residents that we are listening to their concerns, and taking action where necessary - their safety is our highest priority.”