Student halls subject to fire safety probe
COUNCIL CONFIRMS THEY ARE CHECKING CLADDING
HOSPITALS are continuing to carry out fire safety tests in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster. The fallout from the tragedy in west London, which has so far claimed 80 lives, has prompted fire safety reviews of thousands of buildings across the UK. The focus was at first on high-rise residential properties but now public service buildings, student accommodation and even sports grounds are coming under scrutiny. Property managers, local authorities and the fire service are trying to identify whether buildings feature aluminium composite material cladding, which is partly blamed for allowing the Grenfell Tower fire to spread so quickly. NHS Improvement wrote to all trusts, which are responsible for managing hospitals, on June 19, informing them that they all must audit their fire safety procedures and standards. As previously reported, Sunderland was identified as needing urgent checks but the trust now says it is confident any cladding on its buildings doesn’t pose a fire risk. A spokesperson for City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust provided an update on its safety checks. The spokesperson said: “We have undertaken precautionary fire safety checks with the Tyne and Wear Fire Service and can confirm that none of the cladding on our in patient buildings is the same as on Grenfell Tower. “All of our premises are inspected independently by the local Fire Authority on a monthly basis, as well as being regularly inspected by the Trust’s safety team and fire wardens. “We are feeding this information back to NHS Improvement and are confident that our buildings pose no immediate fire risk.” A spokesperson for the Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust confirmed it was not among the organisations which were deemed at a higher risk. The Trust added that it is in the process of carrying out appropriate checks and these will be completed “very shortly”. Steven Bannister, director of estates and facilities at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust was working with the fire service to “carry out the checks as soon as possible”. And South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust has completed a full audit which revealed no concerns. A spokesperson said: “We have checked the fabric of all of our buildings and they are fully compliant with fire safety regulations.” The Government is under pressure to broaden out the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster to look at the issue of fire safety in public buildings. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for a two-part inquiry, the first looking at specific issues around the Grenfell Tower fire with a second part “looking at the national issues”. Reporter AN investigation has been launched to identify potentially lethal student accommodation in Newcastle.
Newcastle City Council has confirmed it is carrying out a desk-based probe to check the materials used on all buildings in the city over 18m tall following the Grenfell Tower tragedy which left 80 dead.
The news comes as Downing, the firm which runs Verde student accommodation, on Pitt Street, has confirmed the presence of aluminium composite material (ACM) panels on the building.
The building is home to 544 students from Newcastle and Northumbria University.
The panels, similar to the ones used on Grenfell Tower, have come under scrutiny since the fatal fire and already St James’ Point, also on Pitt Street, has confirmed ACM panels will be removed.
Six other blocks of student accommodation are also of ‘serious concern’ to the authority including:
Tyne Student Living on City Road,
three blocks at the Liberty Plaza North complex on Wellington Street
one block at the Liberty Plaza South on Bath Lane
Discussions are under way with landlords over fire tests. However, it is as yet unclear if the materials are the same as those used on Grenfell Tower.
Downing said while the Verde building will be stripped of cladding, another of its properties, The View, has been confirmed as safe.
A spokesperson said: “In line with our commitment to resident safety and comfort, we immediately instructed a root and branch review of the design, construction and fire management processes of all the buildings we operate, on the day after the Grenfell fire.
“Following this investigation, while our residential property The View is unaffected, ACM panels have been identified on part of our Verde property in Newcastle.
“We are confident that the existing fire safety provision is of an