Firefighters dodged falling debris in fire which claimed life of disabled man
IT was the high-rise fire which first raised concerns over cladding on tower blocks.
One man died and five people, including a 15-month-old child, had to be rescued by firemen after a blaze tore through nine floors at Garnock Court in Irvine.
Witnesses told how the flames leapt up yellow-coloured cladding on the corners of the block, taking just five minutes to spread.
The 1999 blaze prompted a Parliamenary inquiry into tower block cladding, which recommended a much tougher testing regime and the use of non-combustible materials.
Last night the fire brigade Watch Manager who battled the blaze in the 14-storey block said it was the worst he ever encountered.
John Moffat, now 55 and retired, remembers the blaze to this day.
“It’s one of the worst fires I ever dealt with. We had to go up to the 12th floor to deal with it. It was really scary.
“We could see the blaze from Troon.
“There were 15 or 20 fire engines and there were aerial platforms that rescued people from different floors.
“There were parts of the cladding dropping on to the first appliance that could not be moved as it was supplying the firefighters with water.
“The fire spread very quickly. It was a significant fire.
“It was very frightening and that was small-scale compared to what happened in London.”
John said the Irvine blaze went from about the third or fourth floor up to the 12th.
He and his colleagues were inside the block tackling the blaze on the 12th floor as it continued to burn on the outside of the building below.
John said he and a group of colleagues were tasked with firefighting while another group searched the building to get people out.
He said: “It was very arduous and tiring. We were carrying hoses up manually because we couldn’t use the lifts.
“We had to dodge falling debris on the way in and out of the building.”
One resident, disabled Alexander Linton, aged 55, died in the blaze.
The fire prompted Westminster’s environment, transport and regional affairs committee to carry out an inquiry in 2000.
The committee looked into the potential risk of fire spread in buildings through external cladding systems, calling 14 witnesses. Its final report concluded: “We do not believe it should take a serious fire in which many people are killed before all reasonable steps are taken towards minimising the risks.
“All external cladding systems should be required either to be entirely noncombustible or to be proven through fullscale testing not to pose an unacceptable level of risk in terms of fire spread.”
John said the fire was similar to London in as much as it was a tower block blaze that spread from floor to floor.
However, he said the Irvine fire was “nowhere near” the severity of the devastating London incident.
He said: “London reminded me of the fire in Irvine but not to the same extent.
“The firefighters in London must have gone through so much more than we did.
A North Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “we would like to reassure residents that health and safety is an absolute priority for the Council.
“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service conduct quarterly inspections of all our residential high rise buildings, in addition to our own maintenance and inspection regimes. Residents are also encouraged to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to arrange a free home fire safety visit.
“A North Ayrshire Council tenant sadly died in a house fire in one of our high-rise flats in 1999.
“The decision to replace the in-fill panels was taken immediately and the works were completed shortly afterwards. Investigations following the event were instrumental in bringing about a change in the regulations.”