High-rise buildings to be inspected

SAFETY:

South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has released a list of all high-rise residential buildings to be inspected for fire safety, after an internal review.

The service is undertaking a “Building Risk Review” project, inspecting all highrise residential buildings to ensure they comply with fire safety regulations.

SOUTH Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has released a list of all high-rise residential buildings to be inspected for fire safety, following an internal review.

The service is undertaking a “Building Risk Review” project, inspecting all high-rise residential buildings to ensure they comply with fire safety regulations.

The list includes buildings identified by central government plus extra buildings identified by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (SYFRS) – which made the decision to include all buildings of six storeys and over.

SYFRS said the buildings are on the list because of their height, not because they are automatically deemed unsafe.

From an original list of 300 buildings, the service said there are now less than 70 left to be inspected.

SYFRS area manager Simon Dunker said: “It’s really important for residents to understand that this list does not mean that those buildings are inherently unsafe – just that we want to ensure we have accurate, up-to-date information on these buildings and are able to provide this information to government.

“Like all fire and rescue services, the Government issued us with a list of high-rise residential buildings for which they have requested further information.

“Having cross-referenced this list with our own local information, the list of buildings we are inspecting as part of this work has grown to beyond those which are simply over 18 metres high.

“This is because we want to be really clear about what is and isn’t in scope and be as thorough as we can possibly be.

“We have invested in a dedicated inspection team to complete this work and intend to complete it as quickly and as thoroughly

as we can, to ensure the ongoing safety of residents in South Yorkshire.

“We are well on course to have completed this work before the end of December 2021.

“We hope this work will provide reassurance to residents in the wake of the initial findings of the Grenfell inquiry and illustrates resident safety remains our priority. Where we identify an issue with a building, we will then work with building owners and managers to ensure any necessary work is carried out.”

The investigation follows a fire in June 2017 in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of flats in North Kensington, west London, which caused 72 deaths, including those of two victims who later died in hospital.

More than 70 others were injured and 223 people escaped. It was the deadliest structural fire in the UK since the 1988 Piper Alpha disaster.