Fire safety Tower residents claim ‘huge win’
PEOPLE living in several Bristol tower blocks say they have scored an important victory in their campaign for better fire safety, as they held a vigil and protest to mark two months since the fatal fire at Twinnell House.
The residents of the tower blocks of Easton, Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill have been calling on Bristol City Council to step up fire safety measures following the fire on September 25, which killed Abdul Jabar Oryakhel and injured half a dozen other residents.
After several more fires at other tower blocks in the area, council chiefs have agreed to replace potentially dangerous cladding, deploy ‘waking watch’ wardens overnight and ‘speed up’ the delivery of a 2019 pledge to install sprinkler systems in each flat in a tower block. But now, the tower block campaigners, who are part of community union Acorn, say they have secured a bigger pledge and say council housing chief Tom Renhard has agreed to install sprinkler systems in every single tower block in the city.
That pledge, which has not been confirmed by the council, is thought to be due to be announced in January, could cost the council another £10 million – more than double the amount pledged in January 2019 when a programme to install sprinklers in some of the most vulnerable tower blocks was announced. Earlier this month, a
Bristol Live investigation revealed that since the January 2019 announcement of a programme of sprinkler system installation, only one tower block – Butler House in St George – actually had sprinklers installed. The programme ran into delays in 2019 and 2020, but council chiefs have refused to explain why. Since work began at Butler House more than two years ago, no other tower blocks have had sprinklers installed, with money for the programme apparently unspent.
Acorn say they are celebrating obtaining a pledge from housing chief Mr Renhard to install sprinklers in every tower block, and described it as a ‘huge win.’
Speaking after a vigil for Abdul Jabar to mark the two months since the fatal fire at Twinnell House,
Amran Arab, who lives in Corbett House, said: “As a mother of an autistic daughter living in a tower block, I always have extra anxiety around fire safety.
“It’s about time Bristol City Council looked after their most vulnerable tenants. This Acorn campaign has given me the platform I need to voice all my concerns and I would encourage every Bristolian to get behind it as we all have families, friends, colleagues, students, patients, clients and many more, living in such accommodation.”
Another Acorn member at the vigil was Ahmed Sharif, who lived in Twinnell House at the time of the fire, said: “The game’s changed since the community got together with Acorn. We’ve seen real commitments from the council that are dreams come true for many tower residents.”
Barton House resident Shaban Ali said: “It shouldn’t have taken this long or needed to turn into a battle for the council as well as the mayor to see common sense and stick to promises made in 2019, post-Grenfell, but we’re ecstatic our collective voice, along with the backing and support of Acorn, has been heard and finally action is being taken to make buildings safe. Families and their loved ones can now sleep easy.”
Residents in the tower blocks of BS5 held two public meetings to discuss fire safety after the Twinnell House fire, and empty-chaired Bristol City Council, Marvin Rees and Mr Renhard at both as they were invited but did not attend.