Fire engine outside f lats for 24 hours a day ‘to prevent a new Grenfell’

‘I want to move out’

A BLOCK of flats is being kept under 24-hour watch by firefighters after it was found to be covered in dangerous Grenfell Tower-style cladding.

The round-the-clock guard is being paid for by taxpayers after the seven- storey building failed two safety tests.

A fire engine and crew are now permanently stationed outside Nova House in Slough, Berkshire, to protect the block’s 200 residents. The watch – which is said to cost taxpayers up to £2,000 a day – has been ordered by Slough Council despite the fact that the nearest fire station is a mile away.

Combustible cladding was found on the privately- owned building during checks following June’s Grenfell Tower tragedy in West London, which claimed around 80 lives.

The 1980s building’s underground car park was also found to have no fireproofing and has been completely closed off.

Resident Ionica Atomei, an administration worker for a construction firm, said she is planning to move out because of the fire safety concerns.

The 34- year- old said: ‘ It’s clearly not safe here so I want to move out. If it was safe we wouldn’t need firefighters to be parked outside 24 hours a day.

‘It’s really scary to think about what could happen but with the cladding failing tests, what happened at Grenfell Tower could happen here.

‘The whole thing is just totally bonkers. Whoever heard of a building needing a fire engine to sit outside it all the time. If it’s not safe people shouldn’t be here so I’m looking to move out as soon as possible.’

Primary school teacher Sophie Hillyard, 22, added: ‘It’s a bit unnerving to have the fire engine there all the time. It’s good that the council are dealing with it, but if it’s really that dangerous should we still be living here?’

Yesterday a council spokesman said the costly watch would ‘minimise disruption’ to residents who would not be able to On watch: Fire engine at Nova House. Left: Grenfell Tower continue living in the block without it. The spokesman added that Slough does not have ‘spare housing’, ruling out the option of re-housing residents of the block’s 68 flats.

The 24-hour fire cover is being provided by a private firm after initially being undertaken by Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue. A firefighter for Event Fire Solutions, the firm contracted by the council, said: ‘We’re all fully-qualified firefighters.

‘We all know what happened to Grenfell Tower and we all know there’s a risk [of the same thing happening elsewhere].’

The council is now trying to buy the freehold of Nova House, which is managed by property company The Ringley Group, to safety-proof it properly. Councillor Sohail Munawar, leader of the council, said: ‘We have been concerned about the fire safety at Nova House since the terrible tragedy at Grenfell Tower and have been closely monitoring the situation.

‘Unfortunately it has now got to the stage where we feel, to protect the safety of the residents now and in the longer term, we have to intervene directly and take over responsibility for Nova House.

‘There is a great deal of work that needs to be done to bring Nova House up to the correct safety standards and we do not believe the current freeholder has the capacity to do what is needed for the residents.

‘As Slough residents, our duty is to protect them and ensure their safety and this is what has driven this decision.’