Tower blocks safe, say council chiefs
Housing checks to reassure tenants after London tragedy
High- rise families have been told their homes are safe following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Renfrewshire Council ordered fire tests at 14 blocks after the London blaze killed at least 80 people.
The local authority owns and manages 13 buildings in Paisley and one in Johnstone.
Engineers have carried out fire safety tests on cladding at each site and is installing fire alarms.
A communities, housing and planning policy board report revealed the results.
It stated: “Checks have been carried out to ensure that the materials used comply with the terms of the building warrants issued for each of the 14 blocks, and it has been confirmed that there is no cladding of the type used at Grenfell Tower on any of the 14 blocks.
“Given that works on the cladding on five of the blocks took place over 20 years ago, arrangements were made for a specialist contractor to inspect the condition of these panels and carry out additional combustion tests.
“Initial results have confirmed that the materials used comply with the relevant building regulations but the final assessment of the materials is expected in the next few weeks as the results have been delayed due to the number of tests that are currently being carried out for a range of landlords.
“Council properties have had 60- minute fire resistant doors fitted, and steps are currently being taken to ensure that the 11 tenants who had previously refused to have these doors fitted allow this work to proceed.
“A visual inspection of doors of privately-owned flats within each of the blocks has been carried out.
“Where it has been noted that the door that has been fitted may not meet the required standards, contact has been made with the owner concerned to offer advice and assistance.”
All individual council- owned flats have hard-wired smoke alarms fitted.
Communal systems are in place at nine of the towers and are serviced by a specialist contractor.
Work is under way to extend this to each building.
Daily checks are carried out by concierge staff, with quarterly inspection visits to all blocks from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
Dry risers, hydrants, fire doors and bin stores are checked on a regular basis.
Fears over safety at multi-storey blocks were sparked after a blaze tore through London’s Grenfell Tower on June 14.
Dozens were confirmed dead, with scores more still unaccounted for.
A public inquiry will get under way next month to determine the cause of the fire.
Flames are believed to have spread due to flammable materials covering the outside of the building.
Councils across the UK have launched their own investigations to determine whether the same cladding has been used when renovating high flats in their areas.