WHAT DOZE YOU DO...?
Flat owners pay for fire marshalls who nap & smoke.. and are looking for love, not fires
FLAT-OWNERS trapped in the cladding safety scandal are paying a fortune for “useless” waking watch fire marshals – some of whom even sleep on the job.
Leaseholders in around 1,500 blocks with fire safety defects have to fork out thousands of pounds a month for the 24-hour patrols.
But residents claim they have caught guards dozing, browsing on phones, and skiving, as our pictures appear to show.
One female owner claims a marshal asked her out and that another harassed young women.
Shockingly, some furious residents allege they have even caught guards smoking.
At one block, a blaze broke out in a cabin used by marshals.
Steph Pike, 30, is among 109 leaseholders and tenants at the Milliners building, in Bristol, where having two guards on site round the clock costs £18,000 a month.
The converted office block needs a £7.6million fix after Grenfell-style flammable insulation and other defects were found.
Steph was shocked to spot one marshal in his car when he was meant to be keeping them safe.
The lawyer told the Sunday Mirror: “It’s just been a nightmare from the start. From day one, they were supposed to patrol every corridor, every hour, and they haven’t been.
“Instead they’ve just been sat in the lobby, using the heating and charging their phones.
“Every time I leave the building they’re sat down on their phones and it’s infuriating it’s costing £4,500 a week for a service not being provided.
“Quite often we see them walking past on the other side of the road. This week, one said, ‘I’ve been looking at your Instagram’. He asked if he could follow me. We’ve already had one removed for harassment. He was messaging girls and would walk with them if they left the building.
“Previously one asked me out for dinner. It’s getting to a point where it is really uncomfortable.
“They don’t take it seriously. They’re just useless.”
Triton Security, which provides the patrols, did not respond to the Sunday Mirror’s requests for a comment.
But freeholder Grey GR said reports of improper conduct were “taken seriously”.
It said it was providing the cost of a fire alarm system, which will make the patrols redundant.
A spokesman for the company said: “All issues that are raised are relayed through the managing agents, who investigate directly with the service provider.”
Leaseholders campaigning to end the cladding scandal claim other pictures show marshals asleep and smoking in prohibited areas.
The Sunday Mirror has seen evidence of a patrol seemingly asleep in a Hertfordshire block and one browsing his phone in North London.
On one occasion in February, a fire
broke out in a cabin used by fire marshals at a development in south east London. Fire crews were called to reports of smoke from a guard’s cabin, under combustible balconies at New Haddo, Greenwich.
Six guards on site at the complex cost £80,000 a month.
Ace Securities & Services, which operates the patrols, said its guards did not cause the February alert and claimed that a faulty fan was responsible for the fire.
Waking watches were introduced after the 2017 Grenfell Fire tragedy, which killed 72 people.
The financial burden on tenants and leaseholders can add up to £500
per month to service charge bills. Despite the cost, guards often have minimal or no fire safety training.
Fire chiefs in London last month revealed 901 buildings in the capital currently have 24-hour patrols.
A Government review has suggested fire risk could be managed with alarms or sprinklers instead.
But campaign group End Our Cladding Scandal said it doubted waking watches would “suddenly be called off ”.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was approached for comment.