EXCLUSIVE: Anger at Grenfell sprinkler delays which are fitted in just one in FIVE tower blocks

The cost of sprinklers is estimated at 500,000 per block. Birmingham City Council has spent 93million on 181 systems in its stock of 188 high-rises 64% of the sprinkler installations in the survey.

16:37, 01 Jul 2023

[0_Automatic-Fire-Sprinkler-in-red-water-pipe-System.jpg]

View 3 Images

Only one in five social housing tower blocks has been fitted with lifesaving sprinklers, it has emerged. (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Only one in five social housing tower blocks has been fitted with lifesaving sprinklers, it has emerged.

Six years after the Grenfell fire, in which 72 people died, only 18.9% of 1,768 council and housing association high-rises in England have them.

And just 12% have been retrofitted with fire alarms, Inside Housing magazine found via Freedom of Information requests.

It comes after a 2013 inquiry on the Lakanal House fire in Camberwell, South London, which killed six in 2009, advised that social landlords fit sprinklers.

And after Grenfell, in West London, ministers were urged to retrofit alarms.

But while sprinklers and manual fire alarms are required in new blocks, there is no obligation to retrofit older ones.

[0_Tower-block-fire-in-London.jpg]

View 3 Images

Ministers were urged to retrofit alarms after the Grenfell disaster(Image: PA)

The cost of sprinklers is estimated at 500,000 per block. Birmingham City Council has spent 93million on 181 systems in its stock of 188 high-rises 64% of the sprinkler installations in the survey.

In Brighton, projects have been hit by delays and retired bricklayer Reginald Riley, 65, who lives in 14-storey Tyson Place, fears lives are at risk. He said: Nothing has been done. They should pull their finger out.

Inside Housings Peter Apps said: After Grenfell, the Government said, Never again. But fine words have not led to real action.

Danielle Gregory, of campaigners Tower Blocks UK, added: Nearly 14 years [after Lakanal], the Government has not implemented these recommendations. Sprinklers save lives and we are calling on it to make them mandatory and provide funds.

[0_unnamed-1.jpg]

View 3 Images

Reginald Riley, 65, said work was long overdue and branded the lack of safety work despicable

Brighton & Hove City Council said delays at two blocks were because the consensus of residents was against installations, adding that it was investing 13million in safety measures in its homes.

Housing chair Cllr Gill Williams said: Were investing 13 million in building, fire and other health and safety measures in council homes to get ahead of new national regulations expected to come in next spring.

After Grenfell we consulted extensively on proposals for sprinkler retro-fitting schemes with residents at two council blocks.

The blocks had been selected by the East Sussex Fire & Rescue service as being the most appropriate for retro-fitting.

The consensus of residents was against the proposed installations.

The reasons for this included concerns around potential leaks and residents not wanting sprinkler heads in all rooms.

The fire doors at Tyson Place are compliant with national standards, and we will be upgrading them later this year based on the latest government advice.

We carry out fire risk assessments on all our blocks, and have just started a programme of enhanced assessments for all high rise blocks to help us prioritise further improvements.

We are more than happy to explain our extensive safety programme to any residents of our council blocks who have concerns and would like reassurance.

A Government spokesperson said people must be and feel safe in their homes.

They added: We have introduced changes so that more new buildings must have sprinkler systems.

Recommendations about individual buildings should be made by independent assessors with the right expertise.

Article continues below

We are committed to enhancing the safety of all residents as we ensure existing buildings have suitable and sufficient fire risk assessments in place.

[Daily Mirror Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Mirror as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

[Google Preferred Source Badge]

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.