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4.
July
2017.
Fire Safety in Council high rise blocks in Cardiff

Fire Safety in Council high rise blocks in Cardiff

Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London, there is naturally concern about high rise safety in the city. 

Fire safety is of the utmost importance to the Council and the housing service has a dedicated team fully trained on fire safety issues.

A Fire Safety Management Plan is in place and fire risk assessments are carried out on all high rise blocks annually and reviewed by qualified staff every six months.

Joint training exercises with South Wales Fire and Rescue Service take place at our high rise flats blocks to strengthen our procedures and dailyfire safety checks are carried out by caretakers to ensure all communal areas are kept clear of any objects which could catch fire or help a fire to spread.

The Council has nine high rise blocks of flats:

·         Lydstep Flats, Gabalfa (3 blocks)

·         Beech House & Sycamore House, Hollybush Estate, Whitchurch

·         Loudoun and Nelson House, Butetown

·         Channel View, Grangetown

·         The Maelfa, Llanedeyrn

Each block is built to be fire proof and able to contain a fire within the individual flat where it starts. Extensive checks take place each time our high rise flats become vacant to ensure the compartmentation between flats is suitable and sufficient to stop fire spreading between flats.

All flats have smoke detectors fitted and these are checked annually.A gas safety check is also carried out annually.

Council high rises have sprinklers in the bin chutes which are a particular risk, but not elsewhere in the building.  The need for sprinklers will be discussed further with the Fire Service.

 

Several of our high-rise blocks were over clad in the early 1990s using traditional fire-retardant materials, different from those used in London.

 

As the safety of our tenants is our utmost concern, the Council has engaged an independent firm of consultants to review the integrity of existing cladding systems.

 

The visual tests have been completed and we can confirm that it isn't the same material as that used in London. A fuller survey is being compiled by the independent contractor and the results will be available to us this week.

 

No new cladding will be used on high rise blocks until a full review has been completed and further consultation has taken place.

 

All fire safety procedures are of course under review in the light of the tragic events at Grenfell tower and lessons learnt will be monitored as more information becomes available.