Fire safety at tower block
An independent company has been hired to review fire safety measures at a tower block in the St Albans District following the Grenfell Tower catastrophe.
The full-scale fire risk assessment will be undertaken within the next two weeks at 13-storey Telford Court, in Alma Road, St Albans, and every year thereafter.
An initial review carried out by St Albans City and District Council last week did not raise any issues.
Telford Court is the only high-rise building of six-storeys or more owned by the Council. It has 60 flats with a handful in private ownership.
Councillor Brian Ellis, Portfolio Holder for Housing, gave an update on its condition to a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet on Thursday 22 June.
He visited Telford Court on Tuesday to meet with the Residents’ Association and also to see the fire safety measures for himself.
“I spoke to the Chair of the Resident’s Association who said that there were no safety concerns,” he said.
“It is not possible to be 100% certain that fires cannot occur, but I believe that the safety measures in place at Telford Court comply with best practice and Fire Service advice.”
Combustible cladding has been blamed for the ferocity of the fire at Grenfell Court in west London.
However, a building inspection has already confirmed that no external cladding has been fitted to Telford Court. The outside walls are made of nonflammable concrete panels.
Cllr Ellis said a number of initiatives have already been undertaken since the Grenfell Tower disaster to reassure residents of the block which was built in 1969.
These have included visits by Council officers and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
A leaflet containing fire safety advice, which has been checked by the Fire Service, will be reissued to all tenants and leaseholders
Cllr Ellis said fires could potentially start in two places - individual flats or the bin store.
Each Council flat has smoke detectors and a self-closing front door which is fire resistant for half an hour.
Outside is a similar door leading to the lift lobby, then another fire door leading into the stairway which would be the escape route.
The stairway has concrete stairs and fire resistant wall paint while each lobby has a fire alarm that is tested weekly.
The storeroom where the communal bins are located has sprinklers and an automatic device to close the rubbish chute in the event of fire and fire resistant doors.
Cllr Ellis said the Council had provided details of its one tower block to the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) at its request.
It will also alert owners of any privately-owned residential tower blocks in the District to the DCLG’s latest advice on cladding or other issues.
He added: “Grenfell Tower was an appalling event and I believe we have responded to it very quickly and in the right way by carrying out checks on our own high rise.
“These checks have confirmed that the fire safety measures in place are sound and the conversations I had on site have shown that people had confidence in them.”
Councillor contact:
Councillor Brian Ellis, Portfolio Holder for Housing for St Albans City and District Council.
Email: Cllr.B.Ellis@stalbans.gov.uk
Tel: 01727-866100
Media contact:
John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City and District Council.
E-mail: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk
Tel: 01727 296130