Big cladding fire at a student accommodation block in Bolton. Luckily it sounds like no-one was hurt, but it seems as if many of the students have lost all their stuff. Will be interesting to hear what safety checks had been carried out on the building post-Grenfell.
Comments
When will these twats remove that murderous stuff from buildings?
The one slight consolation is that if ever there was a 'good' time for a fire in student accommodation, Friday night is probably it as most students would be out on the p***
but agreed with
there are thousands of properties with exposure
we did a job 7 years ago where we did a smoke test and managed to set the fire alarm in the building next door. When we investigated we found there was no fire stopping at all in a steel frame building. If one had a fire that would have come down. These were not cheap and cheerful properties either - these were £1m each
unfortunately many companies have gone to the wall now as they simply can’t get PI insurance. I know of a Company who were paying £20,000 per year / and then right after Grenfell it jumped to £200,000. People can’t pay that so there is nobody to do the remedial work anyway.
shambles
The government have done nothing, zilch, nada! Tens of thousands still live in potential death traps and some are even being challenged to pay for the removal of defective, flammable cladding.
This might be too big a step for some, but the Government have done nothing because they are either incompetent or, more likely, they do not believe in intervention! Regulations and enforced compliance are simply not in their DNA since they believe the market will resolve such matters.
As for the comment above about the race and nationality of the students in Bolton, that just shows how a significant minority think. What's more scary is that this weekend there will be more coverage of Prince Andrew than this fire.
Can you provide a link any Fire Authority has abandoned the stay put advice? https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/Stay-Put-position
Governement has provided £200m for ACM cladding replacement. Can you provide a link to any leaseholder who has been charged for cladding replacement? https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-fund-and-speed-up-vital-cladding-replacement.
Government are quite rightly leaving it to the 'experts' to decide the best way forward before introducing new legislation.
Agree with your last paragraph.
My organisation had ACM cladding on four blocks - 2 of six stories and 2 of four stories (two in Coulsdon, one in Sydenham and one in Southampton. All have had the cladding removed and replaced at no cost to any leaseholders and outside any requirement from Government, Local Authorities or LFRS, our Primary Partner.
It is encased in its own sealed lift shaft, it has a separate and clean electricity supply a minimum of one hour fire protection in the shaft and its own separate motor room.
https://www.ukfrs.com/promos/16844
Never heard of that before.
I suspect whoever got out using a lift shouldn't have used it. All lifts should have these on the outside.
A Lendlease spokesperson said: “We can confirm residents will not need to pay for the costs of replacement cladding. The process, which has involved multiple companies, has taken longer than anyone would have liked, and we regret how unsettling it has been for residents.”
https://www.ctbuh.org/news/constructor-freeholder-liable-for-replacing-cladding-at-manchesters-green-quarter/
I think it's more the fact that it's been a massive part of my life since Grenfell!
Actually I do but if I said what I really mean I'd probably get banned
the government are surely responsible for the overall approach, as well as response to previous tragedies.
Although this is before the second phase of the Grenfell inquiry, it appears that the inspection regime is both fractured and also exposed to a large amount of self certification. In other words, a joined up approach to this and other matters will help in making matters safer and better.
Beyond this I can't comment on the specifics of either this latest incident nor the overall safety framework so will bow out, thankful that there were no fatalities. Over time it will become more clear as to what the fire brigade have changed since Grenfell and fully accept that if my assertion above is materially inaccurate then one should amend / withdraw.
All local authorities, no matter who runs them operate the same way.