Tower block safety checks after Grenfell fire

Sheffield City Council is making additional safety checks to tower blocks in the city following the Grenfell Tower fire in London.

Checks will be carried out this week by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue officers, who already assess the buildings on a regular basis.

Twenty one of council’s 24 tower blocks have fire-proof metal cladding, insulated with mineral and rock wool, with fire breaks at the floor and party walls.

The other three are brickwork-clad and designed to operate in the same way as the other 21 but in these cases have a separate metal fire barrier installed.

The fire at Grenfell Tower in London has claimed 79 lives at the time of writing. The 24-storey tower block caght fire last Wednesday and it burned for 24 hours before more than 200 firefighters were able to contain it. Significant saftey concerns were raised prior to the fire.

Councillor Jayne Dunn, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety at Sheffield City Council, said: “We know people might be worried if they live in a tower block and, while we don’t yet know why this terrible fire happened, I think it would reassure residents to know that the fire service will be conducting a risk assessment of all our tower blocks.

“This is purely precautionary. I also want to reassure people that the type of cladding used at Grenfell Tower, which is currently the source of such speculation, is categorially not used in any properties in Sheffield. All of our cladding is fire proof.

“We have also contacted tenants to remind them of our fire safety advice. Although we don’t yet know the cause of this tragic fire, we want to do all we can to ensure that our tower blocks here in Sheffield are safe.

“Once we know the reasons for disaster, if we need to change any arrangements to keep tenants safe then we will.”

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