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Flat fire fears spark Norwich letterboxes check
This makes a change, council being proactive !
Letterboxes in hundreds of Norwich flats could need to be replaced or altered because of fire fears following a fatal blaze in London.
Six people, including three children, died in July after a blaze at Lakanal House, a 50-year-old 12-storey block of flats in Camberwell.
That fire prompted checks in other tower blocks across the country and council officers at Norwich City Council carried out risk assessments on its own tower blocks, managed sheltered housing schemes and area offices.
The assessments, carried out by an independent auditor, found that, in order for the council to comply with its duties under regulations, some work will be needed on the blocks.
And that could include the need to change or adapt letterboxes on “almost every flat” in the city's eight high rise blocks - which contain 450 flats.
Sara Martinez, spokeswoman for Norwich City Council, said: “There has never been a problem with the letterboxes in the past, but what the recent fire safety assessment showed was that we have got perfectly good fire doors but that there could potentially be a gap where the letterboxes are which isn't fireproof.
“We are intending to go and check them all and ensure they are as safe as they can possibly be and find a solution if we need to. It could mean replacing the whole door, could mean we have to replace just the letterbox, or some of them might be fine. That's what we need to find out.”
The council-owned tower blocks in Norwich are in Mile Cross, Heartsease, in Rouen Road and off Vauxhall Street, near Chapelfield gardens.
The report, which will go before the city council's executive next Wednesday states: “The recent fire in the tower block in Camberwell, South London will have made everyone aware that prevention and evacuation procedures need to be re-examined to ensure the risk of similar tragedies is minimised.
“Fire safety takes into account not just the fire engineering of a building but also its occupants' awareness and abilities, and the robustness of any policies and procedures put in place by the responsible persons.”
As well as making the changes to the letter boxes, letters have been sent out to all people living in tower blocks reminding them of the procedures in the event of a fire and drawing their attention to the importance of this.
Following surveys a programme of work is being organised to ensure all fire doors in tower blocks are fully compliant while more signs will be provided pointing to fire exits.
The council also plans to pen letters to residents of sheltered schemes and non-managed flats restating procedures in the event of a fire and to reassure them in light of the Camberwell incident.
Although City Hall is currently cash-strapped, with a £6.3m hole in its finances it is trying to plug by making savings, a budget within the Housing Revenue Account has been identified to fund work required as a result of risk assessments, although at this stage it is not know what the cost of the work will be.
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