Call for more debate on high-rise flat sprinklers after Grenfell fire
Further work on the benefit of sprinklers in high-rise flats is needed before money is spent on installing them, according to bosses at council.
A senior Dudley councillor said the authority should be wary of making a ‘knee-jerk reaction’ over sprinklers.
Council chiefs discussed what had been done in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster to reassure residents and maintain their safety at the latest cabinet meeting.
This included a full review into each of the tower blocks in the borough and testing whether they had any of the aluminium composite cladding believed to have helped the Grenfell fire to spread.
No blocks were found to have this sort of cladding or to be unsafe.
Speaking at the meeting, councillor Les Jones, Conservative councillor for Pedmore and Stourbridge East ward said: “We all know about the tragic event that took place at Grenfell Tower and the immediate steps we were asked to take to look at our own blocks in the borough.
“But we must not be forced into a knee-jerk reaction of spending millions on things that are not necessarily helpful. Sprinklers, for example. The fire service is not always for them as they can prove to be a hazard to officers looking to gain access and once inside a building.”
But Councillor Judy Foster, Labour councillor for Brockmoor and Pensnett ward said: “I disagree. The fire service say that they do support the use of sprinklers but that in certain buildings and scenarios, these are not always appropriate.”
Further information will be relayed to the public on the issue as part of the review.
