Doncaster Free Press and Doncaster Council reported on the completion of retrofitting sprinklers in the blocks, with St Leger Homes and the council working ‘closely’ together to ‘improve fire safety’ across its housing post Grenfell. This included £6m of work funded by the council, with sprinkler retrofitting accounting ‘for over half’ the spend, and South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority also contributed £200,000 to installing sprinklers at the Silverwood House block.
That building had also seen other fire safety improvements as well as replacement of passenger lifts, while communal areas were also upgraded. Arturo Gulla, director of property services at St Leger Homes, stated: ‘Safety has been the main concern when looking at the changes that needed to be made to our high-rise buildings. Our tenants are always at the heart of our work and we believe the installation of sprinklers in every home, will make a real difference to people living there.
‘Since the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we have been working closely with our colleagues at Doncaster Council to ensure fire safety is improved and that any changes that need to be made happen as quickly as possible. Listening to the needs and views of the tenants is central to what we do and we are delighted to have set up a new High Rise Forum for tenants living in our high rise properties, so we can ensure these unique views are included in our decision making processes going forward.’
Glyn Jones, deputy mayor and cabinet member for housing and equalities at Doncaster Council, stated: ‘It is crucial that all of our residents feel safe in their homes and that’s why we committed a significant amount of our council’s capital budget to improving fire safety in our council housing. The retrofitting of these sprinklers in our high rise buildings will be hugely reassuring for all of the residents who live there. We gave a commitment to make this a priority and have now delivered on this mayoral pledge.’
Roger Brason, SYFRS’ sprinkler advocate, added: ‘We’ve championed the use of sprinklers, particularly in high-rise buildings, for quite some time, so we’re delighted that all of the blocks in Doncaster now have them. These devices not only help protect life, but help protect property too. In most cases, they will extinguish a fire completely and prevent it from spreading any further.
‘The fact that people living in high-rise buildings across Doncaster now have such a high level of fire protection really is excellent news.’