A fire broke out in the Abbey View tower block in Watford on Tuesday 12 July, caused by arson in the block’s bin storage area.
The emergency services were called to the incident on Garsmouth Way, Watford at around 4:50am, as the fire was spreading to flats on the lower floors of the 17-storey block. Residents were evacuated from 94 of the tower’s flats.
The East of England ambulance service have confirmed that “other than one person treated on-scene for smoke inhalation, there have been no casualties and no-one has been transported to hospital.”
The police investigation into the cause of the fire quickly identified two boys, aged 13 and 14, who had been detained on suspicion of arson.
Hertfordshire Police have since confirmed that the boys appeared before remand court on 13 July, charged with arson with recklessness as to whether life was endangered. They were released on conditional bail, and are due to appear before court again on 27 July.
Some residents of Abbey View have stated that sprinklers and smoke alarms did not activate in some parts of the block, criticising the housing association’s fire strategy, and saying that the failure of fire protection measures in the block meant that deaths were only narrowly avoided.
Local councillor Amanda Grimston said she has received numerous communications from “frightened” residents who are claiming that the building design is not safe, the sprinklers and alarms failed to work, and uncleared rubbish in the communal areas hindered the residents’ evacuation.
Cllr Grimston said: “We shouldn’t have to put up with this. How did the building perform well? Fire alarms didn’t go off, sprinklers didn’t go off. They got quite a bit right but, also, they got so much wrong.”
Amanda, a resident on the seventh floor, said she was "woken up by someone shouting to get out because there was a fire.”
"My fire alarms weren't going off upstairs, no fire alarms were going off upstairs, no sprinklers were going off, nothing was going off. It's not safe to be in [those] flats, especially if you're at that height."
Another anonymous resident said: “Had the fire been just two meters to the left it would have been on the back exit, which happens to be the only point of exit during a fire. If that fire took place closer to the exit door many children would have died - including my own.”
Tina Barnard, CEO of Watford Community Housing (WCH) who is responsible for Abbey View, said in an initial statement that the building "remains compliant with safety regulations" and "all areas are comprehensively covered by sounders and the sprinkler system."
"The sounders only activate in areas that are immediately affected, in line with the fire strategy which has been developed in partnership with Herts Fire and Rescue Service," she said, adding that while the incident was being investigated with the fire service, they were "satisfied that the building's fire safety systems performed as designed."
Ms Barnard has since responded to the resident’s criticisms, saying: “The fire was external to the building and damaged a sprinkler feed pipe, which caused a disruption to the system. This was an unforeseen event and is being reviewed with the system installers. While repairs are being undertaken on the sprinkler system, we have enhanced our overnight security presence to support the existing operational fire detection system.”
Ms Barnard also added that they have arranged for alternative accommodation for the residents of five flats who are not yet able to return home.
Photo credit: Andrew Carberry