TALKING POINT
WIRELESS WATCH: SUPPORTING PUBLIC SECTOR BUILDINGS WITH TEMPORARY FIRE SAFETY ALTERNATIVES In the aftermath of the fatal Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, interim safety arrangements, such as waking watches, came into place for the hundreds of buildings in the UK laden with the same dangerous cladding. Nearly four years on, residents in these properties are still relying on temporary measures in case a fire breaks out. Adam Jurka, National Sales Manager at wireless solutions firm Ramtech, explains how temporary wireless measures are supporting fire safety. soon as the role that A scladding had played in the tragedy at Grenfell Tower became apparent, it was clear something needed to be done about the numerous other buildings across the UK that now posed an evident, imminent fire risk. Official figures illustrate the scale of the problem – there are about 300 tower blocks over 18m in height with ‘Grenfellstyle’ cladding in England alone, all waiting to be made safe. But this is only the tip of the iceberg as it doesn’t include the Government’s estimated 1700 buildings over 18m that have other systems known to be dangerous – such as timber, high-pressure laminate and
26
polystyrene cladding and insulation systems. This has meant that the initial interim fire safety arrangements for the temporary, short-term management and mitigation from the risk of fire – intended to be in place only until replacement of the cladding could be carried out – have become the de facto fire regulations for thousands of residents living in the affected buildings.
A waking nightmare Short-term measures, such as waking watches, are costing local authorities in the public sector huge sums. Camden Council, for example, spent
more than £10.2m on waking watches across nine blocks from June 2017 to December 2019. At its most basic, waking watches or fire warden patrols involve a person or team patrolling buildings, then alerting residents to evacuate should they become aware of a fire. Once the new Building Safety Bill proceeds through parliament, this will create a clear, proportionate framework for the design, construction and management of safer, high-quality homes in the years to come. The onus right now, however, is to better support buildings with dangerous cladding while the funding is secured and the removal is facilitated.
Adam Jurka is the UK Sales Manager at Ramtech where he is responsible for leading the national sales arm of the business and developing new project opportunities
Wireless watch Beyond waking watches, the most commonly-used method of alert is a fire alarm system operating throughout the building. The debate around fire alarms has taken even greater weight since the latest updates to the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance on simultaneous evacuation, which emphasises the need to consider the installation of common fire alarms where the current, temporary measures are now, or are likely to be, in place for the longer term. The installation of traditional, wired fire alarm systems have long been a challenge for the supply
