News and Press

Cornwall Councillors have signaled their desire to lead by example in keeping residents safe from house fires by agreeing to install sprinklers in all homes the Council builds and commissions in the future.



At today's full Council meeting, Councillors voted to approve a motion brought by Councillor Neil Burden, Cornwall Councillor for Stokeclimsland.



As a result sprinklers will be installed across all future Housing Development Programme (HDP) schemes at a cost of around £1.8million. As announced last month, the HDP will see the Council invest up to £170 million in directly building 1,000 new homes on sites across Cornwall. The developments will be a mix of homes for private market rental with 35% for affordable rent or shared ownership, 15% sold on the private market and 50% available for private market rental.



Cornwall Council cabinet member for homes Andrew Mitchell welcomed the move. "Sprinklers save lives. Our fire service has long advocated for the use of sprinklers as the evidence shows that they can prevent fire from spreading - not only making sure routes are clear for occupants to escape to safety, but also limiting property damage.



"While it is not mandatory to install sprinklers in new homes, this is our opportunity to lead by example. We are investing in building good quality homes for our residents and it is only right that we do all we can to ensure our future housing schemes exceed safety standards.



"While the Council only provides a minority of all the new homes built in Cornwall, I hope that through our example we can promote wider adoption of this approach both by Registered Provider partners and by developers more generally."



Cornwall Council member for Stokeclimsland Neil Burden who first proposed the motion said: "This is but a small investment that will promote best practice and will make a difference for years to come and maybe when a family’s home and belongings have been saved when the sprinklers are triggered, some reflection on the positive action of this Council will be remembered.”

At 23:00 hours on Friday 8th September 2017, West Midlands Fire Service received a call to Liberty Heights, a 25 storey student accommodation block in Wolverhampton.

A fire had occurred when a fat pan was left unattended but when FRS personnel attended the flat, the fire had been extinguished by one head on the buildings sprinkler system.

Previously known as Victoria Hall, Liberty Heights was constructed in 2009 and is a reinforced concrete, clad building with an L shaped plan measuring  10m x 20m. It consists of two blocks, the tallest of which is 25 storeys.

FRS personnel were engaged in clear up operations after the event but no fire-fighting action was required

Bedfordshire FRS were called to a 5th floor residential flat fire at 23:06 hrs on 31 July 2017. The resident had fallen asleep  leaving a chip pan on, a fire broke out whilst the resident slept,  fortunately the fire activated the residential sprinkler system and the sprinkler head within the kitchen extinguished the fire as well as raised the alarm. 1 female casualty was escorted from the flat by fire service personnel  and handed over to ambulance service.

The fire officer  in charge of the incident  reported that without the sprinkler activation, the whole flat would have been lost and there was a real possibility that the occupant would have lost their life. The sprinkler system was reinstated the following day (01/08/2017).

At about 11:30 pm on Friday 2nd June 2017 a fire occurred at a dwelling in Ashley Road, Poole, Dorset when some window drapes were ignited by a lighted candle that had been placed on the windowsill.

Crews from Dorset and Wiltshire F&RS were mobilised but on arrival they found that the fire had been extinguished by a single sprinkler head, located in the room of origin. Their main task was to isolate the water supply to the sprinkler system and assist in remedial action.

The tenant is said to have been able to move back into the property the following day.