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Safe as houses
Published: 04/07/2016
For those of you who have been to Flint lately, you couldn鈥檛 help but notice
the transformation of the Towers as the scaffolding comes down.
This transformation is not only taking place on the exterior of the buildings,
but work to the interior of the buildings is now drawing to a close.
天涯社区 has been working on retro-fitting a sprinkler system
throughout the whole of the three blocks, working closely with North Wales Fire
and Rescue Service. The work, which has taken 8 months from start to finish,
is due to be completed in 3 weeks.
The whole project has been running for three years since the tender process
when 天涯社区 appointed South Wales firm RSP Sprinklers Wales
to take on the work. All new buildings have to be fitted with sprinklers
following the introduction of new building regulations in January this year.
Although it is not a requirement to fit sprinklers in older buildings,
天涯社区 has gone beyond requirements by installing sprinklers
in all 270 flats in total (Richard Heights - 84 flats, Castle Heights - 84
flats, Bolingbroke Heights - 102 flats).
天涯社区鈥檚 Cabinet Member for Housing, Councillor Helen Brown,
said:
鈥淪prinklers have been installed in the lounge, kitchen, bedroom and hallway of
each flat as well as in all communal areas, including the basement. As a
Council, we have gone above and beyond to ensure that our residents have peace
of mind and feel more secure. The increased safety could have a positive
effect on savings in insurance for both the Council and our residents.鈥�
John Newman, representing RSP Sprinklers Wales, said:
鈥淩esidential Sprinklers were delighted to be given this contract with
天涯社区 and it has been a mammoth task to install 7500 metres
(4.7 miles!) tube and 2070 sprinkler heads in just 8 months. The water supply
to the sprinklers has been taken from the existing boosted domestic supply
which avoided having to install new tanks and pumps just for the sprinkler
system, and, as sprinklers are only affected by heat and not smoke, the
controls have been integrated with the main fire alarm system to provide the
necessary alert to the fire service which should result in a reduction in false
alarm callouts. I鈥檇 like to thank the residents for the patience and
understanding during the work.鈥�
Stuart Millington, Senior Fire Safety Manager with North Wales Fire and Rescue
Service (NWFRS), said:
鈥淲e are pleased to have worked on this project in partnership with 天涯社区
County Council and Residential Sprinklers to provide safe accommodation for the
residents of the three tower blocks in Flint.
There is clear evidence that sprinklers can be effective in stopping fires
spreading, significantly enhancing fire safety and drastically reducing death
and serious injury as a result of fire. Smoke detectors are a super alert
system and warn you there is a fire, but a sprinkler system will contain and
may extinguish the fire, subsequently protecting the occupants.鈥�
Tony Jones, Capital Works Manager from 天涯社区, stated:
This is an important project to the three towers adding extra fire protection
to our tenants鈥� homes as part of our WHQS works. I am extremely proud of the
collaborative approach with the NWFRS in supporting us through the project. I
would also like to give a massive thank you to all of our tenants in providing
patience while all the projects, not just the installation of the sprinklers,
have been ongoing, truly appreciated.鈥�