Hackney Council to install sprinklers in 114 homes at Haggerston tower block
No immediate risk: the 19-storey Queensbridge Road block. Photograph: Google Streetview
Hackney Council is to install fire sprinklers in 114 homes at a 19-storey Haggerston tower block following advice from the London Fire Brigade (LFB).
The Town Hall said the “additional safety measure” is due to the large number of older people living at 355 Queensbridge Road.
In a letter to residents, the council’s housing services chief Michael Scorer said there is “no immediate fire risk” at the block – the first in the borough since June’s Grenfell fire to be recommended sprinklers.
A Town Hall spokesperson confirmed that the LFB has not advised it to fit sprinklers in any other blocks.
In his letter, which was hand-delivered to residents by council officers, Scorer added: “The installation of the sprinkler system will be free of charge as you are a Hackney Council tenant.
“It will take three days to install the sprinkler system in each home and work is scheduled to start on 5 February.”
The whole project is expected to last around 16 weeks, and residents will be able to stay in their homes while the work is carried out.
The Citizen launched a petition in the wake of the Grenfell fire that called on the council to fit sprinklers in blocks taller than 30 metres – only two estates in the borough currently have them.
Local MP Diane Abbott has since called for the devices to be retro-fitted in all of the Hackney’s high-rises – work the council says could cost around £20 million.
The national Labour party started a petition last November urging the government to set up a £1 billion sprinkler fund.
In response, Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville said the council’s position on retro-fitting had not changed – it will wait for advice from independent experts, the LFB and the recommendations of the Grenfell Inquiry before making a decision.
The Citizen revealed earlier this month that nearly 3,000 urgent fire safety jobs need doing at Hackney’s tower blocks.