“We are satisfied that these blocks meet appropriate safety levels” – but what do you think?

Three special reports into fire safety in high rise flats were screened by BBC Inside Out teams last night (October 25^th). In two out of three Inside Out reports, there were problems surrounding the safety of fire doors, alongwith other issues pointed out by fire surveyor Arnold Tarling. In one case, the rear of a bath could be seen from a ducting in the corridor.

The West Midlands edition of the programme also highlighted confusing statements from Birmingham City’s Cabinet Member for Housing who claimed that the doors in recently refurbished flats ‘were even better than the regulation, with a Secure-by-Design door’, which, he continued, ‘will guarantee 10 minutes fire resistance – there’s no other door that can do that!’