My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

News

Another block of flats fire this time.......Worcester Park.

3 replies
OP posts:
Report
HelenaDove · 09/09/2019 23:48

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/worcester-park-fire-building-involved-in-major-blaze-was-owned-by-metropolitan-thames-valley-63090


Worcester Park fire: building involved in major blaze was owned by Metropolitan Thames Valley

NEWS
09/09/19
10:50 AM
BY LUCIE HEATH

The block in south-west London which was hit by a major blaze in the early hours of Monday morning was owned and managed by Metropolitan Thames Valley, Inside Housing can reveal
A Metropolitan Thames Valley spokesperson confirmed that the block was one of their properties. There were a total of 23 apartments within the block, with all of them being shared ownership.

Around 20 fire engines and 125 firefighters have been tackling the blaze at the four-storey block in Sherbrooke Way in Worcester Park, Sutton. The fire was brought under control at 6.30am.

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has reported no injuries at this stage but images from the scene show all four floors on fire at the development.

Inside Housing is currently at the site, where it has seen a number of Metropolitan Thames Valley staff members.

A spokesperson for the housing association said: “We’re supporting emergency services on the ground and our priority is ensuring that residents are safe.”

Speaking after the fire, Martin Corbett, Sutton borough fire commander, said the building would now “probably be knocked down at some point and rebuilt”

Rick Ogden, group manager at the LFB, who was at the scene, said: “On arrival, crews were faced with a well-developed and intense fire.

“This was a challenging fire involving all floors of a four-storey building. Firefighters worked hard to bring the blaze under control

“Firefighters will remain on the scene throughout the day. We would urge people to avoid the area if possible and for residents in the immediate area to keep their windows and doors closed.”

A spokesperson for Berkeley Group, the developer of The Hampton’s site, said: "I can confirm that the property was constructed a decade ago, in full compliance with all fire regulations. We will support the London Fire Brigade in their investigation into what happened. In the meantime, our priority is to make sure residents are properly looked after."

It is clear from many of the pictures of the completed development that many homes use timber boards on their exterior. Early pictures from the fire appear to show timber on the walls of the burning building.

If timber is found to be involved in this fire, it will be the third huge timber-related blaze in a residential property this summer.

In June, flames tore through timber cladding fixed to the outside of Samuel Garside House in Barking Riverside, forcing residents to flee for their lives.

In August, timber-framed Beechmere retirement complex in Crewe was completely destroyed in a blaze.

Building regulations place no restrictions on the use of combustible timber in the external walls of buildings below 18m in height"

OP posts:
Report
HelenaDove · 11/09/2019 18:03

On ITV London news again Fire safety concerns were raised years ago

OP posts:
Report
HeIenaDove · 03/12/2019 23:31

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/mtvh-served-notices-on-multiple-worcester-park-blocks-following-post-fire-inspections-64403


MTVH served notices on multiple Worcester Park blocks following post-fire inspections

NEWS
03/12/19
7:00 AM
BY LUCIE HEATH

"The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has issued enforcement notices on 16 buildings owned by Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) on the same estate where a huge blaze broke out earlier this year
Intrusive surveys carried out in the wake of the September fire at Richmond House – owned by 57,000-home MTVH – found a series of defects in the passive fire protection of several buildings on the estate.

Remedial work will include installing or improving cavity barriers within the external wall systems and correcting fire-stopping elements of the construction internally.

MTVH has until 30 April 2021 to complete the work, which is expected to be carried out by the site’s original developer, St James.

It is understood St James, which also owns a number of buildings on the estate, was issued enforcement notices on some of its buildings and will be carrying out various remedial works
Richmond House, which was made up of 23 shared ownership homes, was completely destroyed when a fire broke out at the block in September.

MTVH later confirmed plans to rebuild the block, which was originally constructed using a timber frame.

Since the fire, a 24-hour waking watch has been put in place across the estate, the stay put fire response advice has been changed to ‘simultaneous evacuation’, and a communal fire alarm system is in the process of being installed.

A representative from MTVH said: “Following the fire at Richmond House at The Hamptons on September 9th, our focus as a charitable housing association has been to do everything we can to support those residents directly affected, to ensure the safety of our other residents on the estate and to understand as best we can what happened on that night.

“Over the past few days, we have shared with all MTVH residents the results of in-depth investigations by independent experts into the construction of the buildings we own at The Hamptons to establish if there are any structural issues that could compromise fire safety

MTVH will ensure that all remedial work is overseen by appropriate independent experts to check that works are installed correctly and meet the requirements of the building regulations.”

A spokesperson for the LFB said: “LFB carried out a post fire inspection and found a number of fire safety breaches.

“We have issued enforcement notices detailing the areas the responsible person needs to address and we will revisit the premises to see how this is being completed.

“Stay put advice has been temporarily suspended and a simultaneous evacuation strategy – a procedure in which all or parts of a building are evacuated in the event of the fire at one time – has been implemented.

“We’re satisfied with this arrangement and will continue to work with the building owners to ensure the safety of residents"

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.