‘Ongoing problem’ with steam causing half of all fire service calls to one Salford apartment block with Grenfell cladding
Half of the calls the fire service have had from one Salford apartment block has been caused by steam from showers, a freedom of information request has revealed.
Of the 18 total calls the fire service responded to at the Fresh Apartments block on Chapel Street in 2020, nine were caused by the ventilation system in the building triggering the fire alarm after steam from showers built up.
The freedom of information request also confirmed that the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) had given advice to building management over what they described as an “ongoing problem” at the building.
89% of the callouts the GMFRS made to the building were originated by the automatic fire alarm system and all 18 were false alarms.
But due to the presence of cladding similar to that which was on Grenfell Tower, the response by the fire service to callouts from Fresh Apartments must be large.
Five fire engines and an aerial appliance must attend any calls to the building due to the “identified risk of external fire spread.”
The building is managed by Premier Estates and is one of more than 20 buildings in Salford with has cladding similar to that which was on Grenfell Tower.
It was revealed to burn ten times faster than alternatives at the Grenfell Enquiry and rapidly spread the blaze in the tragic 2017 fire.
The level of response required for the building has led the GMFRS to call on residents to do more to limit the number of callouts they receive, including taking shorter showers to avoid triggering the sensitive alarm.
“People tend to have a shower for as long as humanly possible and open the [bathroom] door,” WM Tony Doyle of Salford Community Fire Station explained.
“The steam escapes and triggers the alarm.
“Maybe people should try being in there for not quite so long.”
But residents have complained that the alarm has become disruptive due to the frequency with which it goes off and that it is not solely their fault.
Ellie Parsons, 21, is a resident of the building. She believes there is an issue with the silent extractor system in the building’s bathrooms and feels that more should be done by the building management company.
“The ventilation system is non-existent,” she said.
“If someone complains about it, they’ll try and fix it, but it’s been quite a slow movement.
“It’s [the alarm] deprived me of sleep and while I’m doing work or on a zoom interview there’s the worry of what if the alarm goes off.
“It’s such a big issue across all of the flats… someone else has to be made accountable other than tenants.”
George Shaw, Estates Manager at Premier Estates, refused to comment ‘in accordance with company policy’.
