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Crewe fire: sprinklers should be fitted in all buildings that house ‘vulnerable people’, says MP
An MP has called for sprinklers to be fitted in all buildings across the country that house older people, children and those who are vulnerable, following the huge fire that ripped through a care home in her constituency.
Laura Smith, Labour MP for Crewe and Nantwich, said sprinklers are the “bare minimum” that should be expected in buildings where vulnerable people live.
Last week a fire ripped through Beechmere care home in Crewe, causing dozens of older people to be evacuated and destroying majority of the facility. The development is managed by Your Housing Group.
Ms Smith said that firefighters told her following the blaze that sprinklers would have helped contain the fire, which is understood to have started in the roof of the block and spread quickly. The building was made using a timber frame.
Ms Smith said: “Residents want to know and I want to know why vulnerable people were in a building so largely made out of timber... and without any sprinklers.”
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She has now called on Cheshire East Council to perform an audit to identify all buildings in the area which are made of timber, lack sprinklers and are home to older people.
When asked by Inside Housing whether she thought this audit should be performed nationally, Ms Smith said she did, adding that she has written to the prime minister asking the government to review its building and fire safety regulations.
She said: “In the wake of what’s happened around Grenfell, the government needs to make sure that the laws they are creating are fit for purpose.
“Private companies will work within the rules set by government. If those rules aren’t putting safety first then there are some serious questions that need answering.”
In a statement yesterday, Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said that the fire “did not behave as expected” and “spread rapidly” across the building.
Lee Shears, head of protection and organisational performance at Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service, also praised the duty commander on the scene who decided to override the ‘stay put’ policy and ordered all residents to evacuate.
Following these revelations, Ms Smith is asking the government to review the policy.
She said residents who live in similar buildings are now concerned about the stay put policy, under which residents are asked to stay in their home and await rescue in the event of a fire.
