Cladding on nine high-rise buildings in West Yorkshire has failed flammability tests brought in after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it has been revealed.
Fire chiefs have been working with landlords and managing agents on interim fire safety measures at nine premises including the 348-ft skyscraper Sky Plaza in Leeds which contains over 500 student apartments, and Park Plaza, a four-star hotel in Boar Lane, Leeds.
The nine which failed cladding combustibility tests are:
* Mixenden Court; Wheatley Court; Jumples Court, all in Mixenden, Halifax
* Waterside Apartments, Gotts Road, Leeds
* Waterloo Court Apartments, Hunslet Road/Waterloo Street, Leeds
* Park Plaza, Boar Lane, City Square, Leeds
* Concept Place, Park Lane, Leeds
* Sky Plaza, Clay Pit Lane, Leeds
* Landmark House, Broadway, Bradford
Fire service inspectors visited all nine buildings within 24 hours of being notified of cladding issues.
Chris Kemp, senior fire protection manager at West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We are working as hard as possible with landlords and managing agents to enhance fire safety within the buildings but it’s important that residents also do their bit to be vigilant to prevent any outbreak of fire and make sure you know the evacuation procedures in place for your building.
“Please do read our high-rise advice booklet and pay particular attention when cooking or smoking as fires can often start as a result of an unattended pan or a carelessly discarded cigarette.”
Since the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14 there have been eight small fires in high-rise buildings across West Yorkshire – but none where there has been a cladding test failure.
In all of these instances the fires did not spread beyond the flat of origin.
A fire service spokesman said ‘interim measures’ had been recommended to “enhance fire safety” in the nine affected high-rise buildings in West Yorkshire.
Follow-up checks have been made to ensure these steps have been taken, said the spokesman.
Interim measures include checking front doors are fire resisting and self-closing; checking smoke detectors are working; considering the installation of a temporary fire alarm covering common areas; relocating vehicle parking so that a vehicle fire does not impact cladding; reviewing any other cladding to ensure it meets relevant standards; provision of a 24/7 fire watch by patrolling security officers/wardens, and hourly patrols of external areas adjacent to all ground floor retail units.
The fire service has also increased the number of fire appliances it sends to flat fires in high-rise blocks. Six appliances, rather than four, are now sent. Eight appliances are sent to blocks with cladding which has failed flammability tests.
