The Fire Brigades Union has today condemned “failures at every level of government” leading to the evacuation of hundreds of residents of Barton House tower block in Bristol last week.
The council is now carrying out investigations due to last Monday’s report that “in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact, there is a risk to the structure of the block”.
Barton House was built with large panel system (LPS) construction, known as potentially dangerous after a gas explosion at Ronan Point tower in east London in 1968 led to its partial collapse, killing four people.
The Guardian has reported that there are no records of any structural surveys of Barton House between the 1970s and at least 2018, according to an FOI response from the council five years ago.
Concerns have been repeatedly raised that these potentially catastrophic building safety risks have not been properly addressed by Westminster.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary said:
It is now clear that the residents of Barton House will suffer serious disruption for weeks to come. No one should have to worry about whether their home might collapse in the event of a fire.
The crisis in building safety has been caused by failures at every level of government, and a lack of regulation and enforcement. This is yet another example of communities being failed and lives being put at risk.
Decision-makers at every level of government must listen to residents. We need urgent action from central government to ensure all tower blocks and housing are fit for purpose."
