£1 million fire sprinkler projects to keep hundreds safe

South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue spent the money fitting fire sprinklers in around 650 flats across the county in a bid to prompt owners of accommodation for mostly vulnerable residents to consider fire sprinklers as a long term measure to keep their tenants safe.

More than 20 separate projects were awarded funding, with most of the money allocated match-funded by the building owners themselves.

An early beneficiary of the funding was the St Wilfrid’s Centre in Sheffield. Fire Sprinklers were installed in a new, 20-bed residential project which houses adults with complex needs.

High profile projects in Rotherham include a scheme to protect children with severe disabilities at a South Yorkshire Housing Association. The scheme was awarded £28,000 to retrofit fire sprinklers in a 15 flat facility on John Street in the town.

Funding for social housing developments in Barnsley means more than 100 Barnsley Council owned properties are protected.

Churchfields Sheltered housing, part of Berneslai Homes, was awarded funding for the retrofitting of automatic fire sprinklers in flats which mostly house older people.

Money was also spent to retrofit fire sprinklers at a high-rise block of flats in Doncaster - a decade after a similar scheme at Callow Mount in Sheffield highlighted the ease with which older tower blocks can be fitted with the potentially life-saving devices.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Steve Helps, said: “Fire Sprinkler systems can have a life span of well over 50 years, meaning this money will help to keep thousands of people safe in these buildings for decades to come.

“Some of the schemes we’re most proud to have supported, are actually amongst the smallest, with relatively small amounts of money helping to protect small numbers of very vulnerable people in premises owned by charities and other organisations which wouldn’t ordinarily be able to afford to pay for projects of this nature on their own.”

Fire sprinklers in residential buildings remain topical with the second phase of the Grenfell Tower inquiry now underway and a review of building fire safety regulations ongoing.

The Government announced it was considering lowering the threshold from 30 metres to 11 metres tall for fire sprinklers to be installed in new build high rise buildings.