Agenda item

Matthew Hillman, Assistant Director of Investment:

a.    presented an update on the City of Lincoln Council (CoLC) current position regarding Fire Safety to the housing stock including high rise tower blocks, supported housing schemes and low risk flats

b.    reported that all of the high-rise tower blocks had a type 4 survey and the supported housing schemes had a current Fire Risk Assessment (FRA)

c.    stated that all low-rise blocks have had a FRA in the last three years (review frequency  every two years in low rise blocks), however those showing as not having a current FRA  would be prioritised for review

d.    noted that all three tower blocks had been registered with the building safety regulator prior to the deadline date of 30 September 2023

e.    advised that work on the Building Safety case report was underway and would be completed by 1 April 2024

f.     explained that  Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue had completed Fire Safety Visits at the three high rise tower blocks in February/March 2023 and a training exercise at Jarvis House had also been completed

g.    detailed the fire safety audits that had been completed at De Wint Court and the three high rise tower blocks which provided reassurance that the day-to-day fire safety was being managed at these locations

h.    invited questions and comments from Members of the Committee:

Question: Some residents of De Wint Court were taking their mobility scooters into their flats to charge them due to lack of storage space available. Was this a fire safety concern?
Response: From a building perspective if there was a fire in a flat the compartmentation system would work to contain the fire. This was not ideal from a tenant perspective but work was ongoing with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue to educate customers on fire safety. The mobility scooter policy was currently under review to ensure that it was robust.

Question: How often did Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue visit the high rise tower blocks?

Response: Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue had been given additional powers and responsibilities under the Fire and Safety Act 2021. The Council worked closely with them and they could visit at any time. The Council had asked to be notified in advance of a visit so that some tenant engagement could be undertaken. It was expected that a visit would take place on an annual basis.

Question: How many fire doors had been tested to date?

Response: An answer would be provided following the meeting and the figure would be included in next years update report.

Question: Had the fire doors at Trent View been checked? There was  a rush of airflow through the door which was different to the fire doors at Shuttleworth House.

Response: The fire doors at Trent View were notional and they had been inspected. The vent system was different at Trent View and Jarvis House compared to Shuttleworth House which affected the air flow. Work was ongoing with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue to ensure that they were happy with the vent system in place.

Question: How did the Council safeguard itself if there was an incident relating to e-scooters being kept in flats?

Response: The mobilty scooter Policy was currently being refreshed to ensure that it was robust.  The Council could not stop tenants storing their e-scooters in their homes, but we would work alongside Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue to advise tenants against it. Going forward the Council would be engaging with tenants much more than in the past. We were looking at better and more effective ways of engaging for example short videos, QR codes and shorter, plain english documents.

Comment: Short videos were a good way to communicate with customers with whom English was not their first language. People could often speak English but could not read or write it.

Response: Going forward we would need to gather more information on tenants. Work was ongoing with customers services to ask certain questions of customers to gather information which would help to be able to provide a better service to customers.

Question: Could the Council work with Lincoln Embracing All Nations (LEAN) to engage with tenants?

Response: Yes, there were already good links with LEAN via the Neighbourhood Working Team.

Question: Could excess damage to timber framed buildings be prevented when putting out fires in future?
Response: We would inform Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue of which buildings were timber framed.

RESOLVED that the fire safety update of the Councils Housing Stock be noted.