Page 1 of 5 ESSEX FIRE AUTHORITY Essex County Fire & Rescue Service MEETING AGENDA ITEM Essex Fire Authority 15 MEETING DATE REPORT NUMBER 11 February 2015 EFA/020/15 SUBJECT ‘Sprinkler’ Scheme 2014 Update REPORT BY Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Hill PRESENTED BY Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Hill SUMMARY In 2014 Essex Fire Authority supported a three year programme (£250k per year) of match funding the installation of Sprinklers in buildings that accommodate vulnerable members of our communities. ECFRS have been actively promoting the use of sprinklers, hosting events to promote their benefits and dispel the myths that often inappropriately affect decisions on whether to install or not. To date two projects have been completed, with a further two due to begin imminently. These four projects account for £160K of the fund and bids for a further eight projects have been received that will account for the remaining £90K, and may be deferred to qualify for funding in 2015-16. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that Members: 1. Note the contents of the update. 2. Continue to support the programme 3. Support the carry forward of £90k to 2015/16 as bids are currently being assessed BACKGROUND On September 4 2013 Essex Fire Authority approved a proposal (EFA/080/13) to set up a fund from the ‘spend to save’ reserve to support the retro fitting of sprinklers in high risk premises in Essex. The fund agreed was £250K per year for three years. To promote the use of sprinklers ECFRS hosted two events, the first at Spains Hall on 22 April 2013 and the second at the Colchester Council Housing Department on 29 October 2013. The events included presentations to explain how systems work, dispelling the myths and a live fire and sprinkler Page 2 of 5 demonstration comparing a fire in a compartment with sprinklers and one without. Subsequently ECFRS received a number of applications for funding and has supported two projects (£50k each) and has committed a further £60K to another two projects. Further applications have been received and they are currently being assessed, these are for a hostel and tenanted homes. The two projects already completed and ECFRS support provided are Parkside Tower and Mornington House: Parkside Tower - The first project completed was Parkside Tower in Chelmsford. The building is managed by the Chelmer Housing Partnership. The building is a 15 storey tower block containing 53 flats with a high percentage of vulnerable residents. The total cost of the renovation project that included the retro-fitting of sprinklers in flats and shared spaces was £187K. ECFRS contribution to the project was £50K. Figure 1 - Parkside Tower, Figure 2 - A typical flat at Parkside Tower post Chelmsford sprinkler installation, the sprinkler head outlined with a Red Circle Mornington House - The second Project (completed 11 December 2014) is Mornington House, Southend. It is a four storey building containing 52 flats with a number of transient vulnerable residents. The building was initially constructed in 1928 and has been remodelled several times; the remodelling has created many cavities and voids, which present a hazard to fire-fighters. The building has already had a significant fire on the 26th July 2007 when a fire broke out in flat 25. The fire caused by a television set developed rapidly and penetrated the wall entering the cavity and spread undetected, breaking out at roof level and affecting the flats it passed. The cost of the sprinkler installation at Mornington House was £118K and ECFRS has made a contribution of £50K. Page 3 of 5 Figure 3 - Mornington House, Southend (Sprinkler Head in Lounge Circled in Red) The two bids that have been approved, but the installation has not been completed and so funding is committed but not yet provided, are Brooke House and Bokingham Green: Brooke House is an iconic listed building in the heart of Basildon Town Centre. It is a 1960’s built tower block containing 84 flats. Many of the flats house vulnerable residents and due to the building’s height a fire would pose significant risk to both residents and fire-fighters. The estimated cost of installation is £150K and ECFRS has agreed to support the installation with a grant of £50K. Funds will be released after completion and receipt of appropriate certification. The project tender had a closing date of 10 December 2014 with the contract due to be awarded shortly after. Figure 4 - Brooke House, Basildon 6-11 and No.23 Bockingham Green Basildon. These 7 properties are located on the Felmores Estate in Basildon and were constructed in 1977 using timber framed construction and the Page 4 of 5 properties were clad with timber weatherboarding. The Estate has experienced a number of serious fires in recent years. The installation of a suppression system in these properties is part of their refurbishment following a fire in Flat No.6, that spread and severely affected the surrounding properties. Following the fire in August 2013, ECFRS carried out an investigation and produced a report on the fire. The report contained a number of recommendations that included consideration be given to fitting a suppression system to the properties. Due to the nature of the construction and missing cavity barriers etc. fires starting within and on the exterior of the properties have spread quickly behind the cladding affecting multiple homes and causing significant danger to both the occupants and fire-fighters attending incidents. The estimated cost of the project is £20k and the ECFRS have agreed to offer a grant of £10K. Figure 5 - Bockingham Green, Basildon Bids Awaiting Approval - Further bids have been received and are due to be visited by the Services Fire Engineers for an on-site assessment prior to consideration by the panel. A bid has been received from South Essex Homes for a Hostel for the vulnerable and homeless in Southchurch Avenue, Southend. The premises has 28 flats in a three storey building. The building itself is pre-1900 and is described as containing a number of unprotected voids and cavities. The cost of the project is estimated to be £115K and South Essex Homes have requested funding of £48K. Basildon Borough Council have made seven separate bids for Littlebury Green, Loxford, Winstree, Bartlow End, Delvins, Malyons and Bockingham Green on the Felmores Estate, which was mentioned above. The total number of dwellings (a range of flats and houses) in all seven roads is 269. The estimated cost of the seven projects is £1.35m. Feedback - Following the installation of sprinklers at both Parkside Tower and Mornington House, the Chelmer Housing Partnership and South Essex Homes have reported the installation to have been a positive experience with few if any problems, all of which have been satisfactorily addressed. South Essex Homes are currently looking to install sprinklers in more of their premises. The opportunity has also been taken to discuss the installation itself with the occupiers. None of the occupiers had to move out of their properties whilst the installation took place, and the average time taken was a day and a half. Virtually all of the occupiers have had a positive Page 5 of 5 experience and are pleased with their new sprinkler system from the perspective of the protection it affords and aesthetically as the system has been sympathetically installed. South Essex Homes have nominated ECFRS for the National Fire Sprinkler Network’s Bernadette Hartley Memorial Award for ‘A significant contribution to the cause for sprinklers by a group or individual’. The nomination followed on from South Essex Homes attendance at the Sprinkler Event held at Colchester and the assistance given to them by ECFRS in relation to sprinklers both before and after their application for sprinkler funding. This included site visits to discuss the various types of systems and an event held by ECFRS staff on site to discuss the benefits of the system with the residents and to allay their fears about the installation within their homes. The decision on the Award will be announced in late January 2015. The sprinkler funding scheme has been a great success in its first year, ECFRS has used £160K of the assigned £250K for 2014/15 and has bids for up to a further £398K, meaning that this year’s budget has been heavily oversubscribed. The sprinkler funding currently used and committed will mean that ECFRS will have assisted in the provision of sprinkler systems in 196 premises that are home to vulnerable persons and/or in premises that constitute significant risk to fire-fighters. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 2014/15 budget: £100k used £60k committed £90k bids currently being assessed It is foreseeable that the previous Fire Authority commitment for £250k in 2015/16 and 2016/17 to support the installation of sprinklers in premises that have vulnerable residents will be used. RISK, LEGAL, EQUALITY, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATIONS There are no implications arising out of the recommendations set out in this report. LOCAL GOVERNMENT (ACCESS TO INFORMATION) ACT 1985 List of appendices attached to this paper: List of background documents (not attached): Proper Officer: Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Hill, Safer & Resilient Communities Contact Officer: Assistant Chief Fire Officer Paul Hill, Safer & Resilient Communities Essex County Fire & Rescue Service, Kelvedon Park, London Road, Rivenhall, Witham CM8 3HB Tel: 01376 576000 E-mail: [email protected] .