Housing chiefs reassure North Solihull's high-rise residents

FLAT FIRE: An incident in Chelmsley Wood
last month was swiftly dealt with by the
Fire Service. Photo/WMFS.

SOLIHULL Community Housing (SCH) has said the Fire Service has today carried out safety checks at all of its high-rise buildings, after a dozen people were confirmed dead in a tower block blaze in London.
The organisation also confirmed there would be no change to its "stay put" policy, which encourages residents to stay inside their flat in the event of a fire breaking out elsewhere in the building.
This advice is common across the UK, but has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the tragic incident in the capital.
So far, 12 people have been confirmed dead and almost 70 have been hospitalised after flames tore through Grenfell Tower, Kensington, in the early hours of this morning.
In a statement, a SCH spokesman said: "While the full reasons behind this dreadful incident have yet to be fully established, it is important that we remind you of our fire safety message.
"Our advice to high rise residents in the event of a fire remains to stay in your flat, unless told to leave by the emergency services. If the fire is in your own flat leave and shut the front door.
"Our fire doors have one-hour fire resistance. The stairwells have two hours’ fire resistance. Most UK high rises do not have fire alarms as each flat is designed to contain a fire within its own walls.
"The fire witnessed in London last night was extremely rare. While last night’s fire is bound to be of concern for anyone living in a high rise, please rest assured that your personal well-being and safety is something we treat with the utmost importance."
There are more than 30 high-rise blocks in the borough, all of which were built in the 1960s and 70s and are located in North Solihull.
Several of these have been demolished in recent years as part of the ongoing Regeneration project.
Girton House, in Smith's Wood, had actually been used by West Midlands Fire Service for a training exercise in 2012, prior to being pulled down.