Published April 12, 2019
Protect24 have completed the £5million fire sprinkler retrofit program for ForViva.
The multi-million project involved the retrospective fitting of sprinkler systems to more than 1,300 homes.
Hundreds of social housing residents living in 17 high-rise blocks in Salford and Knowsley benefitted from the work.
The properties are owned by private landlord City West Housing Trust, part of the ForViva Group.
Sprinklers
Protect24 MD Mark Lyons, said: “These residents can sleep easy now knowing the fire sprinklers will protect them in the event of fire.
“CityWest should be commended for investing in a project that, according to current legislation, they didn’t have too but felt morally obliged to.
“They are one of the first private landlords in the country to undertake such a significant retrospective fire safety program and we are delighted with how the project progressed.
“We were able to complete the project on time and on budget and the residents were very accommodating of our team, because they realised the importance of the work.
“We are delighted with the final outcome and knowing that our work may just save someones life.”
Protect24 are the UK’s leading provider of retrospective fire protection measures for high-rise social housing developments.
They are the first to provide a complete turnkey approach to fire safety packages, with all of the required elements provided by their in-house team – including a dedicated customer care team who work with residents.
Safe
Peter Memory, 68, lives with his wife Carol-Ann, 67, at College Croft, a 15-storey high-rise block of sheltered accommodation in Eccles, Salford.
He said: “Seeing what happened to people living at Grenfell Tower was an extremely worrying time for many people living in high-rise blocks.
“I understood why my neighbours and other people living in blocks like mine were worried and felt unsafe. One of the biggest factors in helping people living in our block feel safe after Grenfell has been installing sprinklers.
“Even though we were reassured that the block was safe and action was taken to replace cladding really quickly, I felt that ForViva made the right decision in agreeing to fit sprinklers to all their high rise blocks.
“It was clearly a big investment, but what tenants appreciated was it was done when other people living in other tower blocks around the country still hadn’t had their cladding taken off.
“My wife and I now feel safer than ever. We know that if a fire does ever happen the sprinklers will turn on.”
Protect24’s turnkey approach ensured the work was delivered on time and on budget.
Sprinklers have been fitted into all apartments, communal areas, bin rooms and scooter storage facilities in the tower blocks whilst larger water tanks have been installed and a separate booster supply for the sprinkler system.
In Salford the blocks where sprinklers were fitted were:
- In Barton Village (five blocks): Engels, Mees, Enfield, Cawdor and Wade
- In Central Eccles (seven blocks): Charter, Southway, College Croft, Kemball, Ewood, Cremer and Craunton
The Knowsley blocks where sprinklers have been installed are Mosscraig, Whincraig, Firscraig, Denecliff and Merecliff.
ForViva took the decision after consulting with tenants, fire safety experts and regional fire and rescue services.
Safety
Colette McKune, Group Deputy Chief Executive at ForViva, said: “The safety of tenants and their peace of mind is our top priority.
“We took the decision to remove cladding on affected blocks and install sprinklers, not because we lacked confidence in our existing fire safety arrangements, which we had immediately reviewed, but because we knew some tenants did not feel safe in their homes.
“We worked closely with regional fire and rescue services after Grenfell, but on a national level we felt clear guidance on regulations would take some time. We listened to tenants and their concerns and felt we had to act decisively.
“We undertook this work not only to provide additional reassurance to tenants, but because we believed it was the right thing to do.”
Each tenant living in the blocks received an induction before work started and received ongoing support to keep them updated throughout the process.
To learn more about Protect24, the services provided or to arrange a consultation with our team click this link.
For all media enquiries contact James Fletcher at Onside PR via this link.
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