The price of life
The issues thrown up by the spate of tragic fires in high-rise blocks in recent years present social landlords with some difficult choices.
No one wants to manage homes which they know might be unsafe in the event of a fire. Yet, as Southwark Council outlined last week, taking steps such as installing sprinkler systems can be expensive (£59 million in Southwark’s case) and legally awkward in terms of accessing homes owned by leaseholders. This is where the government must step in, yet it is so far reluctant to do so. As West Sussex coroner Penelope Schofield says of the government’s refusal to require smoke alarms to be hardwired into all homes, ‘unless action is taken to impose regulations on landlords more vulnerable people are going to lose their lives’. The government’s stance has been similar on sprinkler systems, citing the expense. Yet evidence from sprinkler manufacturers on a project in Sheffield in 2011 suggests installation costs of £1,150 per flat - far below Southwark’s estimate of £7,500.
