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Residents living in a block covered in dangerous cladding have been told they will have their waking watch stopped and must carry out the patrols themselves due to rising costs and fears that contractors coming into the building may bring coronavirus with them.
People who live in the Circle Development in central Liverpool were sent a letter by their property manager, Centrick, at the weekend, which confirmed that it would be stopping contractors from entering the building to carry out a waking watch.
In the letter, the company said the current waking watch was costing residents £3,284 per week and that outside contractors carrying out checks would increase the risk of bringing COVID-19 into the building.
It said: “The mortality risk of the virus is currently higher than the risk of a fire.
“On the basis of this high risk, we are stopping the waking watch and we would ask occupants to take over the role.”
The letter then asks for leaseholders to volunteer to carry out waking watch patrols to remove the service charge and reduce the risk of spreading the disease.
The letter also lists what volunteers will be required to do during their patrols, including sounding the communal fire alarms and knocking on each door to alert neighbours in the block in the case of emergency as well as check the fire panels for any faults.
Inside Housing has contacted Centrick for a response and asked whether those carrying out the patrols will receive any training.
Waking watches were first introduced following the Grenfell Tower tragedy as an interim fire safety measure since blocks with dangerous cladding had their evacuation guidance changed from ‘stay put’ to ‘simultaneous evacuation’. The measure involves watchers carrying out 24/7 patrols and raising the alarm for residents to evacuate if a fire is spotted.
In new advice on waking watch patrols during the coronavirus pandemic, published two weeks ago, the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), the body that represents all of the country’s fire services, said the role of the waking watch was as important as ever due to the heightened risk of fire as more people are stay at home.
The NFCC urged landlords to consider installing communal fire alarms in blocks if waking watch staff numbers are reduced as a result of coronavirus.
The letter from Centrick said that leaseholders carrying out waking watch duty would be run on a trial basis to ensure they are delivering the requirements of a patrol, and if it proved to be unsuccessful then it would have to revert back to using external providers.
The NFCC and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were contacted for comment.