TOWER block residents across the borough have called on the Town Hall to install sprinkler systems in high-rise buildings following the deadly Grenfell tower blaze.

The demands for automatic fire extinguishers came as it emerged last night (Thursday) that samples of cladding used on eight Islington Council-owned tower blocks have been sent off for independent testing to see if it is fire-safe.

This week, Labour councils including Croydon and Sheffield announced they will retrofit sprinklers in all tower blocks in the wake of the fire that ripped through the Kensington tower, killing at least 79 people – and tenants said Islington should do the same.

Angela, a tenant on the 15th floor of a tower block on the Pleydell estate in Finsbury, said: “Sprinklers and external fire alarm systems should be installed. The fact that Croydon has done it, I’m hoping that Islington Council will follow suit.

“People have become a lot more anxious. Sprinklers would be so welcome.”

Sarah Nash, who lives on the 17th floor of Michael Cliff House, and is a Finsbury estate tenants and residents’ association committee member, added: “We want sprinklers but we don’t have the water pressure for it.

“We also want fire alarms in the communal balcony areas. And we told the council we wanted new fire doors three years ago – they should shut on their own but some don’t.”

Croydon said the cost of retrofitting sprinkler systems in 25 blocks was estimated to be around £10million.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn this week called on the government to make emergency funding available so councils can install sprinklers in high-rise blocks.

Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington’s housing chief, did not to commit to following Croydon’s example, but said: “We will do whatever it takes to ensure people are safe in our estates. There are many fire safety measures and adaptations available – nothing is off the table and we are prepared to look at everything.”

At a meeting of the housing scrutiny committee at the Town Hall on Tuesday, Sean McLaughlin, director of housing and adult social services, said the question of sprinklers was “very complicated when it comes to retrofitting them [in buildings] they were not designed for.”

But he added: “From our point of view everything changes [after the Grenfell blaze]. A fire that went upwards and inwards in such a large building before the fire brigade could deal with it properly is something we would not have thought possible.

“There will be a lot of new thinking about not just fire safety, but fundamentally about design of social housing.”

The Kensington disaster has also raised questions over fire safety at similar blocks in Islington, in particular the external cladding – material used to provide insulation and improve appearance – which experts have said may have contributed to the rapid spread of the blaze.

Yesterday (Thursday) the Town Hall revealed that cladding of eight council-owned tower blocks has been sent away for testing. These are on the Harvist estate in Holloway – where a fire in a second-floor flat this weekend was contained – Brunswick estate in Clerkenwell, and at Braithwaite House in Finsbury. In total 126 privately and publicly owned buildings of six storeys and higher were assessed.

Islington Council has put on hold all planned work to install cladding at four tower blocks: Ilex House, Gambier House, Halliday House and Arlington House.

The Town Hall said it has spent £7m on its fire risk assessment programme and associated fire safety works since 2013. It said a further £38m of works are set to take place – though the council did not specify over what period this would be spent.

Cllr Ward added: “We will let residents know the outcome of the tests [on cladding] as soon as we are told, and will continue to follow the fire brigade’s advice to keep our residents safe. While we await news of the results, we are writing to all tenants and leaseholders to reassure them and explain the actions we are taking.

“We are also pointing them to the fire brigade’s advice for people living in different types of accommodation, and reminding them to keep their escape routes, including communal walkways, clear and free of hazards. It is important to be clear that all of our council housing and estates fully comply with current fire regulations and are regularly inspected.

“We have a robust risk assessment programme, assessing some blocks every year and checking every block at least every three years.”