• WE would like to thank the Islington Tribune for inviting fire safety expert Professor Arnold Dix to carry out his inspection of Michael Cliffe House (Safety fears ignored for years, claim high-rise tenants, June 30).

We should note that there were parts of communal areas and individual flats within Michael Cliffe House that Prof Dix was unable to access but which he said he would need to examine in order to ensure a full and proper inspection.

If others want to read his report they can find it at finsburyestatetra.wixsite.com/ourview/news.

The report challenges any notion that the council’s own fire risk assessments are in any way adequate in making us feel safe in our homes. Presumably, one was carried out on Braithwaite House without cladding being identified as a problem as on Grenfell Tower.

As well as the council assessments failing to highlight relevant issues there is also uncertainty as to what they may or may not do about issues they do identify.

Their report on Michael Cliffe House, for example, does not note the open wires hanging from Virgin cable boxes, which are fixed on fire exit balconies and are not properly boxed in. In the event of these catching light the fire would pass along the wires from floor to floor and prevent access to the balconies. We have raised issues about these boxes and cables with the council since 2010.

We have consistently raised the issue of non-closing fire doors, or fire doors with gaps, which would not prevent smoke from spreading rapidly through the building. The problems with the doors are mentioned in fire risk assessments in 2010 and 2016 but have not been addressed.

Prof Dix was of the opinion that, with or without gaps, the fire doors, installed 50 years ago, are inadequate by modern standards. In the last week workers have been instructed to put “Fire door, keep shut” stickers on the doors, a laughable response to the situation.

Prof Dix’s report highlights fire-risk problems that have arisen as a result of recent capital works being carried out on Michael Cliffe and Patrick Coman houses. This includes failure to put adequate fire sealant around pipework that penetrates floors of the block. This pipework is on the verge of being boxed in, and without Prof Dix’s report we would have been unaware of this potential risk. Work involving drilling into walls has also compromised the safety of the block.

We want to know what the council is doing ordinarily to thoroughly inspect capital works here and elsewhere in Islington, particularly regarding penetration of fire walls or floors and additional risks that may be created by either poor contractor workmanship or the council’s own failures to properly inspect the work.

RICHARD LARCOMBE
Chairman, Finsbury Estate Tenants and Residents Association