More safety checks in Cleveland Fire Brigade area

More fire safety checks were carried out at public buildings in the Cleveland area last year

Cleveland Fire Brigade conducts safety audits on most public buildings and the shared areas in residential properties such as flats but inspections hit a record low nationally last year and the Fire Brigades Union warns the scale of the building safety crisis – exposed by the Grenfell Tower fire – is “beyond all current comprehension”.

Home Office data shows Cleveland Fire Brigade completed 1,567 fire safety audits on buildings in 2019-20 – 111 more than the 1,456 inspections recorded the previous year.

Nationally, the number of audits fell to a record low of 48,400 last year – 43% fewer than in 2010-11.

Buildings tested include care homes, hospitals and high-rises, as well as schools and shops.

Of the audits undertaken in the Cleveland Fire Brigade area last year, 193 (12%) resulted in an “unsatisfactory” rating – with crews issuing 75 informal notifications explaining what action needed to be taken.

Tougher sanctions – formal enforcement notices warnings that a building breaches the law.– were handed out six times.

Prohibition notices, ordering access to a building to be restricted or for it to be closed altogether, were issued on 18 occasions.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said: “The Grenfell Tower fire exposed the shameful state of building safety in the UK.

“The scale of the building safety crisis is beyond all current comprehension – and firefighters have a crucial role to play in tackling it.”

Mr Wrack said the union supports the Government’s new bills on fire safety and building safety, which aim to expand firefighters’ prevention and protection work but added: “To be effective, the fire and rescue service must be properly funded. As things stand, the Government is trying to do public safety on the cheap.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Funding for standalone fire and rescue services has increased by 3.2% in 2020-21.

“We’ve also made more than £20m of funding available to the sector to support fire protection work – £16m of which is being invested directly to increase the number of audits and qualified officers.”