LONGBOAT QUAY: Report on flats’ fire risks withheld last year
If the notice had been served, it would almost certainly have resulted in an evacuation of the Dublin city centre apartment complex a year ago.
The recommendation came from senior executive fire officer Donal Casey, the same officer who had served the fire safety notice on Priory Hall in 2011.
The report compiled by Mr Casey recommended the notice on the basis on a detailed inspection that found 12 separate areas of concern about fire safety.
Among the more dangerous features were:
- Lobby at each floor not provided with a 1.5 sq m automatic opening smoke vent;
- Building services installations within service riser enclosures accessed from common areas were not adequately sealed or fire-stopped;
- Doors to all service riser enclosures were not provided with intumescent strips and smoke seals;
- Adequate smoke venting were not provided within fire-fighting stair enclosure and fire-fighting lobby;
- Fire separation between apartments and adjoining service risers in common areas was inadequate in respect of service penetrations and absence of compartment wall construction.
As a result of these and the other deficiencies, the report recommended a fire safety notice be served “prohibiting the use of the parts of the building” that included all areas above the first floor.
Three reasons were given for the necessity to serve the notice:
- The absence of adequate means of egress from the building;
- A fire would be likely to spread rapidly within the premises;
- The absence of adequate facilities as may be required to assist the fire service in the protection of life.
When contacted about the report, Mr Casey refused to comment on the matter.
“I’m retired now and I’ve left all that behind,” he said.
However, the Irish Examiner understands that rank and file fire-fighting personnel were not informed about the contents of the report.
When similar deficiencies at Priory Hall were made public, a fire engine was placed outside the building until evacuation was completed.
The recommendation for a fire safety notice was not accepted by the chief fire officer. Instead, a regime was put in place that included fire marshals patrolling 24/7 and the installation of a fire alarm system.
It is not clear whether Dublin City Council had any input into the decision not to serve the notice. The council previously told the Irish Examiner it became aware of the issues at Longboat Quay in June 2014.
Dublin Fire Brigade issued a fire service notice last week, which will require remedial work to be completed by a specific date to prevent evacuation. The cost of carrying out that work has been put at €4m.
The Dublin Docklands Development Authority, in conjunction with the receiver for the company which built the development, has offered €2.75m which it says represents more than half the full costs.
However, the 600 residents described the offer as “wholly unacceptable”, pointing out that the offer includes monies already spent on an earlier phase of works and a loan. There is also a dispute over the full cost of what has to be done to make the building safe.
Environment Minister Alan Kelly warned further fire-trap concerns and sub-standard building problems in apartment developments are set to emerge.
Each development with problems will have to be addressed individually, the minister indicated, as he signalled that the State was willing to help residents.
“This [Longboat Quay] isn’t the only site that will have issues,” Mr Kelly told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics. “There will be more coming down the road.
“For instance, there is an estate down in Kildare which has serious issues as well, which I’ve been very public on.”
Mr Kelly said he believed it was the State’s responsibility to help in cases and he also defended the amount of resources local authorities had to inspect developments.
He said there had been strengthened regulation, but that Longboat Quay had pre-dated this.
News: 7
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