Houses in fire estate have ‘no resale value’

A damning new report highlighting major fire safety concerns in a Newbridge housing estate has concluded that the houses have no resale value and will almost definitely have insurance cover withdrawn.

The Milford Manor estate was the scene of a devastating fire on March 31 in which six terraced houses were burnt to the ground in less than half an hour. The latest engineers’ report, commissioned by a couple living in the estate, concludes that there are “major and life- threatening serious shortfalls and discrepancies” in the construction of the houses, particularly in relation to fire safety.

The report details serious issues in relation to the construction of walls, ceilings and the supply of fire doors, all of which are by design supposed to have a one-hour fire resistance to stop the spread of fire.

In enumerating the litany of shortfalls, the report poses questions about how the houses were allowed to be constructed as they were.

“What were the building control authority inspectors and structural insurance inspectors checking for and against when they attended for inspections during construction,” the report asks.

“What and whose design actually did they inspect when they came on site during the construction phase?” The report was commissioned by the couple following a briefing from officials in Kildare County Council who told residents that it was up to themselves to check out their homes for deficiencies after a report commissioned by the council on vacant houses found a high level of dangerous conditions.

That report was in response to the fire which destroyed the terrace of houses in little over 20 minutes. Typically, fire safety design provides for a one-hour delay in fire spreading between each house. The extent of the fire raised serious concerns about the possibility of widespread problems with the construction of the houses. The houses were built in 2006 by Barrack Construction, which has since gone into liquidation. They were built using timber frame construction, which requires a high degree of specification, and they were built at a time when the level of inspection in house building was at a minimal.

The most recent report, completed on May 20, outlines in the starkest terms the consequences for the owners of the 90 houses in the estate pointing out that the shortfalls detected “leads to a total loss of saleable title and value for the properties and the almost certain withdrawal of insurance facilities thereon by insurers (as soon as they are further informed on the issues)” .

Local independent councillor Willie Crowley has called on the Government to act on what he calls a “fire time bomb”.

“They risk being held responsible for all time in failing to act and take measures to prevent a disaster of unimaginable proportions which could occur at any time in the future,” he said.