Following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower in London, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue is reassuring local people about its response arrangements for high rise buildings.

Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this devastating tragedy in London, as well as our colleagues in the London Fire Brigade who worked incredibly hard under very difficult circumstances.

We would like to reassure local residents that we have established processes in place for ensuring the safety of both residential blocks and commercial premises. Our Business Fire Safety officers are visiting high-rise properties across South Yorkshire to carry out safety audits and work with those responsible for those buildings to understand their obligations under current fire safety laws.

Our operational firefighters will also be reviewing their plans for dealing with high-rise incidents of this nature and we will of course respond to any national learning from the Grenfell Tower fire and adjust our plans if necessary.

Head of Prevention and Protection Steve Helps said; “It would not be appropriate for us to speculate about the cause of the fire until a full investigation has been carried out. However, what we do know is that fires of this type are rare.

“Our fire safety officers work closely with Building Control bodies, building owners and Local Authority partners on a day to day basis to ensure that new buildings, and significant alterations or refurbishments to existing buildings, meet the requirements of the appropriate Building Regulations. They also carry out fire safety audits of buildings to identify any deficiencies, and help those responsible for building safety to comply with their legal obligations.”

If you have a fire safety concern about a high rise building, please contact the Fire Safety team at tfs.cs@syfire.gov.uk

Anyone living in South Yorkshire can request a Home Safety Check visit from ourselves – call 0114 253 2314 or visit our website here