Hundreds of tower blocks found to have fire safety flaws

Hundreds of towers blocks across England were discovered to have fire safety flaws including broken fire doors and holes which could help blazes spread, new figures show.

Nearly a third of 436 social housing blocks investigated by Inside Housing of fire risk assessments (FRAs) had fire doors which were damaged, unable to close properly or of an inadequate standard.

The trade magazine found 71 blocks were suffering from a lack of emergency lighting in stairwells and communal areas, which could hamper the escape of tenants.

And at 73 buildings, residents were either offered no safety information for fires or it was unclear or incorrect, the investigation found.

Fire safety at high-rise buildings has been thrust into the spotlight after last month's Grenfell Tower disaster, in which at least 80 people died.

There are around 4,000 tower blocks across England, at which there is no legal requirement for those managing the buildings to carry out the fire-safety assessments within a specific time-frame.

Fire experts, however, recommend annual checks.

The investigation also discovered holes in the walls of service rooms were found at 109 high-rises by the FRAs, opening up the possibility that fire and smoke could pass through them and fill corridors in the event of fire.

Similarly, 54 were identified as having faulty or broken ventilation, which would be used to clear the hallways of smoke, and 44 had exposed pipes or hanging electric cables.

The overall fire risk at the towers could still be higher than FRAs portray, as many were said to be "type 1" assessments, meaning they did not examine the state of flats themselves or cladding and insulation on their exterior.

A nationwide safety operation was launched to establish how many buildings were clad in material similar to that blamed for aiding the Grenfell Tower fire's spread, exposing hundreds potentially at risk.

Ronnie King, honorary administrative secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group, said: "Unless assessors go into flats there's no point.

"Fire resistance can get punctured by people breaking into cavities to do other work."

FRAs from the blocks were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act from 36 councils or arms-length management organisations and seven housing associations, dated between 2012 and July 2017 - meaning some issues could have since been resolved.