Fire marshals patrolling council tower blocks in a waking watch will cost Bristol City Council £200,000 a week. The 77 wardens will be paid to patrol tower blocks with flammable polystyrene cladding until the council installs new fire safety measures like smoke alarms and sprinklers.
Each of the 37 tower blocks with expanded polystyrene (EPS) cladding, plus one block with similar cladding, will see waking watch wardens patrolling the building around the clock. These wardens will alert residents if a fire breaks out, following recent fires at two blocks.
The estimated cost to taxpayers of paying for a temporary waking watch is twice as much as the council initially planned to spend on installing sprinklers inside tower block flats, in January 2019. Since that promise was made only one building has had sprinklers installed.
