Four people remain in temporary accommodation following the fire at Twinnell House on Sunday (Sept 25) which left one man dead. However, a spokesperson for Bristol City Council has said they hope all residents will be able to return home soon as the damage to the property is believed to be cosmetic.
A safety assessment of the Easton flats on the upper floor is currently being carried out to determine when the four residents can return. It is believed due to the containment of the fire, the four flats could be ready for residents to move back into next week, but at this stage the exact date cannot be confirmed.
An Inquest into the death of Abdul Jabar Oryakhel will open on Tuesday. The fire that was started by an electric bike, killed the father of seven who fell from the top floor trying to escape the blaze.
READ MORE: Man who died in Bristol flat fire fell from top floor trying to escape the blaze
Mayor Marvin Rees visited Twinnell House on Thursday (Sept 29) where he reassured residents the high rise council block was safe and had the correct evacuation procedures in place. In a recent statement, the council confirmed communal fire alarms are not a requirement in blocks such as Twinnell House which doesn't have the kind of cladding that caused the fire to spread at Grenfell Tower.
The Avon Fire Service advice for fire evacuation in high rise buildings such as Twinnell House may be to stay in your flat, so long as the fire is somewhere else in the building. Avon Fire and Rescue recieved a call at 2.15am on Sunday morning and were able to extinguish the fire quickly but tragically one man died and eight were treated in hospital as a result of smoke inhalation.
In a statement released on Friday, a council spokesperson said of the recent tragedy: "The Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees visited Twinnell House yesterday (Thursday 29 September) to talk with residents and some family members of those affected by the accident on Sunday morning. Residents were reassured that their building dealt well with the challenges presented to it.
"At the meeting the Mayor shared information from the independent fire investigators report which found that all of the fire measures, including fire alarms, fire doors, ‘stay put’ messaging, and evacuation plans, worked well at the site. The report also said that because fire doors and alarms both within the flat, and on the top floor, responded as expected the emergency services had the time needed to tackle the fire and get people out safely.
"This also meant that the fire was contained in the flat where it began. The external cladding systems did not ignite nor add to the fire. This also helped to contain the fire and reduce the risk to others.
"We make sure, as part of our rolling maintenance programme, that fire alarms work properly. Residents can test all fire alarms themselves using the test button and the alarms also chirp if the battery is running out.
"We urge all residents to contact our Customer Service Centre on 0117 922 2200 if they think they need a new alarm, or just need help with their alarm for any reason. We will always visit and review an alarm if a resident is concerned.
"There are no communal fire alarms in blocks like Twinnell House. The national fire policy says that communal fire alarms are not required in these types of blocks.
"This was reviewed shortly after the Grenfell tragedy by the National Fire Chiefs Council, and they confirmed that communal fire alarms are still not required for all high rise residential blocks of this type unless they had the type of cladding used at Grenfell. Twinnell House does not have that type of cladding.
"We will be holding drop-in events for all residents at Twinnell House today and tomorrow. We want to continue to listen to the community’s concerns in response to the sad event and, as the Mayor discussed at the residents’ meeting, we are putting actions in place to support them through this very difficult time.
"We’d also like to set up a residents’ group at Twinnell House and would also encourage residents interested in joining the group to attend those drop-in events. We understand this may be a worrying time for all residents of tower blocks in the city.
"However, we intend to send out reminder information to all residents about fire safety that will be bespoke to each type of block in the coming weeks."
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