Star comment: No time for delay over sprinklers

It still seems incredible that a disaster of such magnitude could happen in modern day Britain.

With the public inquiry into the fire now under way, we can only hope that lessons can be learned that help prevent a similar incident from happening in future.

One of the most effective methods of doing this is to ensure that all social housing buildings are fitted out with full sprinkler systems.

The benefits of such a policy could be seen in Wolverhampton recently, when an unattended chip pan caught fire on the 14th floor of a student accommodation block.

Fortunately the flats are fitted out with sprinklers, which meant that no one was harmed in what could have been a terrible incident.

If no sprinkler system existed in the building, the outcome could have been very different indeed.

West Midlands Fire Service has called sprinklers the most effective way to ensure fires are suppressed or even extinguished.

They save lives, reduce injuries, protect fire crews and reduce damage to property and the environment.

Yet across the country there are still thousands of social housing flats that do not have a full sprinkler system installed.

In fact, according to a recent investigation, only one in 50 of the UK’s social housing tower blocks currently has a full system in place. There is simply no excuse for this state of affairs.

Safety experts say that sprinklers can be fitted at low cost and are durable enough to last for years without having to be replaced. We should not have to wait for the outcome of the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry for action to be taken on this issue.

The evidence is clear. Sprinklers save lives. The Government must take immediate action to legislate for them to be fitted in all social housing buildings.

Sprinklers may be compulsory in new-build high rises over 30 metres in height, but there is no such law for older buildings. Any arguments that it is too expensive to retrofit sprinklers will not wash. You can’t put a cost on a life.