“The National Fire Chiefs’ Council has called for all residential buildings with four floors or more to be installed with sprinkler systems after a huge fire tore through student flats in Bolton last month.

“But a Freedom of Information request from The Argus revealed 44 council-owned housing blocks in Brighton and Hove which are four storeys or taller do not have sprinklers installed.”

This is a worrying discovery as two of the 44 buildings had sprinklers systems approved last September.

However, despite funding of £300,000 from Brighton and Hove City Council and East Sussex Fire and Rescue service, the installation of sprinklers has been delayed due to “feedback from residents”. For a sprinkler installation programme to be successful the residents must be consulted says a city council spokesperson. Although, not all residents are in favor of installing a sprinkler system; despite sprinklers being paramount in preventing another tragic disaster similar to the Grenfell Tower fire says an East Sussex Fire Brigade Union Spokesman.

Whilst “firefighters on the frontline understand the importance of sprinkler systems in assisting to prevent the rapid growth of fires” … “sprinkler systems should not be viewed as a ‘golden bullet’. There is no replacement to a properly funded and resourced fire and rescue service.”

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