High rise tenants reassured on fire safety

Councillor Gordon Hughes said: “We are obviously shocked by these events and our thoughts are with those affected by this terrible incident.

“We have rigorous safety procedures and checks in place across all our high rise flats and undertake independent fire safety checks annually on all our buildings.

“Specialised checks are also carried out on fire prevention equipment, lighting and fire extinguishers, and these are supplemented by regular visits and checks by housing staff with fire and safety advice given.

“We liaise regularly with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to ensure our procedures and advice are up to date, and if any changes are required we would implement those as a matter of priority.”

Assistant Chief Fire Officer David McGown, director of Prevention and Detection for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our thoughts are firmly with those who have been affected by the incident at Grenfell Tower and with our emergency service colleagues who are in attendance.

“The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service works closely with local authorities and housing associations to ensure the safety of occupants in high rise buildings.

“I would remind communities in Scotland we are here to support them, most notably through our free home fire safety visits where firefighters will provide advice and guidance on what to do in the event of an emergency.

“Specific safety information relating to high rise premises is available on the Scottish Fire and Rescue website.”

There are 13 high rise blocks in Falkirk. The oldest are 51 years old.

The first two, Parkfoot and Glenbrae were built by Wimpey and completed in 1966. They were followed by Leishman, Belmont, Eastburn, Marshall, Maxwell, Symon and Paterson Towers built by Crudens a year later.

Breton and Corentin were both built by Bison and occupied in 1968 and 1970 respectively. The final two, Glenfuir and Greenbank, also constructed by Wimpey, were finished in 1972.