South Yorkshire high-rise managers putting firefighters at risk

Firefighters say they are being put at risk when responding to incidents in tower blocks as almost 90% of managers have failed to provide building plans.

New legislation brought into effect following the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire requires key information to be passed to fire chiefs in the event of a blaze.

However, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue (SYFR) said it had only received details from about one in 10 managers.

A spokesman said it would take action against those refusing to comply.

The law, which came into effect on in January 2023, requires anyone responsible for buildings 18m (59ft) in height, or at least seven storeys and containing two or more domestic dwellings, to provide the information.

Among the details required are building plans and information about defective lifts or external wall system.

Tony Carlin, Deputy Chief Fire Officer in South Yorkshire, said: "Should the worst happen, and we have to deal with an incident in one of these high-rise buildings, it's essential that we do everything we can to make sure our firefighters are safe so we can swiftly tackle the incident.

"[We need to] know exactly where we are going with up-to-date plans of the building, and know if the lift works or if there are works going on in the building.

"All of that makes us far more effective at putting out fires and keeping people safe."

He said there were hundreds buildings in South Yorkshire that met the criteria and that routine building checks were not enough to keep up with any structural changes made.

"We want to go down the route of working with people, but should it become obvious to our enforcing officers that they're getting resistance, or people are refusing to comply, then through our enforcing mechanisms that can ultimately lead to prosecutions," he said.

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