Sprinklers suppressed a Poplar flat fire after the occupants left a chip pan unattended on the hob.
Firefighters were called to the fire in a fifteenth floor flat on City Island Way in Poplar last night.
When the crews arrived they found that the sprinkler system in the kitchen had activated and quickly put the out fire.
Neil Guyett, senior fire safety officer at the London Fire Brigade, said:
“The sprinkler system did its job and suppressed the fire before it could damage the flat and potentially injure the residents.
“We believe a chip pan was left unattended and caught alight. We want to remind people to never leave a pan alone with the heat on – not even for a few seconds.
Two women and four children left the flat before the Brigade arrived. One infant was treated at the scene by London Ambulance Service crews and was taken to hospital as a precaution.
A further 60 residents in the building self evacuated the block before firefighters arrived.
Following the tragic Grenfell fire the Brigade has renewed our call for residential tower blocks and new school builds to have sprinklers.
London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said in September: “Now is the time to remind Government of life-saving recommendations we have been making for years.
“We are calling for residential tower blocks to be retrofitted with sprinklers and they should be mandatory in all new school builds and major refurbishments.
“Sprinklers are the only fire safety system that detects a fire, suppresses a fire and raises the alarm. They save lives and protect property and they are especially important where there are vulnerable residents who would find it difficult to escape, like those with mobility problems.”
It is thus curious that a fire safety “expert”, Labour Councillor Dr Barry Henley,should insist that sprinkler systems in Birmingham’s 213 council towers blocks will protect property but not save lives. There has never been a multiple fatality, as the result of a fire, where a sprinkler system is installed.
Ciommissioner Coton went on to say “My priority is to save lives but I can also make an economic case for sprinklers. It costs around £1,500 – £2,500 to retrofit a flat, while the cost of refurbishing a one-bedroom flat after a fire is about £77,000.”