Calls for fire safety audits on the Southside

CONCERNS have been raised after it emerged that Dublin
City Council has not carried out or commissioned any independent fire safety
inspections at scores of apartment blocks on the Southside.

Sinn Fein’s Ballyfermot representative, Daithi Doolan,
said Dublin City Council had revealed to him that no independent fire safety
audits have been carried out on its behalf.

According to Mr Doolan, the city council has not
carried out or commissioned fire safety reports at any of the 69 apartment
blocks that have been built since 2005 in the city council’s South Central
Area.

The area includes Kilmainham, Inchicore, Ballyfermot,
Bluebell, Crumlin, Drimnagh, Dolphin’s Barn, Rialto and parts of Chapelizod.

The concerns have been raised in light of the recent
Priory Hall controversy on the Northside, which involved hundreds of residents
being forced to move out of their apartments in Donaghmede because of fire
safety breaches.

Mr Doolan said the revelation that fire safety audits
hadn’t been carried out at the apartments in the south city was contained in a
recent response to a written question submitted to the council by his Sinn Fein
colleague, Cllr Criona Ni Dhalaigh.

She asked the local authority to carry out and publish
the findings of independent fire safety reports at the 69 apartment blocks
built in the city council’s South Central Area since 2005 in light of the
recent Priory Hall scandal.

In response the council stated:

“It would not be
practical for the fire brigade to carry out such a survey. It should be noted
that such a survey would not reveal latent defects.

?

Mr Doolan said he was shocked to learn that
independent fire safety inspections hadn’t been carried out on behalf of the
council.

“To make matters worse there are no plans to carry out
fire inspections,

? he said.

“This is a disgrace and should be rectified as a
matter of urgency.

?

In April 2002, two young children were killed in a
fire at the Iveagh Trust buildings on Ross Road in Dublin 8.

Robin Knox, who is an independent fire safety and
building regulations consultant, carried out a fire safety report at the flat
where the children died, at the request of their families.

Mr Knox said there was still no legislation in place
to compel local authorities to carry out inspections at the homes of local
authority tenants who might be concerned about fire safety in their homes.

“There is no law in place for fire safety reports to
be carried out on buildings by any local authority or council,

? he stated.

“Statutory inspection of all buildings should be a
requirement in the interests of public safety and in the interest of human
rights.

?

A spokesman for Dublin City Council said the current
regulatory system, which he described as

“self regulating

?, demands that, for
certain categories of building, the fire brigade issues a fire safety
certificate.

He said that such certificates are issued in advance
of the construction of the building in question.

It certifies that the building, if constructed in
accordance with the submitted design, will comply with the fire section of the
building regulations.

“Confirmation that the building is actually
constructed in accordance with the submitted design is dealt with under the
certification by building construction professionals,

? the spokesperson added.

“There is no obligation for the fire authority to
inspect all builds to which a fire certificate relates, and it would not be
practicable to do so, as per the response from the Chief Fire Officer.

?

In addition, he said a fire safety certificate
application is made by a fire safety consultant, architect or engineer who is
familiar with the building regulations and the procedure for applying for a
fire safety certificate.