The type of cladding used on a block of student flats destroyed in a blaze in Bolton on Friday ‘causes concern’, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed.
Speaking at a press conference in Bolton on Saturday, Burnham confirmed that The Cube student accommodation in Bradshawgate did not have the same cladding as Grenfell Tower, however did have a form of cladding that ‘raises issued that will have to be addressed’.
Two people were injured on Friday after what is believed to have started as a small
fire in a student flat quickly escalated into a huge blaze which was seen tearing through the upper floors of the building “within minutes”, according to firefighters.
Dramatic videos published to social media show pieces of debris falling rapidly from the building as it burnt, with one eyewitness stating they had seen flames “crawling up the cladding.”
The incident has been likened to the Grenfell disaster, in which 72 people died in June 2017 after a small fire spread rapidly through the high-rise building, exacerbated by dangerous aluminium cladding which was filled with plastic.
Speaking to reporters, Burnham said he wanted to work with the Government on a way forward to make buildings more safe.
He said: “We know that the prime minister is visiting later and we will be looking to work with him to understand what happened last night and see if we need to go further to remove cladding from these buildings and give families peace of mind.”
Speaking about the actions of the emergency services, he added: “I’m sure I speak for everybody when I say could not be more proud of our firefighters and emergency services.”
Speaking earlier on Saturday, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union described the way in which the fire appeared to travel as “deeply troubling”, and called for a “complete overhaul” of
UK safety standards.
“This is not how any building should react to a fire in the 21st century, let alone a building in which people live,” he said.
Grenfell United, an organisation advocating on half of the Grenfell community, said the incident “brings back memories” and added that they “couldn’t believe” it had happened two-and-a-half years on from the disaster. Devastating to see images of such quick fire spread last night in #Bolton. It brings back memories of #Grenfell & we can't believe that over 2.5 years later this is happening. Our hearts go out to all the students affected. 1/3— Grenfell United (@GrenfellUnited) November 16, 2019 Burnham, who has faced anger during his time as mayor for cuts to the fire service in order to save millions of pounds, was subjected to further criticism by the FBU’s North West executive council member Les Skarratts, who called for an end to senseless cuts”.
Skarratts said: “Firefighters on the ground have worked tirelessly to contain the fire and rescue residents. There will clearly be some hard lessons to learn as the circumstances become clearer in the coming days.
“Greater Manchester has lost more than 600 firefighters since 2010 alone and, alarmingly, Andy Burnham is trying to cut another six fire engines, including one in Bolton.
“We need to stop the senseless cuts to our fire and rescue service before we see another awful incident like this.”
In September, Burnham made a u-turn on a series of proposed cuts, including plans to cut the number of crew aboard a fire engine from five to four, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Six fire stations in the Greater Manchester Area will be closed, whilst three new ones will be opened, after bosses were told to cut spending by £12.8m over three years.
Bolton North and Bolton Central were two of the stations to be axed.
More than 40 fire engines attended the scene in Bolton on Friday night, with several crews remaining on the scene tackling “hotspots” within the building on Saturday morning.
Greater Manchester Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire Beverley Hughes said some of the firefighters involved in battling the blaze in Bolton on Friday had been through Grenfell-inspired training just one day before.
She said: “The learning from Grenfell has paid dividends. Some of the firefighters had training the day before, particularly around evacuation.”
Hughes also praised the response from the emergency services and lauded two student ambassadors, named only as Kate and Jade, who knocked on doors in The Cube to alert students to evacuate.Related... Bolton Fire: Firefighters' Union Leader Calls For 'Complete Overhaul' Of Safety Standards After Flames Seen 'Crawling Up The Cladding' I Lost Family In Grenfell. If The Conservatives Really Cared, They Would Sack Jacob Rees-Mogg Stormzy Calls For 'Piece Of S***' Jacob Rees-Mogg To Resign Over Grenfell Comments