Family Evacuated From Flat Fire On Edensor Road
Locals complain that fire hydrant signs are not easily visible on estate
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A family was safely evacuated from a flat on Edensor Gardens on Friday evening (13 December) amidst local concerns that fire hydrants on the estate are not easily visible.
Hounslow Council has responded to the claim (see below) with a statement saying that while the Fire Brigade has not indicated it intends to flag up the issue of fire hydrants on the estate, the Council will explore the matter after the investigation into the fire is completed.
Six fire engines attended the first which caught ablaze on a top floor flat which was gutted.
A spokesperson for residents said that "only two units could access the estate due to only one small access road. They lost valuable time looking for the fire hydrants, and couldn't find one on the estate, and had to go to a neighbouring Road some 200 yards away!"
Unconfirmed reports suggested it was caused when candle caught fire. Another unconfirmed report said that smoke alarms did not go off.
The fire was in the flat with door open on top floor
Chiswickw4.com was told by another source that the fire hose was brought out towards the roundabout on Corney Reach Road.
She continued, "On an estate inspection on the 11th of November with two housing officers from the council, residents and a local councillor, concerned residents highlighted that the fire hydrants were not visible and that fire hydrant signs were needed urgently. This has been an ongoing issue as the hydrants also couldn't be located by the fire brigade during an explosive fire on the 31st of December 2013 where a woman was seriously burned and was air lifted to hospital. Again the flat was gutted. Families surrounding the blaze were relocated and were without proper homes for months."
A fire hydrant located on the ground on the estate
She said this further added to their concerns about proposed extra building of a fourth floor on top of three-floor buildings.
"This fire would have directly affected the new floor and lives would have been lost, as the new floors planned don’t have balcony’s to evacuate to, and with the current lack of fire Hydrant signage and limited accessibility to the site for emergency services, the results could have been disastrous.
"The flat in question is one of the four corner flats that would be directly affected by the fourth floor, as the floor would be built to obstruct a bedroom window," said the spokesperson.
Local councillor John Todd visited the scene and observed the position of the fire hydrants. He has contacted Hounslow Council about the matter and expressed serous concern.
"This ongoing issue should be addressed and I have highlighted the need for prompt response from the director of housing at the Council, " he said.
Cllr Lily Bath, Cabinet Member for Housing at Hounslow Council said: “The LFB are used to locating hydrants often in the dark and other challenging circumstances, and have confirmed that appliances have mobile devices which are able to locate relevant hydrants when attending call outs. The Fire and Rescue Services and Water Companies are jointly responsibly for provision, inspection, testing and decisions relating to occasional abandonment of fire hydrants. The purpose of the inspection regime is to ensure that hydrants are available and fit for purpose.
“We have spoken to the LFB who have indicated that they do not currently expect to flag any issues or action required in respect of the hydrants available to fight the fire at Edensor Gardens. However we will be exploring this further with them when they complete their investigations, to ensure that we have done everything that we can to assist them in quickly locating hydrants when they are called out to a fire, both at Edensor Gardens and elsewhere in the borough.“
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December 17, 2019
