Hundreds of boom-builds are unsafe, say experts

This article from September 2013 shows how these problems are not going away.

Hundreds of apartment blocks built during the boom around the country could be as dangerous as Priory Hall, fire safety experts have warned. Many apartment complexes share the same problems identified in the Tom McFeely-built block of apartments in north Dublin. And fire safety inspectors who have been called to examine blocks say owners and management companies are "burying their heads in the sand" over the dangers. One expert in the area of fire safety said last week that not only were residential buildings potentially dangerous, but so too were schools, healthcare premises and office buildings that went up in the boom era. When asked to give an estimate of the number of potentially fire-hazardous buildings that were built during the time, the expert told the Sunday Independent: "No one knows, but hundreds, certainly hundreds."

Read the full article @ The Irish Independent

Our fire safety certification process will not protect against another Grenfell

Fire safety in buildings has again become an area of major concern following on from the disaster in Grenfell Tower in London, and, more recently, the Metro Hotel fire in Ballymun. In Ireland most buildings must have a fire safety certificate, but what does that mean? If I ask people not directly involved in the building industry what a “fire safety certificate” is, most will reply that it is a certificate confirming the building is safe in relation to fire. This is not an unreasonable assumption but it is not an accurate one. The certificate is issued at design stage and it confirms that if the building is built in accordance with the submission made to the local authority, it will be safe. That is a significant difference and renaming it a “fire safety design certificate” would at least bring more clarity to the public. This goes to the heart of a difficulty with Ireland’s certification processes; we offer certs that the public is fully entitled to take at their word but that can – and probably do – mislead.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Fire Officers raise questions over self-certification of buildings by builders and developers

O’Brien told TheJournal.ie that his members have been “calling for a proper robust risk assessment” of the city to be carried out. He said this would give firefighters an indication of the type of structure they are dealing with – and any potential fire safety concerns - before they even arrive at a scene.
He said similar systems to this are in place in Northern Ireland and Scotland. “What we have at the moment is a type of self-certification by builders and developers and as we’ve seen with the likes of Priory Hall etc, it is not a reliable method of ensuring fire safety standards,” he said. “These buildings were certified as safe when they clearly weren’t. Our members, they go into these buildings when they are on fire and they see the fundamental flaws they have. Somebody is going to lose their life one day over this.”

Read the full article @ thejournal.ie