COMHAIRLE CHONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 08, 2006

QUESTION No. 6

QUESTION: Cllr. Cathal King

To ask the Manager, to list the number of Council owned houses and apartments that have been damaged by fire over the past two years and list the corresponding causes identified for each of these fires and can the Manager make a statement on the matter?

REPLY

Attached is a list of premises damaged by fire over the past two years and where known , the cause of the fire.

In all case the Council arranges for a full electrical inspection to be carried out following a fire to ascertain whether or not the electrics in the house was at fault.

In none of the cases in the attached list can faulty wiring be attributed to the cause of the fire. This is of particular concern and interest to the Council's Response Maintenance Section who have invested considerable resources in ensuring that all houses and apartments in our stock are properly and safely wired in accordance with statutory regulations and where procedures are in place to respond immediately ( 24 hours a day , 7 days a week ) to reports of electrical problems from tenants.

One of the main causes of domestic house fires are unattended chip -pans and the Council last year circulated all tenants with a leaflet from Dublin Fire Brigade on the dangers associated with use of chip -pans.Tenants are also advised ( see recently circulated guide to Housing Maintenance / Council and Tenant Responsibility  ) that reports of electrical problems will be dealt with as emergencies.

Tenants are advised to contact the Council immediately if they have any concerns with regard to fire safety in their homes and ongoing works on Refurbishment Programme houses and houses handed over to Maintenance Section for repair and relet are designed to reduce the risk of fire.  The new programme on the installation of fire alarms in all housing stock will hopefully contribute to the reduction of fire in homes. 

 Council Tenants  have an obligation to ensure that all sensible and practical steps are taken by them to safeguard themselves and their families against fire. Housing Response Maintenance Section will be pleased to advise tenants if requestesd to do so on appropriate measures that they may take to protect their homes against the risk of fire.