Fire-hit family still waiting for action
Tenants rescued from their flat following a fire say they are still waiting for a smoke-blackened stairwell to be cleaned six weeks after the incident.
Emily and Connor Smith, and their four-month-old baby Faith, had to be rescued by firefighters from their first-floor flat in St Austell Road, Thurnby Lodge, after smoke blocked their exit.
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The blaze broke out in a storage cupboard in a stairwell at about 4am on January 6. It was the third incident involving fires at the flats since September 2008.
Emily said: "Everything is still black and filthy and you get dirty and the smell is just awful. I think it's disgusting, nothing has changed since the fire.
"I don't want to stay here, or live here. At night when I go to bed it's constantly on my mind. But the council won't move me because they say it's not affecting my health.
"We keep getting promised they're coming to clean the stairwell up, but nothing happens."
Neighbour Mohammed Daud, 42, who lives in a downstairs flat in the block, said: "Nothing's happened, it's been weeks now and all they've done is get a light working again."
A city council spokesman said: "We've already carried out cleaning work to the handrails and communal areas, and are due to replace the doors damaged by the fire.
"We were due to clean to stairwell with a jet washer last week, but the cold weather meant we had to wait as the water could have frozen and been dangerous for people using the stairs."
A police spokeswoman said the cause of the fire was still under investigation but that there was a "suspicious element" to it.
She said: "It wasn't an accident.
"No-one has been arrested to date."
5 Comments
by sydney11
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 4:52PM
“So what's the problem then - it always seems to be someone else's responsibility - always waiting for some body else rather than taking individualy responsibility - I don't know what some of these people want !!!!!”
by CGLee
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 11:13AM
“I agree with the previous posters. You read so many times in these columns of council tenants who are "desperate" for this kind of work to be completed by the councils, often because of their children's safety being compromised by things such as broken fences. I know what I'd do in that situation - do the work myself.”
by LE3_NHS
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 8:54AM
“If your that bothered get off your backside with a bucket & sponge & clean it yourself. Exactly the same sort of person that would sue if they slipped on ice from anyone else cleaning it up. Much easier to whine & moan to the local paper.”
by martin_le3
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 8:44AM
“To be honest, they haven't got much to complain about. The council have already been to do what they could, but haven't finished the job because, as they rightly state, freezing temperatures would freeze the water and be very dangerous. What do they expect? The council cant change basic physics.”
by Graham_LE8
Wednesday, February 15 2012, 8:18AM
“So what's actually at the crux of this complaint? - a genuine concern that the council have failed to swing into action with some impressive remedial works, despite the time of year, or to use the incident to press for a move to a more desirable property?...
The tenants are fortunate that the fire merely caused superficial damage to the property, and no-one was harmed, most people would be thankful for that, so a little delay in repairs isn't the end of the world really - and of course, if it's bothering them that much, they could make start on cleaning up a bit themselves...”