After last week’s tragic fire at the Grenfell Tower block in London we wanted to take the opportunity to reassure our tenants regarding the safety systems we have in place across our housing stock.

Firstly we can confirm that Kingdom do not have any blocks of flats that are considered to be high rise flats similar to Grenfell Tower. We also do not own any flats that have had additional external cladding fitted to them.

Even though we do not have any high rise blocks we will be carefully monitoring progress in the Grenfell Tower fire investigation and we will look at all advice and recommendations that this produces.

We are also reviewing our own fire safety process to see if any improvements are required in light of the incident and recommendations that may come out of the investigation.

We would like to give you reassurance regarding the safety measures we have in place to help reduce / eliminate the risk of fire in our houses or flats.

All of our properties are fitted with smoke alarms, as a minimum there will be one on each level of your home in the hall and a heat detector in your kitchen. In some homes there may be additional smoke detectors.

The fire detection and warning systems in our blocks of flats vary due to the height, design and layout of the blocks and stairs. Some are fitted with smoke venting systems, to help keep escape routes clear of smoke in a fire. In our higher level flat blocks there will also be emergency lighting which will activate in a fire, even if the power is cut, to help illuminate the escape route.

All our flats and houses were designed to fully comply with the requirements of the building regulations when they were built and we monitor and maintain these systems on a regular basis to ensure that they are functional. These systems are checked by a specialist contractor at least annually to ensure fire safety compliance and also on a regular basis by our staff, as part of our health and safety checks.

We carry out regular inspections on our stairwells to ensure no combustible materials are left in them and that no items are being stored which may cause an obstruction to tenants, visitors or the Fire Authority in the event of a fire or emergency. These precautions are there to help prevent a fire from starting in the first place and aid your escape should a fire start.

See our Fire Safety in Your Home leaflet for additional steps you can take which will also help you stay safe. This will give you some useful advice regarding action you can take which should help keep you safe in your home. For further information please see Scottish Fire and Rescue’s Guide to Fire Safety Leaflet.

Additional information will also be sent to tenants by post, however If you are still concerned and would like additional information please phone us on 01592 630922 or contact Richard Murdoch in our Technical Service team on 01592 631661.