A COUNCILLOR is calling for Worcester’s tower blocks to be fitted with a sprinkler system after the devastating fire in London.

There is currently no sprinkler system in the three high-rise buildings in St Clement’s Close, St John’s, although there is a fully integrated alarm system.

Fortis Living, the landlord of the buildings, said that they do not intend to fit a sprinkler system unless Government recommendations change.

It has also reiterated that the cladding on the buildings is of a different, much more fire-resistant material to that on the tower in London, after residents voiced concerns.

At least 79 people died in the blaze at Grenfell Tower, in west London, on Wednesday, June 14.

In the aftermath of the incident, people who live in Worcester’s tower blocks described the tragedy as a ‘wake-up call’.

Cllr Richard Udall, who represents St John’s, said: “I have campaigned for sprinklers for over 20 years.

“I believe they should be fitted in all housing, but especially tower blocks.

“It would be like having a firefighter in the room with you at all times.

“I hope Fortis Living can reconsider and look at options for sprinklers in all new properties and to retrospectively fit them in properties of greater risk such as the tower blocks in St John’s.”

Jonathan O'Neill, managing director of the Fire Protection Association, said the Grenfell Tower fire was a 'wake-up call'.

Mr O'Neill, from Harvington, near Evesham, said he hopes the incident will lead the country to form the best fire safety regulations in Europe.

He pointed to the recent ArrowXL warehouse fire in Worcester as evidence that the UK is 'massively behind' the rest of the world on fire safety.

"Every warehouse in Europe has sprinklers," Mr O'Neill said.

"Believe it or not they were invented here.

"Sprinklers at Grenfell Tower would have saved lives.

"When I travel the world, people are amazed they are not used."

Residents have also raised concerns about the cladding used on the Worcester tower blocks, which has a polystyrene insulation core.

There has been speculation that the fire in London was exacerbated by polyethylene insulation in the building’s cladding.

Frederick Philpotts, aged 78, who lives on the third floor of Cripplegate House, said: “Everyone is saying the same thing.

“For it [Grenfell Tower] to go up that quickly it has got to be a fault in the cladding. Someone’s head should roll.

“People here are concerned. It was cheap material that they used. I’d like to see them get a pile of this stuff and light it to see what happens.

“It would be a disaster if this went up. There’s other people here… who couldn’t use the lifts and they are not capable of walking all those stairs.”

Graham Palmer, aged 67, another Cripplegate House resident, said: “The thing that concerned lots of people - seeing how it spread - was when they said it was the cladding.

“We don’t know if the cladding is fireproof, we hope it is.”

But Fortis Living says the cladding on the buildings is a render system, which is completely different to the aluminium panels on Grenfell Tower.

The insulation core used in the cladding on Worcester's tower blocks is made from ‘graphite impregnated expanded polystyrene beadboard’, which Fortis says has a higher fire resistance than standard polystyrene.

A spokesman for the company said that the cladding is a 'Class 0' fire risk, which means that it is classed as safe.

They added that there is no gap between the cladding and the buildings, in response to concerns that a cavity caused a ‘chimney effect’ in the Grenfell Tower fire.

The Worcester tower blocks also have firebreaks on every floor and were signed off by building control, the cladding’s manufacturer Structherm, and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service.