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Shirley Towers fire
Date6 April 2010 (2010-04-06)
LocationChurch Street, Shirley, Southampton, England
Coordinates50°55′25″N 1°26′00″W / 50.9236578°N 1.4332766°W / 50.9236578; -1.4332766
CauseUplighter set fire to curtains
Deaths2 firefighters
Non-fatal injuries2 firefighters

The Shirley Towers Fire occurred in a tower block on 6 April 2010 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. Two firefighters were killed when a fire developed and spread from the 9th floor.[1] The investigations & inquiries following the fire led to changes in fire safety rules nationally, particulary the regulations around electrical wiring.[2]

Background

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Shirley Towers is a 15-storey concrete tower block of 150 apartments located in the Shirley area of Southampton and is home to about 400 people. [1]. The building dates from the mid-1960s and is of the unusual scissor section construction where each apartment is spread over several floors in an interlocking design.

Shirley Towers
Church Street, Shirley - geograph.org.uk - 1707723
Shirley towers from Church Street Photo © Jim Champion (cc-by-sa/2.0)
General information
AddressChurch Street, Southampton, SO15 5PE
Town or citySouthampton
CountryUnited Kingdom
Construction started1965
Completed1967
OwnerSouthampton City Council
LandlordSouthampton City Council
Height46 metres (150 ft 11 in)
Technical details
Structural systemReema
Floor count15
Other information
Number of units150

The fire

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The fire started when curtains in the lounge of the flat caught fire from being on top of an uplighter lamp. Emergency crews were called at 20:10 on 6 April 2010 Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).. (a letter to other statutory authorities designed to prevent future deaths)

The Rule 43 letter made 9 recommendations [3] to the Government, fire services including:

  • improved training fo firefighters
  • changing building regulations to ensure fire resistant cable supports
  • fitting of sprinklers to existing residential buildings over 30 metres tall
  • improved escape signage

Changes to the British Standards electrical wiring regulations finally came into force in Jul 2015 [2]following the Shirley Towers tragedy and the previous Harrow Court fire - where similar problems were a factor in firefighter deaths.


References

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  1. ^ a b "Fatal Fire Investigation, Shirley Towers". Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. 8 April 2013. p. 12. Retrieved 29 Jun 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Shirley Towers: Firefighter deaths lead to wiring safety change". BBC News. 16 Jan 2016. Retrieved 29 Jun 2018.
  3. ^ "INQUEST INTO THE DEATHS OF ALAN BANNON AND JAMES SHEARS" (PDF). HM Coroner for Southampton. 4 Feb 13. Retrieved 29 Jun 18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
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See also

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