Twinnell House residents to form committee to raise concerns after fatal block fire
Residents say Bristol City Council has ignored various complaints about the block of flats for years
As we near one week since a fire at a Bristol tower block killed one and left eight in hospital, residents say they will form a special committee to raise their concerns with the city council.
On Thursday (September 28) Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees and several officials from the Avon Fire and Rescue Service visited Twinnell House in Easton to try and convince residents the building is safe.
Since the blaze on Sunday (September 25), many had expressed fears about staying, suggesting the fire alarm system had not worked and so they did not know there was a fire until the emergency services arrived and told them to get out.
Speaking us outside Twinnell House however, Ben Thompson, a group manager with the Fire Service said any suggestion the alarm system failed is incorrect.
"The alarm system did work as it's intended to," he said.
"Only the alarm system in the actual flat that was affected by the fire, activated.
"That is the design of this building so we're pleased that that worked properly.
"We were also able to confirm that the cladding was not involved in the fire on this occasion so that was good news for us as a Fire Service, and we were also able to confirm that the compartmentation and the fire doors and other measures all worked as we would expect them to.
"So that was all positive from that point of view, and I think that did go some way to reassuring the residents."
The fire began in a flat on the top floor, the 16th, in the middle of the night, when an e-bike on charge, malfunctioned.
The bike was by the flat's front door and so the flames quickly blocked the way out, leaving those inside trapped.
The victim died when he fell trying to escape by climbing out of a window and flowers outside now pay tribute, naming him as Abdul Jabar Oryakhel.
Reports suggest he was an asylum seeker and father, from Afghanistan.
Residents we spoke to after their meeting with the Mayor and Fire Service did indeed say they felt more relaxed afterwards.
"To be honest I thought he (the Mayor) was quite good," Mark, who lives on the fourth floor, said.
"I know he's a politician but he did answer questions, it seems lines of communication will eventually be opened.
"How long they stay open for though, is a different story."
Another, Ahmed who lives on the third floor, agreed.
"Initially everyone was not happy about his attendance because when the incident happened on Sunday everyone was outside and the following day we was expecting the Mayor to show up, but as he told us he was busy and had some other conference to attend at that time," he said.
Marvin was away in Liverpool for the Labour Party Conference when it happened.
"Bristol City Council have now decided basically to listen (to) all the tenants, all the issues that we've got in the block, so they (are) going to address it."
The Committee
After covering the fire safety questions brought on by Sunday's fire, residents of Twinnell House used their meeting with the Mayor to highlight issues of anti-social behaviour and illegal activity, which they say have plagued the block for years.
"It always seems to take for a tragedy to happen for the council to prick their ears up and say, 'ok, we'll listen to your concerns now," Mark told us.
"There has been frustration for a long time in here, I mean I've lived in here 30 something years.
"I've pretty much seen it all to be honest with you."
In December 2019 Avon and Somerset Police issued a closure order for the block banning non residents from gathering in communal areas, amid reports of drug problems.
Reports at the time said residents' were concerned about drug misuse and large groups gathering in corridors and behaving in an intimidating manner.
Mark told us very little has changed.
"Coming down from my friend's last night, I was coming down the stairs and there's somebody strung out on whatever they were strung out on, fast asleep across all the stairs, the usual mess.
"We want to get that nipped in the bud."
Mark told us the council and Mayor support the idea of a tenants' council to raise these concerns, which residents, he says, have wanted for years.
"We were actually blocked by the council (in the past)," Mark said.
"Marvin knows about that now and he's said they're not going to allow that to happen again, so I think it was more positive than it was negative."