Presatyn pensioners concerned at ‘deadly fire traps’

Aug 13 2008 by David Rutland, Rhyl Visitor

PRESTATYN pensioners in sheltered accommodation claim they are being endangered by slack maintenance of equipment and deadly fire traps.

Residents of Llys Bodnant on Nant Hall Road, Prestatyn, say they fear for their lives.

Safety equipment designed to prevent and control fires has not been inspected for over a decade and residents are not sure how leave the building in case of disaster.

Robert Jones, 72, has lived in the sheltered accommodation for more than two decades and is disgusted at the conditions.

“There are 12 people in these flats and there’s no fire escape,” he said. “If there’s a fire, are we supposed to jump out of a third floor window?

“We’ve got fire extinguishers but none of them have been inspected since 1999.

“We don’t even know if our fire alarm works and we can’t test it because the glass is broken.”

The house also has fire barriers on every floor, but these are unlikely to be effective as there are holes in each one.

“At one time the fire brigade used to come around every 12 months, but they stopped that about 10 years ago.”

Faulty wiring was exposed by television engineers who came to fix the aerial and reported to Denbighshire County Council, but so far nothing has been done.

“We’ve been in touch with the council several times and we’ve had our local councillors down here,” said Robert.

“The council’s supposed to be getting someone down here to inspect the place, but nothing’s happened.”

Alyn Edwards, County Safety Manager for Denbighshire, said that inspections have now taken place and a report will be forwarded on the Denbighshire County Council.

They added that there are working smoke detectors in the private accommodation which are linked to the main fire alarm system.

A spokesman for the county council added: “We have been informed about some of the works that need to be done at Llys Bodnant and one of our officers will be on site to address any of the issues raised by the resident concerned.”

Do you have a story for the Visitor? Call 01745 345892 or e-mail david.rutland@northwalesnews.co.uk. Visit the website at www.rhylvisitor.co.uk