Last night’s fire in the basement car park of a multi-storey car park in Sandyford has highlighted the major problems which this type of accommodation can have in meeting fire safety standards according to Local Fine Gael Councillor for the area Neale Richmond.

“There could have been dreadful consequences if this fire occurred at a different apartment block that is not up to scratch when it comes to fire safety.

“Currently, nobody is taking responsibility for fire safety matters. my Fine Gael colleagues and I have been campaigning for fire safety concerns to be addressed in the Multi-Unit Development Bill since it was published but this issue has been ignored by the Fianna Fáil Government.

“People’s lives are currently at risk because nobody is taking responsibility for fire safety in apartments. The law must now be changed to make developers initially responsible for providing fire safety equipment in new apartments. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council must only grant fire safety certificates if equipment is present and in operational order.

“In existing apartments, where management companies are in operation, the onus for providing fire safety equipment should lie with the management agent. Apartment dwellers pay service fees on a yearly basis and I am calling for the law to state that management agents must use service fees to provide fire safety equipment on all floors in apartments.

“Last night’s blaze in Sandyford had a relatively positive outcome in that there were no injurues. This may not have been the case if it occurred in another apartment block.”