Twinned in Action
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, housing associations in England have been tasked with a number of actions – all part of the new Fire Safety Act and the Building Safety Act, to ensure that they understand their high-rise buildings, are prepared in the event of an emergency, have relevant information available to fire and rescue teams, and that their residents feel safe in their homes. Citizen is one of a growing number of housing providers who have turned to Twinnedit for assistance.
West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS) attended the blaze and Station Commander Gemma McSweeney explained: “We were called to a fire on the upper floor of a 16-storey building. On arrival it was apparent a significant and well-established fire was involved.
“This was further complicated due to several occupants not being able to leave their flats due to the close proximity of the fire and their exit being hampered due to heat and smoke. We implemented a robust command and control structure, complemented by staff in our fire control giving Fire Survival Guidance to callers to help firefighters reach and lead occupants to safety.”
“Once these initial actions had been implemented, we then used Twinnedit to confirm our understanding of the building layout, access points, and key design information to ensure our tactical plan was safe and effective and that we were using our resources in the most assertive and efficient manner possible.”
SCdr McSweeney added: “Software applications such as Twinnedit are invaluable at complex incidents such as this as it enables commanders both on and off-scene to confirm understanding, build situational awareness, assist with briefing teams and ensure risk information is highlighted and communicated to help keep all responders and members of the community as safe as possible.”
Citizen Director of Building Safety, Ted Malkin, said, “We currently have Twinnedit implemented on all 37 of our high-rise buildings taller than 18 metres, meaning we have detailed safety information about those buildings, and Twinnedit enables us to share this important building information with the fire and rescue services and our own residents.”
“It’s a very visual and interactive system. If you don’t have a system like Twinnedit, it’s going to be very difficult to be able to do what’s needed to meet the requirements of the Building Safety Act and the Fire Safety Act.”
“The ability to use the system for both our own residents and also leaseholders to share and access data and information is hugely important.”
Mark Williams, Managing Director of Deeo and Creator of Twinnedit, said: “We are delighted that in a real situation, Twinnedit provided quick access to critical building information, helping the emergency services ensure zero casualties in this incident. We have been working hard since 2018 with the regulators, the fire services, and multiple housing providers to deliver a robust platform to help our customers with their building safety. The fact that Twinnedit worked so well in this instance and that there were no casualties is hugely rewarding for the Twinnedit team.”
