'Personal fire service' deployed by Scottish Government to block of flats at risk in Glasgow

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Scottish Government has been forced to fund a "personal fire service" for a massive apartment complex in Glasgow after developers failed to make improvements in the wake of the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Lancefield Quay, on the north bank of the Clyde, will see a team of fire safety experts continually patrol the grounds and buildings in order to alert residents if a blaze breaks out.The move was triggered after a report highlighted major safety issues at the site in Finnieston, which was developed in the early 2000s.Ministers said the action - described as being a temporary measure - was needed as the developers of Lancefield Quay had failed to make the necessary improvements.But Housing Secretary Shona Robison has challenged them to "step up and take responsibility for work to keep the residents in their buildings safe".Pam Duncan-Glancy, a Labour MSP for Glasgow, said: "It’s astounding that rather than do what they said they’d do and fix the problem, the Scottish Government have deployed a personal fire service, presumably at great expense, to cover their lack of action.

As if fire fighters aren’t stretched enough. "It’s time they acted on their promises and fixed problems rather than paying for failure."The Scottish Government refused to say how much the patrols are costing due to commercial confidentiality.The action is being taken after ministers received a fire safety engineer’s report for the site in late December.This was passed to the developers, with urgent negotiations taking place between them and Scottish Government officials since then.The Scottish Government said the company concerned had failed to implement the necessary safety measures - resulting in it intervening to ensure appropriate safeguards are