Window safety checks after fall deaths highlighted
Saffra Winn died after falling from a block of flats in the Upperthorpe area of Sheffield
- Published
Window safety in high-rise flats will be reviewed after two recent deaths were highlighted by a coroner.
Saffra Winn fell from a tower block in Upperthorpe, Sheffield, in July 2022, followed by a second unnamed woman's death at a Netherthorpe council block in December 2023.
Coroner Alexandra Pountney told Sheffield City Council she was concerned by its "inaction in relation to the investigation and assessment of risk" following the deaths.
The council said it believed the windows and restrictors met required regulations and were compliant.
An inquest into Ms Winn's death, held in March, heard the safety restrictor on the window had been manually disengaged to allow it to fully open.
In response to the coroner's prevention of future deaths report, external, the authority told Ms Pountney that an independent surveyor was preparing a report on windows in high-rise blocks and their safety, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
'Operated as intended'
The council said a new procedure would be in place by Friday to log all reported fatalities and near-miss falls from high-rises, with new guidance outlining when a safety report was required.
All fatalities would also reported to the council’s housing policy committee, the authority added.
In response to the coroner's concerns, the council said: “[We] acknowledge that following Saffra Winn’s death the process to ensure that there were no faults with the windows in the flat was insufficient and relied on documentary evidence from several sources to verify that each window operated as intended.
“However, following the death in December 2023, inspections of the flat windows took place as soon as possible by housing staff to identify any issues."
The authority added: "It was noted that in this case, again, all windows and restrictors operated as required with no issues reported.”
A new "high-rise forum" has been established and would discuss window safety at its first meeting, the council concluded.
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