Bristol fire victim's neighbour fearful of returning home

Selma Muuse said she did not feel safe returning to her home in Twinnell House

The next door neighbour of a man who fell to his death while trying to escape from a tower block fire told the BBC she refused to return to her flat.

Selma Muuse, 28, joined other residents of Twinnell House, Bristol, to discuss their safety concerns on Thursday.

"We ran out of that house bare-footed to save our lives, and now the council are forcing me to go back, which isn't going to happen," she said.

Bristol City Council said the block's fire-safety systems had worked well.

There was a fire in one of the top floor flats in the early hours of 25 September

Abdul Jabar Oryakhel, 30, died in a flat fire on 25 September.

Ms Muuse said: "I tried to open my door but the door handle was very hot and I couldn't open it. I was scared.

"When I opened the door there was smoke everywhere and fire in front of my neighbour's door, their door was wide open as I think someone was trying to escape and they left the door open."

She added: "I have a six-year-old son who is autistic and I was scared for my life and for my son's life.

"I ran to my son's room woke him up and said there's a fire, we've got to go. I couldn't think clearly."

Bristol City Council has told her she will be expected to return to the flat once it has been repaired but she said she does not feel safe there.

"There's no way we feel safe in that property," said Ms Muuse.

Two empty chairs were placed at the front of the meeting with Mayor Marvin Rees and Cabinet Member for Housing Tom Renhard's names on

She was speaking at a meeting at Easton Christian Family Centre where residents voiced their fire safety concerns and called for sprinklers, fire wardens and more regular safety checks in the tower block.

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees and cabinet member for housing Tom Renhard were invited but did not attend.

The council said it had emailed organisers to say they could not attend, and reiterated that the fire safety systems at Twinnell House had worked correctly and stopped the fire from spreading.

A minute's silence was held at the meeting in memory of Abdul Jabar Oryakhel who fell from the building while escaping from the fire

Mr Renhard has also written to Acorn, a community union representing the residents.

In the letter, he stated: "We have been creating as many opportunities as we can to listen to comments and thoughts from residents.

"Be assured that at Twinnell House the 'stay put policy' allowed the fire service to quickly control the fire and put it out; the cladding did not cause the fire to spread outside the building; and the fire doors and compartmentation prevented the fire from spreading.

"As the fire did not spread, damage to other homes and the top floor was very limited and most residents are now back in their homes.

"We continue to spend £2.5m a year across our 62 high-rise tower blocks on fire safety.

"We have also recently agreed an additional £1m to review our fire safety plans and make sure they're in line with the very latest government standards."