Bristol fire: Vigil held two months after Twinnell House death

The vigil was held two months after the death of 30-year-old Abdul Jabar Oryakhel

A vigil has been held at a tower block two months after a man fell to his death while trying to escape a fire.

Father-of-seven Abdul Jabar Oryakhel, 30, died on 25 September when a fire broke out at Twinnell House in Bristol.

Residents have been calling on Bristol City Council to improve safety in the wake of the fire, including installing sprinklers and deploying fire wardens.

The council said fire wardens were now in place and other measures are under consideration.

Mr Oryakhel died and eight others were injured in the blaze on the 16th floor, which was caused by an electric bicycle.

Abdul Jabar Oryakhel fell from the building during the fire in the early hours of 25 September

Residents of Twinnell House in Easton took part in the vigil on Saturday organised by community union Acorn.

Nasiya said she wanted to see "a lot of changes".

"There's a lot to do. I'm not saying the council can do it with a click of their fingers but we prefer them to work on safety,

"We want the council to listen to us and come to our meetings," she added.

Shaban Ali said the presence of fire wardens was reassuring

Shaban Ali, who lives on the 11th floor of Barton House with his two children, joined Acorn after the fire and said "people power" had helped secure better safety measures.

"We've got the community involved. We've finally had our demands met," he said.

"It's good that we've had this victory but we also want some deadlines. We have to keep up the pressure."

Mr Ali said residents wanted to feel safe in their homes and said the presence of fire wardens was reassuring.

"The sprinklers are coming but should have been here before. Better late than never but we shouldn't have had to do this, it's common sense, especially after what happened with Grenfell.

"Another person dying in a high-rise fire is unacceptable. We shouldn't have that on our conscience, the city should not have that on its conscience," he added.

Acorn communications officer, Arvind Howarth (left) said residents felt they were being neglected and not listened to

Acorn communications officer, Arvind Howarth, said they would be keeping an eye on developments to "make sure promises are followed through".

"I'm here because a man died unnecessarily in a fire and that was easily preventable. I'm sad and I'm sorry that this man lost his life and we don't want this to happen ever again.

"There's a feeling of anger that they are feeling neglected and not listened to.

"Seven years after Grenfell people are still fearful of dying in a fire and it's not OK," she added.

Bristol City Council said it owns 62 tower blocks in the city, 38 of which have cladding that is being removed.

It has put round-the-clock walking fire wardens in place and is lobbying the government to provide additional funding to help pay for sprinklers in some of its buildings.