British Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has denied that the barge, on which it is planned to accommodate asylum seekers who have arrived in the country, could not meet fire safety requirements, reports Politico.
The Fire Brigades’ Union (FBU) has sent a letter to the Home Office warning that the Bibby Stockholm, currently moored in Dorset, could become a death trap in the event of a fire. It is one of the barges on which the British government plans to accommodate asylum seekers. Most refugees are currently housed in hotels, costing the government 2.3 billion pounds a year.
Ben Selby, deputy general secretary of the FBU, told the British newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday, the 1st of August, that “firefighters consider the Bibby Stockholm to be a potentially deadly trap” and indicated that
the barge, which has room for 550 people, had not been properly assessed for risks.
Selby said the main concern is situations where large numbers of people will try to move through narrow corridors and doorways at the same time. At that moment, rescuers will not be able to get to the barge and perform extinguishing and rescue operations.
Selby compared Bibby Stockholm to the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, and suggested that firefighters felt as if they were staring at the next disaster.
Shapps raged at what the firefighters said, stating that the watercraft will definitely not become a “deadly trap”. He said:
“I learned that this actual ship was previously used by Germany to house migrants.
There’s no reason why it wouldn’t be absolutely safe.”
According to information obtained by the Independent newspaper, some of the asylum seekers who will have to be moved to Bibby Stockholm have already shown resistance to the relocation announcements.
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