Hassan Nahon concerned over Moorish Castle fire safety

The lack of fire alarms, extinguishers and sprinklers in Moorish Estate Castle has ‘shocked’ Independent MP Marlene Hassan Nahon following a house fire last week.

The fire at Keightley House resulted in the deaths of two pet dogs, with the block evacuated and six people treated for smoke inhalation.

Residents came forward to tell Mrs Hassan Nahon that there are no systems in place in case of fire.

“The Grenfell Tower disaster should have been a major wake up call to the Government of Gibraltar to ensure that every aspect of fire retardants is active and in good working order in every single housing estate in Gibraltar, high rise or otherwise,” Mrs Hassan Nahon said.

“In this case, in the Moorish Castle Estates, there is not even a sign of them, let alone, active and in working order. There is therefore no excuse to be waiting over three months now since Grenfell, to find out only this week after the Keightley House fire, that we have no fire warning systems or retardants in place.”

Mrs Hassan Nahon noted that the Minister for Housing, Samantha Sacramento, had previously announced a fire safety review would be taking place in residential blocks in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.

“It is the height of irony that the two dogs who died in the blaze, effectively acted as the fire alarm and saved lives through their barking before losing their own lives,” she said.

She added once evacuated the residents found themselves waiting in the rain and received no support of refuge from any potential housing liaison officer.