A LIFE-SAVING sprinkler system worth £500,000 has been installed at a high-rise block of flats in Southend to “prevent fires at the earliest stage”.

South Essex Homes teamed up with the Essex Fire Service to ensure residents are safe in Cecil Court, in Jones Clones, Southend.

About 70 flats in the block have benefitted.

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South Essex Homes - which manages the block of flats - contributed £450,000 to the project, while Essex Fire used £50,000 from its sprinkler fund.

Ian Gilbert, councillor responsible for economic recovery, regeneration, and housing at Southend Council, said: “We know that fire safety, particularly in tower blocks, is a very serious issue and it’s one that we do take extremely seriously.

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“This is somewhere that we want to take forward and make sure that all our residents are as safe as possible.”

Individual flats and communal area,s like hallways and stairwells, were fitted with sprinklers, which will activate when a fire occurs near the sprinkler.

Sprinkler heads will only activate where the fire is and will help to tackle the fire in the early stages.

It will help to suppress the blaze, giving residents time to safely escape as well as to reduce the amount of smoke and heat damage from the fire.

Chris Parker, director of operations at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service, said: “I am pleased that South Essex Homes has taken the decision to have sprinklers installed in this building to help keep residents safe and I am really pleased we were able to contribute £50,000 from our sprinkler fund.

“We work closely with local councils and developers within high rise buildings across Essex with a joint ambition to make them as safe as possible.”

Sprinklers extinguished a fire in a high-rise building in Trinity Avenue, Westcliff, in the early hours of May 28, 2022. A cooking fire started in the kitchen and sounded the smoke alarms. Sprinklers went off in the kitchen, extinguishing the fire before crews arrived.