Glasgow Schools Fire Safety Update

Glasgow City Council has been involved in work to check on the fire safety of buildings following the tragic events at Grenfell Tower in London.

As part of this work, which is being directed by a Scottish Government ministerial group, all councils have been asked to detail the use of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) in school buildings.

In Glasgow it has been identified that the council has no school buildings over 18m that use ACMs in their construction. The use of this material in low-rise buildings is extremely limited and complies with safety regulations. Further details are below.

The council has stringent fire safety standards in our schools. The combination of fire detection and suppression systems, fire-drills and fire evacuation procedures provide a high standard of fire safety.

While the material poses no risk, we understand that parents may still have questions about how it has been used. We will share detailed information on this and all fire safety measures with them at the start of the new term.

It has been identified that in one school, Notre Dame Primary School, a high-performance, non-combustible ACM that holds the highest-possible fire safety rating has been used as cladding in one part of the building. This amounts to no more than 4% of the exterior.

For the avoidance of doubt, this is not the type of material used at Grenfell Tower. It has been used in line with the relevant building regulations.

The school has high-rated fire detection and fire suppression systems, including sprinklers, along with highly efficient evacuation procedures.

In 31 other schools, an ACM has been used as a finishing material around window frames and not as cladding. The use of the material in these circumstances amounts to less than 0.1% of the exterior fabric of these buildings. Its use is in line with the relevant building and safety regulations and does not pose a risk.

All of these schools have also high-rated fire detection and fire suppression systems as well as regularly tested fire evacuation procedures.