A HIGH rise alarm system worked in the way it was meant to, council chiefs have said following concerns from a resident that it was too quiet.

Last week the Leader reported on the damage caused to several flats in Castle Heights after a sprinkler system was accidentally set off by a resident decorating with a steamer.

The Leader:

Former deputy mayor and councillor Allan Pritchard lives at Castle Heights in Flint

Flintshire Council, which provides social housing accommodation in the tower block, confirmed tenants were temporarily relocated to Castle Heights Community Centre after the power supply was shut off and three people had to be rehoused overnight.

Allan Pritchard, who served on Flint Town Council in the 70s including as deputy mayor, lives on the floor above where the incident happened.

And despite the building's alarms being triggered when the sprinkler was set off, Mr Pritchard told the Leader he didn't believe they were loud enough to get the attention of residents.

Video: John and Diane Lloyd inside their damaged flat in Flint

He explained: "I was in my sitting room - I couldn't hear the alarms and I have good hearing.

"If you had the TV on you wouldn't be able to hear it either. They are inadequate and not loud enough, especially if you're hard of hearing.

"I spoke to a number of other people and they didn't hear it either."

The resident who accidentally set off the sprinkler told the Leader he had been decorating when it activated - stating the force of the water had knocked him to the ground.

Mr Pritchard, 81, said he was concerned to hear about the intensity of the water, questioning whether it was meant to emit more of a 'mist' than a 'jet'.

He added: "What if this happens again? What if it happens on the top floor? Is the sprinkler going to act in this way again?"

Neal Cockerton, chief officer for housing and assets at Flintshire Council, said: “The accidental activation of the sprinkler system resulted in the communal alarm being activated and not the fire detection system within the flat as there was no fire.

"There was no evidence that any of the parts of the sprinkler failed to work in the way that it is designed to.

“As the high rise flats are a stay safe/stay put building, there is no requirement for the tenant to evacuate their own flat whilst a communal alarm sounds, unless they feel unsafe as the communal alarm system automatically alerts the fire and rescue service who will safely manage any evacuation requirements onsite if required.

“The communal alarm is only meant to be heard by those individuals who are present in those communal areas at the time of activation.

"Any persons not within the safe environment of a flat such as the communal area are to evacuate the building safely.

“If the alarm system within a tenant’s own flat was to activate, then the tenant would evacuate the flat in accordance with the fire action plan which is displayed on the inside of every flat entrance door.

"The individual fire detection systems within the flats are not linked to avoid unnecessary mass evacuation."