Firefighters’ union demands meeting with Braverman over Bibby Stockholm fire safety

The Fire Brigades Union has today written to Home Secretary Suella Braverman to raise concerns over fire safety in asylum seeker accomodation, including the Bibby Stockholm. The barge is currently moored in Portland, Dorset and is earmarked for asylum seeker accommodation.

Firefighters would be called upon to respond to any fires aboard the Bibby Stockholm. The union is concerned about a potential lack of ingress and exit points; narrow corridors and doorways; and increased occupancy. The barge was originally built to house 222 people but is now expected to house more than 500.

The FBU has already criticised the government’s plans to exempt asylum seeker accommodation from requirements for an HMO license. The HMO licencing process gives Local Authorities a duty to check that adequate safety measures and equipment is in place.

The letter to the Home Secretary can be viewed in full below.

Ben Selby, Fire Brigades Union assistant general secretary, said:

“The Fire Brigades Union represents the overwhelming majority of firefighters and emergency control staff across the UK, and it they who will be forced to deal with the consequences of any fire on board the Bibby Stockholm.

“As firefighters, we are driven by the need to prevent loss of life and protect public safety. Everyone has the right to live in safe and decent housing, no matter where they are from.

“The government has already scrapped vital fire safety measures for asylum seeker accommodation. Now, it wants to put more than 500 people onto an off-shore barge designed to hold around 200.

“This is a cruel and reckless approach to the welfare of asylum seekers, and puts the safety of firefighters at risk.

“For more than a decade we have suffered from falling wages, declining living standards and public services cut to the bone. Attacking asylum seekers will not build a single house, train a single nurse or pay anyone a decent wage – it is a technique for dividing working people against each other.”