Local MSP David Stewart, Labour, is delighted with the response to his “Proposed Social Housing (Automatic Fire Suppression Systems) (Scotland) Bill.”

The consultation prior to the proposed Bill showed that 94% of those who responded backed a plan to have  mandatory fire sprinklers in new-build social housing. The proposed Bill now requires the support of 18 MSPs from different political parties for it to proceed.

David Stewart said:

David Stewart MSP

“I am delighted with the overwhelming support for my proposals to increase fire safety in Scottish social housing.

“The consultation responses came from across the breadth of Scottish society and the quality of the responses have given me a strong base upon which to proceed with the bill.

“Automatic fire suppression systems should be a crucial part of our fire safety approach and are a tried and tested method of saving lives.

“By focusing on social housing, my bill aims to protect some of the most vulnerable in our society, where the risks of fire are highest.

“My hope is that such a common sense proposal will have the support across all the Holyrood parties and in the long term will be just the first step towards fire sprinklers protecting all Scottish homes.”

David Stewart has the support of  Keith MacGillivray, Chief Executive of the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA).

He said:

“BAFSA has campaigned for almost forty-five years to improve the safety of the public and Firefighters by the installation of automatic fire sprinklers, which control and extinguish fires in their very early stages.

“Automatic fire sprinklers have a proven track record for the mitigation of fire and the prevention of loss of life through fire, this goes back more than one hundred years.

“This proposed member’s bill would make a significant difference to the safety of the Scottish public and firefighters while ensuring that Scotland’s housing stock is more sustainable.”