An elderly widower was forced to flee his council flat in the middle of the night after his smoke alarm spontaneously combusted.
Egland Moore, 90, was woken by the smell of burning in his home in Maple Close, Stamford Hill, and had to pass underneath the blazing electronics on his hallway ceiling in order to escape.
His grandson Andre McLeod said it was the culmination of almost a year’s worth of problems in the flat, on the Imperial Wharf estate, including leaks and mould.
Haringey Council said repairs had now begun, but apologised for the time it had taken.
“I am truly appalled by the way the local council treats their elderly and infirm residents,” said Andre, from Romford.
“I have spoken to many of my grandfather’s neighbours and they all have horror stories to tell about the dangerous maintenance from Haringey Council.”
Plumbing Problems
Mr Moore has lived on the estate for 40 years but in the past year his property has been plagued by problems.
He said he had been unable to use his washing machine for months because dirty water kept flowing back into it.
“One morning I came out and the machine was full with dirty water,” he said.
From then on, it was unusable.
Andre has been driving his grandfather's laundry to his home in Romford to be washed, then bringing it back.
At around the same time, the kitchen sink also stopped working properly.
When Andre investigated, he said, he found it had never been properly fitted.
“You can push it up through the cavity,” he said.
For months, the family has had to tip washing-up bowls down the toilet rather than down the sink.
If they used the kitchen sink, said Andre, water leaked into both Mr Moore's flat and his neighbour's.
Around a year ago, a leak somewhere above Mr Moore’s property caused to large damp patches on the bedroom ceilings.
“I have been getting on at them for months and months,” said Andre, who said the council only began to act on his reports after the smoke alarm blew up.
In January, we reported that the Housing Ombudsman had launched an investigation into Haringey Council over “repeated failures” to deal with leaks, mould and damp in its properties.
Fire
Earlier this year, Mr Moore’s wife Phoebe, 77, died.
Weeks later, said Andre, his grandfather woke up alone in the flat and smelled burning.
The wired smoke detector attached to his hallway ceiling had burst into flames.
“He had to feel his way out of his bedroom, downstairs and past the fire to get out,” Andre said.
A neighbour had already called the fire service and significant damage was avoided.
The council has since installed a battery-powered replacement, but the large scorch mark remains on Mr Moore’s ceiling.
Haringey Council said it was the first time this has happened with this make and model of fire alarm and no product safety issues had been reported.
It speculated that the incident could have been caused by "use of an inferior battery".
Council Response
Cllr Dana Carlin, Labour cabinet member for housing services, said the council was “extremely sorry for the stress and inconvenience this has caused Mr Moore and his family”.
“No one should have to experience poor housing standards,” she said.
“Although most of these repairs have been undertaken, some should have been identified and resolved much sooner.”
She said teams had been “working hard” to resolve the issues, “some of which have been caused by the property above”.
However, the fire alarm explosion is not believed to have been caused by a leak in an upstairs property.
The alarm has been replaced, said Cllr Carlin, and all alarms in the block "will be upgraded and replaced as part of an ongoing maintenance programme.”
She added that leak and blockage repairs were due to take place this week in the flat above Mr Moore’s, “which we hope will once and for all put a stop to the problems he has faced.”
Mr Moore's story came to light as it was revealed that just 45% of Haringey Council tenants are satisfied with the service they receive.
“We are fully committed to significant improvements in our housing services and we know we must get this right as soon as possible.”
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