Sprinkers Call For Old Tower Blocks

A report just out's called for all old high rise buildings to be fitted with sprinklers after two firefighters were killed as they tried to put out a fire at a block of flats in Southampton.

Jim Shears and Alan Bannon died in Shirley Towers in the city back in 2010.

The recommendation comes from the coroner who looked into their deaths - He says the changes could prevent another tragedy.

Alan Bannon's widow said she hopes fire and council officials will listen and take action.

An inquest in July into the deaths recorded a verdict of death by misadventure, and a narrative verdict said they died after exposure to excessive heat.

The inquest heard the fire, in a ninth-floor flat of the 15-storey block in April 2010, started after a lamp had been left resting against a curtain.