Basildon Council, east of London, has announced it will fit sprinklers in the social housing its owns at Bockingham Green. The cost is claimed to be £1,000-£2,500 per home. The decision follows a fire which destroyed seven timber-framed homes in July. There is much debate in the UK about whether timber-framed structures are more vulnerable to fire than buildings made of non-combustible materials. In addition to fitting sprinklers in the homes at Bockingham Green, sprinklers will be fitted in Brooke House, a housing block in the centre of Basildon, because its fire doors are inadequate.

Basildon Council is one of many local authorities in the UK which are retrofitting sprinklers in some of their highest-risk social housing.