THE rapid reaction to a need for safety checks at tower blocks in Clydebank in the wake of the the Grenfell Tower disaster has been praised by council chiefs.

Leader of West Dunbartonshire Council, Jonathan McColl, singled out local Scottish Fire and Rescue (SFRS) officers for praise during a meeting of the Community Planning West Dunbartonshire Management Board.

Speaking to Andrew McClure, from the SFRS, who delivered the latest local fire scrutiny report, Cllr McColl said: “The response (at local level) was huge and hugely appreciated.

“I can imagine that you had a lot to shuffle.We got up to date reports and you were able to give reassurance and I want to give thanks to you for what was a multi-agency response.”

At least 80 people were killed and more than 70 injured in the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14.

The tragedy, in North Kensington, prompted local authorities across the country to review the cladding in all their high rise towers, including the blocks in West Dunbartonshire.

Safety personnel from SFRS attended properties where there are 1,379 tenants living in 21 high-rise towers in West Dunbartonshire, including three blocks at Westbridgend in Dumbarton.

Mr McClure told how efforts are ongoing to help residents stay safe within their homes, saying: “We will continue to deliver Home Safety Visits (HFSVs) to the residents within West Dunbartonshire.

“Free smoke detection installation and fire safety advice are carried out by our service on request and in addition to this service, operational crews will also engage with residents and neighbours at the conclusion of incidents attended and offer HFSV at the time or arrange for a visit in future.

“We continue to work with partners throughout West Dunbartonshire to assist in the identification of vulnerable members of our community and ensure that those people identified receive HFSV as a priority.”

Mr McClure also relayed the latest fire statistics covering April to June in West Dunbartonshire.

In the first quarter of 2017/18 SFRS responded to 437 incidents.

This showed a slight decrease on the same period in 2016/17, and was similar to the five-year average for the first quarter of the year.

In addition, rates of deliberate fires, accidental dwelling fires and dwelling fire casualties were better than the 2016/17 quarter one performance.

Accidental fires in other buildings, road traffic collisions and unwanted fire alarm signals were however, “slightly higher” than that in quarter one of 2016/17.

In terms of deliberate fires saw a 33 per cent decrease on the figure for the same period in 2016/17.

The figure for 2016/17 was 205 which was “unusually high” compared to the average number of incidents for the previous three years of 175.

Thirty four deliberate fires occurred in Clydebank Waterfront and Central combined, while 26 were recorded in Kilpatrick. Dumbarton saw 40, Leven 28 and Lomond eight.