RESIDENTS in a Southampton tower block are calling for action to be taken after they were caught up in a major fire drama.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, where 80 people died, residents at Albion Towers in St Mary’s said they feared for their lives yesterday as they could not hear the alarm when the blaze broke out in the building.

But city housing chiefs and fire bosses insist safety measures at the16-storey tower block are up to standard and praised residents for the way they reacted to the blaze.

Eight fire crews from Redbridge, Eastleigh, St Mary’s and Hightown were called to the scene at 10.36am, after reports of a fire in a flat on the 15th floor.

A wok with oil which was left on the hob unattended while no-one was in the flat caused the blaze and it is understood that a resident from the nearby flat raised the alarm.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue spokesman told the Daily Echo: "It was a pan left unattended on the hob which created a lot of heat.

"There was no one in the flat at the time."

However, residents who lived in flats on the lower floors of the building said they were not aware of the incident as they did not hear any alarm going off.

They told the Daily Echo that the tower block does not have a central alarm system but only fire alarms in each individual flat which cannot be heard by all those in the building.

Although no-one was injured in the incident and city housing chiefs reassured tenants, residents are now calling for a central alarm system to be installed.

Ali Abdi, 29, taxi driver, from Southampton, lives on the ninth floor and said: “The fire alarm in the flat went off and that’s how neighbours realised that there was a fire, but there isn’t a general fire alarm for the whole building.

“When I heard there was a fire in the building I instantly thought about the tower in London. I was totally scared.

“You think about having to save your life, that is what I thought.

“It’s important that we have a general fire alarm that every resident can hear because just the fire alarm in each flat is not enough when something like this happens. Without a general alarm it is very dangerous to live here.”

Tom Simms, area manager of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, said Albion Towers is designed in a way that if there is a fire in a flat it will be contained for one hour and the current policy in place is “safe enough”.

He added: “A central alarm system may confuse people and make them to leave the building which may cause problem.”

The tower block is owned by Southampton City Council and a council spokesperson said: “At Albion Towers, each flat has a smoke detector.

“Our tower block flats are designed to contain fires, such as this one, so that emergency services personnel have sufficient time to respond to the fire.

“We would like to remind tenants that the ‘Stay Put’ policy is the best one in case of a fire in your building - if the fire is in your own, or a neighbour’s flat, get out, shut your front door and phone the fire service.

“If the fire is in another flat then stay put, close your windows and doors, if you need to leave the building then the emergency services will tell you what you have to do.”

The spokesperson also added that the installation of a sprinkler system in each flat at Albion Towers over the coming weeks will provide an additional layer of fire defence.

As previously reported, work has begun on a £12 million project to install sprinklers in tower blocks across the city.