Given events in Peckham, south London during the early hours of last Thursday, when a fire on a timber frame building site next to Carisbrooke Gardens spread and left 28 families homeless, now is the time to be asking: just how safe is timber frame construction?
In the light of our ‘Safe as houses’ campaign, which calls for an end to preventable deaths from fire and gas, this is an urgent issue for social landlords as the technique has grown more popular in the past decade. Here are the questions that need to be answered following the Carisbrooke fire to allow landlords and tenants to decide whether they are confident in timber frame construction.
First, are timber frame sites well-enough protected against fire during their development? The fact that there have been several blazes on timber frame construction sites in recent years (Colindale, north London, July 2006; Dungannon, Northern Ireland June 2008; and Waterfront Gait, Edinburgh, April 2008) would suggest not.
The UK Timber Frame Association has issued a 16-step guide to ensure sites are as safe as can realistically be, but is it being followed? The onus to ensure sites are safe falls not only on the contractor but also on the client (in this case Green Acre Homes and London & Quadrant respectively).
Landlords will want to ensure the requirements they impose on their contractors in this regard are watertight.
Second, are completed timber frame blocks as safe as those built using other methods? It is a concern that some fire professionals are unclear on this point and it requires urgent clarification.
Third, are the environmental benefits of timber frame construction worth the apparent risk? Social landlords are convinced that timber frame is frequently the best method of attaining the standards of environmental performance required of new homes by government. This may be true, but it is likely that owners and residents of adjacent blocks will in future demand assurances of the safety of timber frame sites if they are not to object to planning permission being granted.
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