Friday, 25 May 2012

Inside Housing
Safe as houses

Stories with this category.

  • A burning issue

    11/05/2012

    In the wake of several tragic fatalities, an Inside Housing investigation reveals social landlords are receiving fire safety enforcement notices at a rate of one a week. Martin Hilditch finds out what is going wrong

  • Danger signs

    11/05/2012

    Social landlords have improved fire safety since the Lakanal House tragedy, but there is still more work to be done

  • Woman convicted over tower block blaze deaths

    02/05/2012

    A woman has been convicted of two counts of manslaughter after she started a fire at a block of flats which killed two women.

  • Last chance to register for safety webinar

    28/11/2011

    There is still time to register for Inside Housing’s fire and gas safety webinar, which is taking place tomorrow.

  • Register for free fire and gas safety webinar

    15/11/2011

    Inside Housing is running a free webinar on improving fire and gas safety on 29 November.

  • Blaze at tower block run by ALMO hit with fire demand

    08/11/2011

    A number of residents have been placed in temporary accommodation after fire broke out in a tower block run by an ALMO which previously had an enforcement notice issued against it.

  • Resident critical following tower block fire

    12/08/2011

    A man is in a critical condition following a fire in a council tower block in London last night.

  • Fire safety guidelines for tower blocks released

    29/07/2011

    Landlords have been issued with a new set of guidelines to minimise the threat of fire in high-rise tower blocks.

  • Call for new law after gas death

    29/07/2011

    A coroner has called on the government to change health and safety legislation after a social housing tenant died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a newly built block of flats.

  • Fatal flaws

    29/07/2011

    Maria Ighodalo was spectacularly unlucky. The London & Quadrant tenant died in 2007 from carbon monoxide poisoning following a highly unusual chain of events.

  • Faulty towers?

    15/07/2011

    A year ago two firefighters died in a blaze in a Southampton tower block. Nick Duxbury finds out if anything more could have been done to prevent their deaths.

  • In the line of fire

    15/07/2011

    Since the Lakanal House fire which killed six people, Andy Cloke has made it his business to teach landlords how to prevent tower block blazes. Kicking off our fire safety special, he tells Martin Hilditch about the challenges he faces.

  • Smoke signals

    15/07/2011

    Identifying fire risks is key to preventing tragedy. Helen Clifton finds out how one housing association is working with the fire service to keep tenants safe

  • Sounding the alarm

    15/07/2011

    New fire safety guidance is helping social landlords ensure their properties are as safe as possible. Here, Chloë Stothart finds out what they should do to minimise the risk of a blaze and how much it costs

  • Timber frame is safe

    15/07/2011

    Timber frame became the scapegoat for site fires but they are now setting the safety standards, says Andrew Carpenter

  • Council checks fridges after tower block fire

    06/07/2011

    A council is undertaking an audit to find out how many homes may have faulty fridges after a fire in a tower block was caused by one of the appliances.

  • The firing line

    01/07/2011

    News that social landlords do not think the fire risk assessments of their tower blocks are up to scratch should concern us all.

  • Safety first

    06/05/2011

    New guidelines set out how social landlords should protect tenants living in tower blocks from fire. Martin Hilditch reports

  • Carbon monoxide death case delayed

    18/04/2011

    A plea hearing in the case of a young woman who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a shared ownership flat has been delayed.

  • Fire groups draw up new safety standard

    15/04/2011

    Fire industry groups are drawing up a new standard to rate the quality of assessors who decide whether or not tower blocks are safe to live in.

  • Government acts on tower block safety

    18/02/2011

    Official guidance is being drawn up to help prevent a repeat of the Lakanal House tower block tragedy.

  • Regulator failed to act on fire register pledge

    14/01/2011

    The Tenant Services Authority missed all three of its self-imposed deadlines to compile a fire safety register it promised to set up but later abandoned.

  • Government rejects calls to tighten up high-rise regulation

    07/01/2011

    The government has ruled out tightening building regulations for high-rise and timber frame buildings, despite a London Assembly investigation revealing a ‘crisis in confidence’ about their safety.

  • Deputy Labour leader backs high-rise register

    17/12/2010

    Labour party deputy leader Harriet Harman has backed Inside Housing’s pledge to create a tower block register following the social housing regulator’s decision to ditch the idea.

  • Lakanal delays concern council leader

    08/12/2010

    The leader of Southwark Council has expressed concerns about the length of time being taken to investigate the fatal fire at Lakanal House last year.

  • Residents flee blaze at Southwark high rise

    30/11/2010

    Sixty people were evacuated after a fire started at a tower block near the south London high rise where six people died in a blaze last year.

  • Broken promises

    26/11/2010

    The news that the Tenant Services Authority has reneged on its pledge to compile and police a database of tower blocks to minimise the risk of fire is depressing.

  • Fire checks harmed by lack of assessors

    25/11/2010

    Landlords are struggling to find competent assessors to carry out fire risk assessments, a conference heard this week.

  • TSA breaks tower block fire safety pledge

    23/11/2010

    The Tenant Services Authority has reneged on a pledge to increase tower block safety by maintaining a register of landlords that have carried out fire risk assessments.

  • Fire risks found in most tower blocks

    26/10/2010

    The majority of Birmingham’s 224 tower blocks are in need of work to improve their fire safety, an investigation has discovered.

  • Lakanal House inquest judge pulls out

    03/09/2010

    A high-profile judge who had been lined up to lead the inquest into the deaths of six people in a London tower block fire has pulled out.

  • Residents to move from Southwark block

    12/08/2010

    Councillors have decided tenants and leaseholders in a Southwark tower block must be moved immediately.

  • Inquiry launched into Kingston fire

    16/07/2010

    An investigation has been launched into why a fire destroyed the top four stories of a council-owned block of flats in Kingston, Surrey, so quickly.

  • Fire destroys four floors of tower block

    13/07/2010

    A fire has destroyed the top four storeys of a council-owned block of flats in Kingston, as terrified residents were taken to safety.

  • Fire-ravaged tower Lakanal House will be reopened

    09/07/2010

    A south London tower block in which six people died in a fire a year ago will be brought back into use.

  • Still no answers

    09/07/2010

    A year ago, six people died in a tower block fire in south London but as their lives were commemorated last weekend, questions still remain over why they died. Emily Twinch asks why the inquest into their deaths is taking so long and if any good can come out of the tragedy

  • Fire authorities ‘complacent’ before Lakanal blaze

    23/06/2010

    Fire authorities were complacent about policing social housing before a fatal blaze last year, a senior fire safety manager has said.

  • Repairs body to produce fire guidance

    14/05/2010

    Social housing maintenance providers will be issued with detailed fire safety guidance, following Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign.

  • Lambeth issues fire risk assessments

    06/04/2010

    Arm’s-length management organisation Lambeth Living has published fire-risk assessments for its high rise blocks with more than 10 storeys.

  • Government grants final campaign demand

    19/03/2010

    The government is to change building regulations to require carbon monoxide alarms to be installed in all new homes with solid fuel heating systems.

  • Sound the alarm

    19/03/2010

    Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign achieved another notable success this week when the government announced changes to protect residents from carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • Better safe than sorry

    05/03/2010

    As Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign reaches its climax, Emily Twinch salutes the manner in which the sector has pledged to follow up its key aims

  • Council to buy out Lakanal leaseholders

    16/02/2010

    Southwark council has authorised the buy back of leaseholder homes in its tower block where six people died in a fire last year.

  • Lord leads fight for tower block sprinklers

    01/02/2010

    A member of the House of Lords is hoping to push through a bill to ensure sprinklers are fitted to buildings less than 30 metres high

  • London Assembly orders fire safety investigation

    14/01/2010

    The London Assembly has ordered its planning and housing committee to investigate fire safety in buildings in the capital.

  • Third Southwark blaze

    08/01/2010

    One hundred and fifty Southwark residents were evacuated from their homes this week following a third major blaze in the borough in just over seven months

  • MP lambasts delays to Lakanal inquest

    18/12/2009

    Camberwell and Peckham MP Harriet Harman has hit out at delays to the inquest into the deaths of six people in the Lakanal House tower block fire in her constituency.

  • Fire-ravaged Peckham site had no watchman

    11/12/2009

    The Peckham building site where a huge fire began in a timber frame housing development did not have a night watchman, breaching industry guidelines.

  • Finished timber block burnt down in 2007

    07/12/2009

    A block of completed council flats which had to be demolished after a fire was built from timber frame, it has emerged.

  • Leaseholders to bear full cost of fire safety work

    04/12/2009

    Southwark leaseholders are to bear the full cost of fire safety improvements after a tribunal ruled in favour of the council.

  • We need timber frame answers

    04/12/2009

    Timber frame is used to build a fifth of new homes in England and almost three quarters in Scotland.

  • Liverpool Mutual Homes backs safety campaign

    03/12/2009

    The entire executive and senior management team of Liverpool Mutual Homes have signed up to Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses Campaign.

  • One down, two to go

    27/11/2009

    Residents of England’s thousands of high-rise blocks will soon be able to sleep easier in their beds. The Tenant Services Authority this week moved to meet one of the demands of Inside Housing’s Safe as houses campaign.

  • TSA grants high-rise demand

    27/11/2009

    Housing regulator the Tenant Services Authority has backed one of the key demands of Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign.

  • MPs’ support for campaign

    20/11/2009

    A high-profile MP has launched a parliamentary motion in support of Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign. Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent’s Park & Kensington North and a well-known campaigner on housing issues, has called for the government to work with housing associations and builders to achieve the campaign’s aims.

  • Leaseholders dispute fire safety charges

    17/11/2009

    Leaseholders from a Southwark tower block have made a bid to challenge bills for work being done on their building.

  • Hidden danger

    13/11/2009

    A year ago the Health and Safety Executive warned that 1,200 homes with concealed flue boiler systems could be ‘immediately dangerous’. Martin Hilditch charts the action taken by developers since then to deal with this unseen threat

  • Quick exit

    13/11/2009

    Decanting residents from their homes normally takes months to plan. But when a 1960s tower block was found to be a fire risk in July this year, Calderdale Council got them out within days. Mark Thompson, head of housing and the environment at the council, explains how

  • Three arrests after mother dies in firework blaze

    11/11/2009

    Police have arrested three people as they investigate murder after a woman died in a fire at her Cornwall council home.

  • Harman backs our safety campaign

    06/11/2009

    Leader of the Commons and Camberwell MP says demanded changes would improve tenants’ lives

  • Meet our backers

    06/11/2009

    Support for our Safe as Houses campaign to stop preventable deaths from gas or fire is growing daily. Once 100 landlords have backed us, Inside Housing will take the campaign demands to 10 Downing Street. Here are 50 key figures who have already signed up. Join them at www.insidehousing.co.uk/safeashouses

  • Check gas appliances, safety executive warns landlords

    02/11/2009

    The Health and Safety Executive has warned landlords to protect tenants from carbon monoxide poisoning by checking their gas appliances.

  • Fire assessments find Southwark blocks lack escape routes

    30/10/2009

    Risk assessments on three Southwark tower blocks have found residents have no reasonable means of escape in a fire.

  • Failure to assess fire risk cost council £5,728

    23/10/2009

    Lancaster Council has been fined £3,000 for failing to carry out a proper fire risk assessment on one of its properties.

  • Safety in numbers

    23/10/2009

    Last week Inside Housing revealed fire authorities’ frantic action to assess tower blocks following the fatal blaze at Lakanal House. Now, continuing our Safe as Houses campaign, Emily Twinch uses a new set of freedom of information requests to probe the steps taken by councils before and after the tragedy

  • Flammable ceilings found in Southwark tower

    20/10/2009

    Ceilings in fire escape corridors in a Southwark tower block appeared to be made with flammable materials, according to details of an enforcement notice which have just been released.

  • Fire services step up audits

    16/10/2009

    A senior London fire officer has vowed the brigade will search social landlords’ ‘darkest corners’ in a bid to improve fire safety in tower blocks.

  • Playing with fire

    16/10/2009

    We are now in the fourth week of our Safe as Houses campaign and, to date, 188 people have signed our petition calling for three key changes to help stop preventable deaths from fire and carbon monoxide.

  • Revealed: the fire safety frenzy after Lakanal

    16/10/2009

    As Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign gains momentum, Emily Twinch investigates the impact on fire authorities of the fatal blaze at Lakanal House. Using freedom of information laws she uncovers the low priority often given to high-rise fire safety before the tragedy, and the frantic action taken by authorities since

  • Residents complain after fire safety clear out

    15/10/2009

    Residents of tower blocks in Lambeth have complained their belongings were thrown away after housing officers removed items from corridors to improve fire safety.

  • ‘No one should go through this’

    09/10/2009

    Elouise Littlewood was just 26 when she died of carbon monoxide poisoning in her new build home. Martin Hilditch talks to her parents about her death and the legacy they hope it will leave

  • Southwark’s fire assessment spree after Lakanal blaze

    09/10/2009

    Southwark Council signed off more than 100 fire risk assessments on its tower blocks within a fortnight of a blaze that killed six people.

  • U-turn as Southwark releases fire risk assessments

    07/10/2009

    Southwark Council has U-turned on a refusal to release information about fire risk assessments on its tower blocks.

  • ‘I was emotional. Everyone was’

    02/10/2009

    This weekend marks three months since fire claimed six lives at Lakanal House in Southwark. Continuing Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign, Emily Twinch tells the stories of that terrible night and looks to the future

  • Southwark granted more time for fire safety work

    02/10/2009

    Southwark Council has been handed a two-month extension to compulsory work it is carrying out to make three of its tower blocks fully fire resistant.

  • Fire brigade defends actions against Southwark

    01/10/2009

    The London Fire Brigade has launched a robust defence of its actions after Southwark Council criticised the way it issued fire enforcement notices on three tower blocks.

  • Give us your support

    25/09/2009

    Safe as houses is an idiom with which we are all familiar - and for most social housing professionals and their residents it rings true.

  • They thought they were safe

    25/09/2009

    These people died in the place they should have been most secure - their own homes. In a bid to stop similar preventable deaths from gas or fire, Inside Housing this week launches its Safe as Houses campaign - and we need your support. Martin Hilditch and Emily Twinch report

  • Shipman judge to lead Lakanal House inquest

    24/09/2009

    The judge who led the inquests into those murdered by Dr Harold Shipman will head the proceedings for the people killed in a south London tower block.

  • Southwark 'reverses' policy to appoint housing boss

    21/09/2009

    Southwark council is advertising for a £90,000 head of housing, two years after it merged the department.

  • Fire hazards found in Southwark tower blocks

    07/09/2009

    Southwark Council failed to carry out suitable fire risk assessments on three tower blocks, according to enforcement notices released by fire safety chiefs.

  • Lakanal neighbours alarmed by short notice work

    01/09/2009

    Southwark Council’s head of housing management has been forced to apologise to residents and delay work to a tower block after sending out a letter she admits may have caused ‘unnecessary concern’.

  • Fresh high-rise fire scare

    28/08/2009

    A council has become the first to exercise emergency powers to close a tower block as providers were warned to check the fire safety implications of refurbishment work.

  • Leaseholders fear safety bills in wake of fatal fire

    27/08/2009

    Leaseholders in a neighbouring building to a tower block where six people died fear they could be landed with huge bills for fire safety work.

  • Regulator issues fresh advice on fire risk

    25/08/2009

    The social housing regulator has issued further advice on carrying out fire risk assessments, following a fatal blaze at a south London tower block in July.

  • Lakanal residents will not return home

    20/08/2009

    Residents of a tower block in which six people died in a tragic blaze last month will never move back into their homes.

  • Fire chief: make alarms compulsory

    14/08/2009

    The government should consider making all social landlords fit battery-operated smoke detectors in each of their high-rise homes, England’s chief fire officer has warned.

  • Learning the hard way

    14/08/2009

    It has been a week to forget for social landlords which own high-rise blocks. The past seven days have seen two deaths and the publication of the initial report into the fire at Lakanal House in Southwark, London on 3 July which killed six people.

  • Council tower blocks a risk, says fire authority

    13/08/2009

    Southwark Council has been issued with three enforcement notices by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, as part of an ongoing investigation into a fire that killed six residents of a tower block.

  • Government expert reports on tower block blaze

    07/08/2009

    Sir Ken Knight says tenants need more information on fire safety

  • MP pushes for fire super-inquest

    05/08/2009

    Harriet Harman MP has called for a ‘super inquest’ into the deaths of those killed in a tower block fire in London.

  • Tenant safety fears soar after fatal fire

    31/07/2009

    Worried tower block tenants have been contacting their landlords with safety concerns after a fire that killed six people in Camberwell.

  • Fire death tower block had been identified as a risk

    24/07/2009

    The design of a Southwark tower block where there was a fatal fire earlier this month was identified as being a risk nearly ten years ago.

  • Fire deaths prompt tower block survey

    23/07/2009

    The Tenant Services Authority has written to housing associations asking how many blocks they have similar to the one in London where six people died this month.

  • ‘Why, why, why?’

    17/07/2009

    One councillor’s searching question summed up the mood in the aftermath of last week’s fatal tower block fire. How did it spread so quickly, and what can landlords do to prevent such a devastating blaze happening again? Emily Twinch reports

  • Fire risk design warning prompts Nationwide checks

    17/07/2009

    Landlords across the UK are reviewing tower block safety after the government warned that a common building design may help fires spread more quickly.

  • Weaknesses found in fire death tower block

    14/07/2009

    The London tower block where six people were killed in a fire earlier this month has a design weakness which could allow fires to spread, the government has warned.

  • Fatal blaze prompts plea to councils

    10/07/2009

    The government has asked landlords to contact tenants living in tower blocks to provide reassurance and remind them of fire safety measures, following a blaze in London which killed six people.

  • Tragic blaze holds lessons for all

    10/07/2009

    Most landlords’ immediate reaction to the horrific fire which claimed six lives when it engulfed flats in a tower block in Camberwell, south London, last Friday will, rightly, be to check their own stock is in order.

  • Council backs calls for fire inquiry

    09/07/2009

    Southwark council has backed calls for a public inquiry into a fire at a tower block that killed six people.

  • Tower deaths prompt calls for fire safety inquiry

    07/07/2009

    Leader of the House of Commons Harriet Harman has called for an inquiry into fire safety in high rise buildings after six people died in a blaze at a London tower block.

  • Six die in fire at council tower block

    06/07/2009

    Six people died after a fire spread through a London council tower block on Friday evening.

  • Poor gas servicing putting tenants at risk

    26/06/2009

    Social landlords are failing their tenants by not protecting them from potentially dangerous gas systems.

  • Buy us out, demand gas estate residents

    19/06/2009

    Fifty residents of a housing estate that has been plagued by horrendous problems, including the carbon monoxide poisoning of two people, have demanded their money back.

  • Tempers flair over ‘Death Towers’ investigation

    19/06/2009

    Angry residents of the Bedfont Lakes estate were given assurances at a heated meeting on Monday evening that extensive investigations were being carried out into the carbon monoxide leak that poisoned two of its residents, leaving one dead and the other in a coma.

  • Take the lead on gas safety

    05/06/2009

    Two deaths and a man in a 15-month coma due to carbon monoxide poisoning – these are statistics that cast a shadow over social housing.

  • L&Q tenant killed by carbon monoxide

    29/05/2009

    A housing association tenant died of carbon monoxide poisoning three months before a similar death in a flat with the same type of heating system prompted a national health and safety warning.

  • Residents’ anger set to force sub-let U-turn

    22/05/2009

    Notting Hill considers allowing shared owners to escape troubled development by sub-letting their homes

  • Treatment of gas tenants ‘a shambles’

    26/02/2009

    Residents on an estate where a young woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning have been ‘mistreated’, an MP has claimed.

  • Gas death estate still without heat

    06/02/2009

    Residents of an estate where a young woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning are still living without a gas supply, a year after her death.

  • Fatal gas heating an added eco-measure

    21/11/2008

    A development in which a young woman died of carbon monoxide poisoning was originally not meant to have a gas heating system at all, Inside Housing has learned.

  • ‘We feel so unsafe’ say residents of gas danger estate

    14/11/2008

    On February 27 this year Elouise Littlewood died in the place she should have been the safest – her new home.

  • Order to turn boilers off

    24/10/2008

    Residents of a west London development where a young woman died of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning have been instructed to switch off their boilers to allow an inspection of their heating system.

  • Immediate gas threat to lives

    10/10/2008

    Thousands of people could be living in homes that pose an immediate threat to their lives, the Health & Safety Executive revealed this week.

  • Watchdog’s GB-wide gas safety warning

    03/10/2008

    Developers, landlords and residents across Britain have been warned to check the safety of their homes, following the death of a woman from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • HSE issues gas safety alert

    02/10/2008

    The government’s safety watchdog has issued an alert about a potential carbon monoxide poisoning risk from gas central heating systems.

  • Death prompts safety checks by builder

    12/09/2008

    One of the country’s most prolific house builders has stepped in to ensure residents are safe in three of its major developments, following the death of a woman from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • Man bailed in connection with gas death

    15/08/2008

    A man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the death of a woman in a housing association flat has been released on bail.

  • Police investigate association gas death

    04/04/2008

    Manslaughter probe after tragedy at Notting Hill Housing property

  • Commission reports fan flames over landlords' gas servicing

    02/07/2004

    Last week Audit Commission inspection reports revealed poor management of gas servicing within two housing associations. Experts now point to a sector-wide danger.

  • Deaths due to neglect

    20/06/2002

    A couple died of carbon monoxide poisoning linked to a leaking boiler which had not been checked, a coroner has said.Alison Thompson of West London Coroner’s Court recorded a verdict of accidental death which was contributed to by neglect caused by an