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Grenfell Tower fire: the questions that need to be answered
Fire safety expert Sam Webb poses the questions the authorities will have to answer following the fire in Grenfell Tower
This is likely to be one of the worst fires in British history. It has been reported that people threw their children out of windows and jumped. Just put yourself in their position. What the hell would you do?
These are the questions that will need to be answered over the coming weeks and months:
- Why aren’t old blocks like Grenfell fitted with sprinklers?
If it had been a new building it would have required a sprinkler system. Grenfell Tower was full of families but didn’t need to have sprinklers fitted as it’s an old building. Retrofitting sprinkler systems has been done in similar blocks before.
- Why doesn’t cladding have to be fire retardant on both sides?
The fire would have spread behind the cladding. There is no requirement for the back of the cladding to be fire protected.
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- Why didn’t the council appear to listen to residents’ concerns?
Residents have been asking questions about the fire safety of the building. Kensington and Chelsea, which is one of the richest boroughs, doesn’t appear to have done anything about these concerns.
- What steps has the government taken to review fire safety building regulations?
The building regulations governing fire safety are set out in ‘Approved Document B’. At the inquest into the Lakanal House fire, which killed six people in 2009, the coroner said the regulations were virtually impossible to understand. And she was a judge specialising in building disputes.
- Why are people still being advised to stay put in their flats in the event of fires?
It is standard procedure for telephone operators to tell people to stay in their flats unless they are directly affected by the fire. If the fire is on the fourth floor and you are on the 18th floor, you should be quite safe. But, of course, if the fire spreads through cladding on the outside of buildings, that doesn’t apply. The people who died at Lakanal House were the ones who were told to stay in their flats and did so. The ones who lived disregarded the advice they were given.
Sam Webb, member, All-Party Parliamentary Fire Safety and Rescue Group
