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LFB commissioner calls for ‘clarity’ over fire safety regulations
The London Fire Brigade commissioner has called for “clarity” over fire safety regulations.
Speaking at a Chartered Institute of Housing fire safety event this morning Dany Cotton said: “The overlap between the [Housing and Planning Act 2016] and the [Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order] needs clarity and I hope that these will be lessons that will be learnt.”
Fire safety experts have warned that the building regulations on fire safety are not clear. In a Communities and Local Government Committee parliamentary session yesterday, communities secretary Sajid Javid admitted a review of building regulations was not carried out quickly enough after the Lakanal House fire.
Fire risk assessments and the need to make sure they are carried out by qualified people are “very high on everyone’s priorities”, Ms Cotton said.
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She added: “One thing people sometimes don’t pay enough attention to is it’s not just about the building and the measures inside the building. It’s about the people who live in that building and whether or not they’re vulnerable. You can have a building with all the right measures but if one of the occupants is bed-bound on the 22nd floor when you come to a fire and they can’t use the lift, how are they going to be protected?”
Ms Cotton also reiterated her support for sprinklers in residential blocks. She said: “It’s been no secret that London Fire Brigade have been champions of every means to assist people and sprinklers are one of those things. It’s part of a number of measures. I’m not saying sprinklers are the panacea that can cure everything but sprinklers in conjunction with other fire suppression and fire detection measures are the key… I’m really keen that we all make sure our voices are heard.”
Nick Coombe, from London Fire Brigade’s fire safety regulation management team, said there is “some silly money” being paid to fire risk assessors “who may not be good enough”.
“The fact you rode a fire engine for 30 years does not make you a fire risk assessor,” he said.
He said some fire risk assessments do not go into enough detail and pointed out that the fire risk assessment template provided by the Department for Communities and Local Government is only a page long.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
