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RBKC replaces 98% of fire doors in high-risk buildings in progress update on Grenfell Inquiry’s Phase One report
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) has revealed it has almost completed a huge drive to replace fire doors in high-rise buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has revealed it has almost completed a huge drive to replace fire doors in high-rise buildings in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy #UKhousingIn a progress update, the west London local authority said it was 98% of the way through the programme to install more than 3,000 new doors.
A further 1,410 fire doors will be replaced in lower-risk buildings this year, it added, as works continue to improve the safety of residents after the 2017 blaze.
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is due to publish its Phase Two report on 4 September, which will lay out its findings on the causes of the fire that killed 72 people.
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Elizabeth Campbell, leader of RBKC, said this long-awaited document would be “hugely significant for our communities” and promised the council would treat it as a “lasting legacy” from the fire.
She also committed to a “credible, honest and community-led” response to the forthcoming recommendations.
The council has also carried out a comprehensive fire risk appraisal programme for external walls on high-risk buildings.
Information on the composition of all the local authority’s buildings that require fire risk assessments has been sent to the London Fire Brigade.
The council has also written to all residents to offer person-centred fire risk assessments (PCFRAs), with all vulnerable residents identified during this process offered a personal emergency evacuation plan (PEEP). As of last month, 748 PCFRAs had been completed and 362 PEEPs issued.
Secure information boxes (SIBs) have been installed on all residential buildings over 11m, going further than the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase One recommendation of adding them to buildings of 18m and taller.
The council has also implemented monthly lift inspections, including of the switches that allow firefighters to take control of them.
Fire safety booklets have been sent to all council tenants and leaseholders, explaining evacuation procedures for specific blocks. Floor plans showing the layouts of all council-owned high-rise buildings have been shared with the London Fire Brigade and stored in building SIBs.
The inquiry’s Phase One report, published in 2019, called for all high-rise buildings’ floor numbers to be clearly marked on each landing, a task that was completed in the borough ahead of the deadline of January 2023.
Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that criminal trials relating to the Grenfell Tower fire will not begin until at least the middle of 2027.
In July, Sir Keir Starmer’s government promised to introduce a duty of candour law for public servants, following calls from Grenfell and Hillsborough survivors.
The legislation, to be known as the Hillsborough Law, was included in the King’s Speech at the state opening of parliament.
Briefing documents published alongside the King’s Speech said the law will address the “unacceptable defensive culture” prevalent across “too much of the public sector”.
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