Tonight - Fire: How Safe Are Our High-Rises?
Many people in the UK live, work and socialise in high rises. After Grenfell, Tonight asks, how safe are our high rises?
Since the fire at Grenfell tower, the worst in the residential building history, the government has ordered safety tests on 600 tower blocks across the nation. Other buildings, such as schools, hospitals and hotels, are expected to also be tested.
Adam Shaw investigates what safety checks were done before the tragedy and looks at how much we know about the safety of the buildings we are in.
Fire Risk Assessors
In 2005, fire safety checks were deregulated according to the The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. They went from the hands of the fire service, to local authorities, who often hire private firms to conduct them.
Most have relevant qualifications, accreditations and expertise to carry out risk assessments.
But it is quite easy to set yourself up as an assessor - you don’t need qualifications and you can get your certificate online.
Concerns about the competency of some of the people carrying out these assessments are worrying the fire service:
As well as this, there is no legal obligation for local authorities to make public their Fire Risk Assessments.
In a survey conducted by Tonight, only 2 local authorities out of 130 make them public. In light of Grenfell, many local authorities are going to re-examine their current procedures.
Were warnings ignored?
Sam Webb is an architect who has devoted his career to safety in tower blocks. He believe’s that the fire at Grenfell could have been avoided and chillingly, predicted something catastrophic would happen before action would be taken.
“That building is a metaphor if you like for what has gone wrong and it should never have happened.”
Unfortunately, Grenfell isn’t the first tragedy that involves external cladding:
In 1973, 50 people were killed on the Isle of Man when the panels on the exterior a leisure centre caught fire.
In 1991 a fire broke out in Manchester, climbing eleven floors behind recently installed cladding.
In 1999 a fire spread along the outside of a high rise in Scotland, killing one man and injuring 5 other people.
In July 2009 a blaze at a tower block in Southwark, South London killed 3 women and 3 children. Recently installed exterior cladding panels burnt through in just four and a half minutes.
Whilst the warnings were there, the horrific tragedy at Grenfell tower, still happened. So what has gone wrong?
Dr. Jim Glockling, is one of the leading experts in Britain on the cause and prevention of fire, who believes that inaction is a symptom of a system that has failed.
The community secretary, Sajid Javid declined to appear on Tonight, to respond to concerns over the hundreds of high rise buildings across the country that are potentially dangerous, but he did refer us to a speech he gave to parliament on Monday.Residents in high rises still fearful
Last week, high rises in Camden were evacuated, hundreds of people made homeless, amid concerns over the safety of the buildings they live in. Residents had to spend the night in a leisure centre,
But it’s not just residents in the capital that have been affected by worries over their homes - Dawn Lewis, lives in a tower block in Salford. So far, 29 blocks of flats have failed safety tests in Salford.
Salford City Council told Tonight it is removing the cladding from Dawn's block and and extra safety measures are in place.
The government has said it has set up an expert panel to advise on the immediate action needed on fire safety. But for the many of us who live, work or study in high rises - is enough being done right now?
See more at 7:30pm on ITV as Adam Shaw investigates Fire: How Safe Are Our High Rises?
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Useful links:Sajid Javid's Parliament speech