An underwriting firm says fire safety failings persist more than seven years after the disastrous Grenfell Tower fire – the latest example being the flat fire in East London this week.
Comprising a block of flats, the property on Freshwater Road in Dagenham suffered extensive damage following Monday’s blaze, according to London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe. Approximately 225 firefighters tackled the fire, while more than 80 people were evacuated.
“The building has a number of fire safety issues known to London Fire Brigade,” Roe noted. “A full simultaneous evacuation of the building was immediately carried out, and a significant search and rescue operation took place.”
He added: “We have commenced a full and detailed investigation into the cause of this fire, and we are working closely with police colleagues. However, due to the extensive damage to the building with parts of it now being declared unsafe, access may be limited.
“This will be a protracted investigation, and our fire investigation and fire safety officers are likely to be on scene for several days. We know there will undoubtedly be concerns around potential fire safety issues, and this investigation will be a priority for our officers over the coming weeks.”
Commenting on the incident, Collegiate Underwriting’s underwriting manager Ben Randall pointed to the persistence of fire safety failings.
He said in a statement: “This terrible fire is another reminder of the huge outstanding fire safety problems facing tall residential buildings. The horror of the Grenfell Tower disaster was over seven years ago. There can be a tendency to think the problems that were highlighted have all been resolved, but this is far from the case.
“A large proportion of the affected buildings are yet to be remediated, leaving thousands of people facing these risks every day. Guided by updated building regulations that set out what is required, the construction industry is working hard to rectify the existing building issues, but this is going to take many more years to complete.”
Randall stressed that while it would be easy to assume that all fire safety defects have been identified and professional indemnity (PI) insurers like Collegiate notified, this has not been his camp’s experience.
“We are still seeing a steady influx of new notifications regarding building fire safety defects,” he revealed. “Due to a shortage of skilled fire risk surveyors, not all the fire safety problems in existing buildings have been identified or remediation strategies designed.
“These surveyors have also faced difficulty in obtaining appropriate PI insurance. This insurance is now more readily available, at least for the best qualified and experienced fire safety surveyors and engineers.”
What do you think about this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
