THE Fire Brigades Union has called for a public inquiry into the fatal fire in the Camberwell high rise block which claimed six lives. The union called for an inquiry whose proceedings should be open, robust and challenging.
FBU General Secretary Matt Wrack said: ‘Our working lives and training are about saving life and it hurts us deeply when we do not do so.’
He added: ‘The review led by Sir Ken Knight, the chief fire and rescue adviser, is a good start but on its own it will not satisfy the legitimate public concerns which have been raised. A public inquiry should cover all aspects of the fire service operational planning and response; the fire safety and inspection regime; and the building construction and management, including the issue of refurbishment, alterations and fire-loading.’
News Line supports this demand for a public inquiry especially into the decision of local councils to concentrate on the sale and demolition of council properties so that the land could be sold to private developers to build housing that has proven to be inferior to council stock.
This national dash to privatise council housing has led to a crucial lack of inspection, refurbishment and maintenance of the existing council house stock in many cases, as well as a drive to evict council tenants from their homes.
Terrie Alafat, Director of Housing (Delivery and Homelessness) at the Department for Communities and Local Government, wrote to all local authority chief executives on 7 July following the fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell.
She wrote that ‘Whilst investigations into the cause of the fire will not be completed for some time, LB Southwark have been working with LFEPA (London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority) to carry out certain fire safety improvements in Marie Curie House, the block adjacent to Lakanal House.
‘During this initial work, it has come to our attention that there is a feature in the building that could undermine the fire protection of the common escape corridors. This feature could be repeated in buildings of the same structure/design elsewhere and may not be readily apparent from visual inspections. . .’
The letter adds: ‘Lakanal House was built in 1959 and contains 98 two storey flats over 14 floors.’
The letter adds of the design of the flats making up Lakanal House: ‘The flats are accessed on either side of the common corridor and at entrance level contain bedrooms and bathroom accommodation. An internal timber stair adjacent to the corridor gives access to the living room and kitchen on the flat’s upper floor, which spans from side to side of the building passing over the common corridor on the lower level.
‘Where the internal staircase passes over the corridor it cuts through the enclosure to the common corridor presenting a potential breach in the fire resisting construction above the ceiling. This could allow a fire in one of the flats to burn through the timber stair and spread into the ceiling void.’
The rapid spread of the fire upwards at Lakanhal House may well be due to this ‘fault’.
It is clear that urgent action is required.
The government must order a halt to all of the privatisation initiatives and give councils the grants required to put right the fire risks contained in buildings like Marie Curie House.
All of the existing council house stock must be inspected, refurbished and maintained, and a building programme begun to build the millions of council homes that are required to end the housing crisis.
All the necessary resources to carry out this task can be obtained by nationalising the banks and the building industry and building land, under workers’ control.
A national plan must be worked out that will both resolve the housing crisis, through making the entire council stock safe, and by providing hundreds of thousands of people with jobs, building the millions of council homes that are required.
