Posted 01.06.21
London Fire Brigade: Further reading
A serious failure of a smoke ventilation system that resulted in the building acting like a "broken chimney" left residents' only escape route smoke logged during the New Providence Wharf fire, a report released today by London Fire Brigade has said.
The report confirms that the fire on May 7th 2021 started in a consumer unit, known more commonly as the fuse board, in an 8th floor flat. Due to the severity of the fire more testing is needed to find out how exactly the consumer unit failed.
The fire then travelled out of an open balcony window. At the same time smoke poured into the corridor through a flat door that had accidentally been kept open.
The Brigade's provisional investigation into the fire has found that in this particular instance, ACM cladding panels did not significantly contribute to the external spread of the fire.
The response to New Providence Wharf fire demonstrated the significant changes the Brigade has made since the Grenfell Tower fire.
Increased numbers of firefighters and appliances initially sent to high rise fires as standard; familliarisation visits conducted by crews prior to the fire, the introduction of new evacuation procedures; improved communications between the control room and the incident ground; and fire escape hoods - all helped save lives.
The above link gives access to the full report.
*****
Special investigation: how the government missed the chance to prevent the cladding crisis in the 1990s https://t.co/3dSZQlb8b9 #ukhousing pic.twitter.com/d94iS5D4WU
— Inside Housing (@insidehousing) June 13, 2021
*****
Headlines in this section last month:
*****
Return to this month's headlines
KEEP UP-TO-DATE WITH ISSUES AFFECTING THE SOCIAL AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING SECTORS
NEWS AND VIEWS REPORTED IN BRIEF SUMMARY FORMAT, WITH LINKS FOR FURTHER READING
RECOGNISABLE CATEGORY SECTIONS FOR EASY ACCESS
AN ESSENTIAL FREE RESOURCE FOR ANYONE WITH A BUSY SCHEDULE
EDITED BY MIKE SKILTON
CLICK ON THE SECTIONS BELOW FOR ALL CURRENT POSTS - OR THOSE FOR SELECTED PAST MONTHS
