NEWS


installed in a timber building, and whether stay put was appropriate, but the company responded: ‘It would not be appropriate for them to comment at this time.’ Ms Smith has written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling for building and fire safety regulations to be reviewed, and also called on Cheshire East Council (CEC) to ‘urgently audit’ buildings in the area to identify sites of similar risk. She added: ‘The most


important thing for me now is to be challenging and looking at how this happened, why it happened and how we can make sure that it never happens again. I await the outcome of the formal investigation into the fire before reaching any conclusion, but I believe that the government needs to urgently review our building regulations. ‘I was shocked to discover that elderly people, many of whom had disabilities and care needs, had been housed in a timber-framed building without any sprinklers and a “stay put” policy in the event of a fire. At the time of construction, the company boasted that it had the largest timber content of any development in Europe. ‘This will have undoubtedly


helped to deliver their PFI contract with the council on budget and on time. At the end of the day, companies will work to the rules set by government and we need those rules to put safety first. We need more assisted living homes but we also need to know that people are safe in their beds.’ Ms Smith continued: ‘I have also


challenged whether the “stay put” policy is appropriate in these circumstances. Thankfully, the incident commander made the right call to override the policy and lives were saved. I have asked [CEC] to urgently audit buildings in the area to identify any sites where there is a similar risk and to work with [CFRS] to make sure that appropriate fire safety plans are put in place. ‘This is especially important


where there are children or vulnerable adults with mobility


issues involved. As always, the rapid and professional response from our emergency services has saved lives and they deserve all our thanks. We should never take our police, fire and ambulance services for granted. ‘Thankfully, we had sufficient


resources nearby to keep the situation under control and keep people safe. I will always fight to protect our local emergency services. You can’t do public safety on the cheap.’


LFB reiterates schools call


Finally, LFB revealed that all 57 of the city’s schools that have suffered fires this year had no sprinklers fitted. In its release, LFB stated that the ‘shocking’ figures found that none of the 57 schools that have suffered fires in London this year had automatic fire suppression systems fitted, and pointed out that it had ‘long been calling’ for mandatory sprinkler installations in all new school builds, as well as for all schools to be retrofitted with sprinklers ‘during major refurbishment’. It pointed out that sprinklers are ‘especially important during the summer holidays when buildings are empty and fires can smoulder undetected, causing extensive and expensive damage’, and cited the recent ten year anniversary of the ‘devastating’ fire at the Thomas Fairchild School in Hoxton. This had


required 15 appliances and over 100 firefighters to spend ten hours extinguishing the blaze. The school closed for ‘almost three years’ for rebuilding, forcing all 300 pupils to attend school at two different locations. LFB also noted that in all school fires that it has attended since 2014, there have only been 13 cases in which schools had sprinklers fitted. Charlie Pugsley, LFB’s deputy


assistant commissioner for fire safety, commented: ‘It is shocking that we have been campaigning for a number of years to make sprinklers mandatory in new schools and retrofitted during major refurbishments and yet this year, every school fire we have been called to has had no sprinklers fitted. ‘Sprinklers are the only fire safety


system that detects a fire, suppresses a fire and can raise the alarm. Sprinklers save lives and protect property. Millions of pounds are wasted every year repairing fire damage in London’s schools when sprinklers could have prevented the spread of fire. This is not just about saving money; when a school is closed it disrupts a child’s education, impacts on the local community and affects parents by closing breakfast and after school clubs. ‘The easiest time is to fit sprinklers


when schools are being built or refurbished. I find it staggering that such a simple safety measure is so easily omitted from the designs.’


www.frmjournal.com OCTOBER 2019 13


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