“A perfect bonfire” – LBC Investigation

LBC Investigation Finds Safety Shortfalls In Barking Estate After Fire Destroyed 20 Homes

Following a recent fire, LBC’s Rachael Venables took chartered surveyor and fire safety expert Arnold Tarling to inspect the fire safety measures in one of the neighbouring blocks. Mr Tarling described exterior wooden cladding as “the perfect bonfire”.

“There are vertical timbers, which the fire will spread up, we have horizontal decorative timbers and you have horizontal decking timbers,” he said. “And the only thing separating them is a piece of flammable plastic to stop items dropping through. Now this is built like a crib that you would use in fire testing because wood burns pretty well, and you’ve got a perfect bonfire here.”

This video highlights the importance of correctly installing fire doors, and also correctly maintaining fire stopping measures within a building.

In response to the investigation, a London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “The building owner is responsible for fire safety measures and needs to maintain an up to date fire risk assessment”.

“We are working with the local authority, building company and the management company to address any fire safety issues to ensure residents feel safe when returning to their homes. Our fire safety team has carried out a visit to both the affected block and a neighbouring block of the same construction.”

What can you do? How can we help??

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 highlights how these measures fall under the remit of the building’s “Responsible Person”. This “Person” is required to ensure a suitable system of maintenance is in place. Above all, passive fire protection equipment should be in an efficient state and in proper working order. The Order requires all such installation and maintenance work to be carried out by “suitably competent persons”.

Fire Door Experts can help! Do you have any concerns about your fire safety measures? If you would like some advice, please don’t hesitate to speak to one of our team.