Two years on from Grenfell but still ‘only a matter of time’
Posted: June 10, 2019 | Author: julesbirch | Filed under: Construction industry, Fire safety, Grenfell Tower | Tags: Barking | 1 CommentOriginally published as a blog for Inside Housing on June 10.
Almost two years on from Grenfell, Sunday’s huge fire at a block of flats in Barking is a horrifying reminder of how much there is still to do to keep residents safe.
Thankfully, everyone seems to have got out but the parallels are all too clear in the terrifying speed at which the fire spread and previous safety concerns raised by residents of the mixed-tenure block that appear to have been brushed aside.
Fire on the Barking Riverside estate. Huge!!! Serious!!! Only a couple of weeks after the residents association specifically asked the builders @Bellway_Homes who said the wood cladding was fire retardant and perfectly safe @barkingriver @barkingriver @CllrDRodwell pic.twitter.com/nVeuy0xAXq
— Venilia Batista Amorim (@vbatistaamorim) June 9, 2019
Attention will inevitably focus on the safety of timber balconies and the apparent failure of fire retardant treatment of the materials used as well as the actions of those responsible for the block.
More broadly it underlines a whole series of questions about regulation and the construction industry and relationships between developers, freeholders and leaseholders that have still not had adequate answers.
Jules Birch 