Camden New Journal - News: Safety warning after blazes in tower blocks

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Camden New Journal - by PAUL KEILTHY
Published: 11 October 2007

Safety warning after blazes in tower blocks

Town Hall told of fire chief’s concern

TWO fires in tower blocks a fortnight apart have triggered “enhanced levels of concern” about the safety of Camden’s 23,000 council tenants, the borough’s leading fireman has said.
The Town Hall is now to carry out a complete review of fire risks.
In an interview with the New Journal, fire brigade borough commander Mick Quy said fires in flats in Regent’s Park and Chalk Farm this summer had prompted a series of talks with Town Hall housing chiefs on the safety of communal areas serving the 33,000 homes owned by the council.
Thirty-eight residents were led to safety by firefighters wearing breathing equipment at Bucklebury block, in Stanhope Street, Regent’s Park, in June. They had become trapped on the upper floors when smoke from an eighth-floor fire filled emergency stairwells.
As the New Journal reported at the time, at least two fire doors were missing and five were broken or damaged – facts known to council housing staff. Days later, two teenagers escaped when their flat in Maitland Park Road, Chalk Farm, caught fire in the early morning.
Mr Quy said this week: “Any fire is worrying – two fires is an enhanced level of concern. In the instance of Bucklebury, our inspection found on a number of occasions a couple of the fire doors were either not fully closing or did not operate effectively. The council sent out a carpenter the next day and made repairs.
“We have since made contact quite high up in the council and raised these issues. We had identified a trend and gone to them with the trend.
“We had to consider – either there is an enforcement path [where the fire brigade issues the council with a fine or other sanction] or we can work with you. We have had meetings in which we are helping them to prioritise the work that needs doing.”
Because of its age, Camden’s council housing is not fitted with alarms or sprinkler systems as standard. Although local authorities are required to fit fire safety improvements when blocks are refurbished, successive administrations in Camden have failed or been prevented from bringing housing up to the benchmark “decent homes” standard, leaving the original fire safety systems in place.
Since the blaze at Bucklebury, the Town Hall has hired a consultant risk assessment expert and is urgently reviewing fire safety across its estates.

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