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Lakanal House – A tragedy waiting to happen?

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28/03/2013

The deaths of six people, including three children, in Britain's worst-ever tower block fire, could have been prevented by a proper fire safety check by the building's owner, an inquest jury has concluded.Lakanal House – A tragedy waiting to happen?
A jury said there were "numerous opportunities" to carry out safety checks in the building as they returned a unanimous narrative verdict at a "super inquest" into the deaths at Lambeth Town Hall.

Botched refurbishment

The inquest blamed Southwark council's botched refurbishment of Lakanal House in Camberwell for the speed with which a blaze, which started when a TV caught fire,  was able to rip through the 14-storey block and leave firefighters unable to reach trapped residents in time.

The verdicts also criticised fire service operators, who advised some of those to remain in their flats rather than fleeing, for failing to respond flexibly to a fast-moving situation. Fire crews also appeared not to know the layout of the flats, delaying efforts to rescue those trapped.

The inquest heard troubling details about how the Lakanal House blaze moved unusually quickly and in unexpected ways. Within half an hour of the first 999 call it had spread to several other floors, moving downwards as well as up, something so unusual that transcripts show emergency operators initially refused to believe this was happening.

Fire doors failed.

An expert witness at the 50-day inquest, David Crowder of BRE, said “the fire impacted on the front door and on the panel above the front door and on the boxing in under the stairs and on the escape door onto the corridor. The panel above the front door failed very quickly. The boxing in under the stairs failed within two to three minutes after being exposed to fire, and that”, Mr. Crowder estimated, “happened at about 1650 hours. The front door failed and collapsed into the corridor at about 1719 hours”.

Learn more . . . . . . . 

Fire Door Safety

FDIS – Europe's first Fire Door Inspection Scheme

Other inquest reports: (Opens in new window)

Coroner's Inquest transcripts.

BBC News: Video report.

The Guardian: "Deaths could have been prevented:.

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