Residents told ‘stay put’ unless your flat is alight

RESIDENTS in high-rise blocks are advised to “stay put” and only flee if their own flat is on fire, but that advice will now come under scrutiny.

Fay Edwards, of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which manages Grenfell Tower, insisted the advice was right.

She said: “I think they are safer standing in their flats and obviously people have been contacting the police and fire and letting them know where they are in the flats.”

Darren Baird, of Total Fire Services, said: “I’ve been to hundreds of tower block fires and every one has been contained in the flat of origin.

“Unless you’ve had refurbishment work that you’re unsure of, stay put. It’s been inherent and built into buildings and tower block designs since the 1950s.”

But last night it was feared that refurbishment had compromised the fire breaks between flats in the block.

Mr Baird said works could have left the building like “swiss cheese”. Flats are designed to resist fire for at least an hour but holes for wiring or pipes could have destroyed that protection.