COUNCIL WANTS TO TAKE CONTROL OF FIRE SAFETY
ROYAL BOROUGH WANTS TO TAKE CHARGE OF ITS OWN FIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS
MORE than two years after the Grenfell tragedy, Kensington and Chelsea council is controversially planning to do its own Fire Risk Assessments (FRAs) for all of its buildings.
These would include FRAs for the Grenfell Tower.
All assessments have up to now been done by private contractors – including those for Grenfell which will come under scrutiny at the Public Inquiry.
The move has been welcomed by some people who were affected by the Grenfell Tower fire who think it will make the council accountable, whilst others think the Fire Brigade should do the assessments.
The council hopes to get accreditation to do the checks, which involve looking at potential safety risks and recommending work to put it right, by early next year. It would be the first council to get such accreditation in the UK.
By law the council has to do regular “suitable and sufficient” fire risk assessments (FRAs) of all its buildings, but carrying out the surveys is usually contracted out.
The fire at Grenfell Tower, a 24-storey block which the council owned has highlighted the importance of checking for risks.
The first phase of the Grenfell Inquiry which reported last month made a number of safety recommendations, including putting upto-date building plans in fire risk information boxes in every high rise block.
Amongst other recommendations, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said owners and managers of every residential building should do checks every three months to ensure that self-closing devices on fire doors work properly.
The council owns 700 buildings and assessments highlight more than 3,000 remedial actions every year.
At a recent housing and communities select committee discussing fire safety measures before the Inquiry report was published, council deputy leader Kim Taylor-Smith said: “We’re looking to really set the standard as far as local authorities go in terms of fire safety.”
The council’s new head of fire safety, Keith Todd, explained that if it gains the BAFE (British Approvals for Fire Equipment) SP205 certification Kensington and Chelsea council would be the first to be given third-party certification “as competent to deliver suitable and sufficient Fire Risk Assessments”.
The council hopes to get the accreditation through the National Security Inspectorate.
A council spokesman said: “We hope to have a date soon for our inspection, which will start the formal certification process, and hope to have this by early 2020.”
The move won the backing of the chairman of the Lancaster West Residents Association, which includes Grenfell Tower.
Abbas Dadou said: “If it’s in their hands they will be accountable.”
The move comes as the fire safety team is working to set up a dedicated repairs team to do the remedial work picked up by FRAs.
The assessments look at the risks, people who could be at risk, including adults with disabilities and children and aim to remove risks and make recommendations to improve safety.
Councillor Judith Blakeman, whose Notting Dale ward includes Grenfell Tower said “I welcome it very much. Thus far we have had some positive information from the in-house team.”
The council’s director of housing management Doug Goldring said in a report that getting accreditation to do the inspections “would put us as a team on an equivalent standard as our suppliers, providing us with greater credibility in validating FRAs carried out by contractors.”
He also pointed out the move would give the council greater flexibility by bringing tests inhouse and growing its own team of internal inspectors “which may be cost effective in the long-term”.
Mr Todd told last month’s meeting: “What we very much want to do is bring in a third party UKAS scheme which would have external auditors to see are we up to the job. That’s one industry bench mark, by bringing that in house we would have that level of engagement.”
Accreditation will cost £3,240, and an annual £1,500 fee.
The move has been welcomed by campaigning group Justice 4 Grenfell.
Moyra Samuels said the new team “should go some way to improve accountability and engagement which is sorely needed”.
She said: “Let’s hope the in house team will be able to ensure the council implements the recommendations of the report on Phase1 of the Public Inquiry which include plans for residents who would struggle to evacuate themselves, the provision of alarm systems, building plans, and emergency services and an “urgent” inspection of fire doors in all properties with separate dwellings – not just high rises, improved fire signage and the provision of evacuation strategies which will include the retrofitting of manual or smart alarms to alert residents.”
However North Kensington councillor Kasim Ali, who speaks on housing for the Labour opposition on the council, said it should not be doing FRAs.
“I do not want them to be the first council to do it. I do not want them to be the last council to do it.”
Instead he called for firefighters to be given the resources to do the assessments.
“Fire safety should be all the way with the fire fighters and let’s give them the resources to do it.”
Amongst other moves the council is also setting up fire safety training for people who live in council homes.
Mr Goldring wrote: “Whilst it is slightly unconventional to provide fire safety to residents, initial discussions with residents have shown that there is interest in this service”.
The council has also set up a residents’ safety panel and signed up to Hackitt report recommendations to ensure that any alterations and refurbishment to buildings the council owns are recorded, along with design, construction and maintenance work.
“Clearly fire safety is extremely important for the borough,” said Mr Goldring.
“We want there to be a change of emphasis”.