Safety alert: Grenfell Inquiry – Citation’s expert view

On 4 September the Grenfell final report was published after a six-year public inquiry. The report sets out details of responsibility, as well as making recommendations to the government to prevent future tragedies. It’s important to note that the recommendations are just that – they’re not legislation and it’ll be down to the government to choose whether to enact them or not. The report was 1700 pages long, so the experts at Citation have distilled the key points that might impact you as a business owner.  

This tragic incident and the subsequent findings highlight just how important fire safety is in protecting businesses, livelihoods and lives, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. 

 

Building regulation and fire/building inspection failures 

The fire highlighted serious deficiencies in fire safety regulations and enforcement.  

The government hadn’t updated key regulations following previous fires, such as Approved Document B, which failed to effectively prohibit combustible materials from being applied to higher-risk buildings. 

Local authorities and private building inspectors failed to enforce fire safety standards, and fire risk assessments were inadequate and conducted by incompetent persons. 

 

The inquiry recommended:  

• Reformation of fire safety regulations, with clearer guidelines. 

• Establishment of a national oversight body for building safety. 

• Improvements to building inspection methods. 

• Improvements to competency surrounding fire risk assessments. 

 

Failures in emergency response 

The building’s fire safety systems were compromised during the refurbishment, with insufficient fire-stopping measures, faulty smoke ventilation systems, and fire doors which failed to close and may not have met the standards required to resist fire. This compromised the previous fire compartmentation which would have likely limited the fire outbreak to one flat. 

The London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) delayed abandonment of the “stay put” policy contributed to the high death toll, the policy was implemented on the assumption that compartmentation of the building had not been compromised. Communication failures during the emergency response and lack of preparedness for such a large-scale fire were also identified. 

 

 The inquiry recommended: 

• The “stay put” policy for high-rise buildings is reviewed. 

• Improvements to fire service training, communication, and equipment. 

 

Failures in accountability and communication by local and central government 

Both the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) and central government failed in their oversight and response to fire safety concerns. RBKC did not intervene in the Tenant Management Organisation’s management of Grenfell Tower despite repeated warnings. Central government failed to update fire safety regulations following previous incidents like the 2009 Lakanal House fire, which also involved combustible materials on the exterior of the building. 

 

 The inquiry recommended: 

• Strengthened government oversight of housing safety. 

• Improvements to communication with residents. 

• Establishment of a national fire safety regulator. 

 

Management and oversight failures by the Tenant Management Organisation (TMO) 

The TMO, responsible for managing Grenfell Tower, was found to have repeatedly neglected fire safety responsibilities, including delayed responses to fire risk assessments and inadequate communication with residents. The TMO’s governance was flawed, lacking enough expertise in fire safety, and failed to act on critical fire safety concerns raised by residents and the London Fire Brigade. 

 

 The inquiry recommended: 

• Strengthened governance in housing management organisations. 

• Improvements to resident engagement and accountability for fire safety. 

 

What’s happened so far 

The Grenfell fire has led to calls for significant reforms in building regulations, housing management, and emergency response. So far, the Building Safety Act (Section 156) has introduced the requirement to record ‘all’ findings within a fire risk assessment, and to ensure that your fire risk assessor is competent to undertake an assessment of your premises. 

The Fire Safety Order was updated last year, and we issued a safety alert to clients at the time. As a reminder of what changed and what your responsibilities are, you can read that Safety Alert here. 

 

 The inquiry recommended: 

• Establishment of a national body for building safety oversight. 

• Mandatory installation of sprinkler systems in high-rise buildings. 

• Improvements to accountability and resident involvement in fire safety. 

 

As of time of writing, we don’t know whether the government will enact any of these changes, but we’ll be able to update as and when we know more.