Monday, March 21, 2011

Marine Tower

Following the Marine Tower double fire fatality at the beginning of February, the London Fire Brigade have issued an enforcement notice against Lewisham Homes detailing various failings.

The notice issued pursuant to Article 30 of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 deatails the following failings:

  • Failure to review the fire risk assessment. (Article 9)
  • Failure in the effective management of the preventive and protective measures.(Article 11)
  • Failure to provide and/or maintain adequate and clearly indicated emergency routes and exits that lead to a place of safety. (Article 14)
  • Failure to establish an appropriate emergency plan. (Article 15)
  • Failure to ensure that the premises and any facilities, equipment and devices are maintained in an efficient state, in effective working order and in good repair. (Article 17)
This is hardly the first time that Lewisham Homes have been the subject of such an order. In November last year a similar notice was issued in regard to Pitman House, Tanners Hill, Deptford.

Why do the London Fire Brigade appear to wait until after major incidents before checking fire safety in Lewisham tower blocks?

4 comments:

  1. is this why Lewisham were advertising for a new director of Housing recently?

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  2. Will they be prosecuted under this lot as well??

    http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/1541/part/4/made

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  3. I do not know why Mark Leahy, the former Director of Housing, left, but I am not sorry to see him go.

    If they comply with the enforcement notice they will not be prosecuted. In that both recent major fires in Deptford tower blocks have resulted in such enforcement notices it is a safe assumption that a similar situation applies across all Lewisham Homes' tower blocks. The enforcement notice regarding Pitman House was issued on 11 October 2010 and the Marine Tower fire was nearly four months later so the first enforcement notice clearly failed to engender any realistic management response.

    The real issue is that whereas small private landlords get prosecuted for failing to have current gas safety certificates and suchlike Health and Safety failings, public landlords like Lewisham Homes enjoy de facto immunity from prosecution.

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  4. The Standard's Ross Lydall has updated his blog: http://j.mp/dFYDKu

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