London's fire chief urges: Act now to avert another Grenfell

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton called on the Government to introduce tougher building regulations “without further delay”
Jeremy Selwyn

London's fire chief today called on the Government to introduce tougher building regulations “without further delay” to prevent another Grenfell Tower-style tragedy.

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton said advice about sprinklers had been ignored and developers must now be required to include them in designs.

Ms Cotton said: “We now need the Government to act without further delay to ensure we have robust legislation and regulation in place to make buildings safer. For too long our fire safety advice on sprinklers has been ignored. Developers must be required to include sprinklers in building design and especially in purpose-built residential blocks and homes where vulnerable people live.”

Ms Cotton and Fiona Twycross, the deputy mayor for fire and resilience, have also written to Communities Secretary James Brokenshire asking for more skilled fire specialists.

Dany Cotton has previously told of her shock after arriving at the scene of the fire
PA

They said there is a “shortage” of skilled engineers which needed to be tackled with urgent and targeted investment from the Government.

They also said that since Dame Judith Hackitt’s review into building regulations — which was published almost a year ago — there has been no clarity from the Government on the next steps.

The Government has said it would make fundamental changes to building regulations and implement all the recommendations made by the review, which was conducted after the tower blaze that claimed 72 lives in June 2017.

A panel of experts were expected to meet at City Hall today to discuss fire safety in the capital. Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ executive member for housing, said: “Following the fire at Grenfell, boroughs put immense effort and resources into carrying out essential remedial works.

“While a lot of safety improvements have been achieved, more change is needed at national policy level. We can’t afford to lose momentum — the Government must listen and urgently address these continuing concerns.”

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “We are committed to improving building safety and are taking forward all the recommendations made by Dame Judith Hackitt in her independent review of building regulations and fire safety.

“We have said we will consult in the spring in more detail, and that remains our aim.”

She added that necessary future legislation will be brought forward at the earliest opportunity.

Last year, the Government announced a ban on using combustible materials on external walls of new high-rise residential buildings.

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