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Block of flats chosen to house Grenfell survivors found to have ‘high’ fire risk
A block of flats chosen by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to house survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire has been found to have “high” fire risk and needs immediate work to make it safe, Inside Housing can exclusively reveal.
A fire risk assessment of the Hortensia Road block in Kensington, which is currently housing 20 people and was set aside for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire, also found that there was “no evidence” that the cladding of the building had been inspected.
In response, RBKC claimed that there were a “number of errors” in the assessment, and said it had carried out its own assessment where many of the issues raised during its assessment had already been addressed.
After the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in 2017, the seven-storey block on Hortensia Road was allocated as part of RBKC’s rehousing effort and Grenfell survivors were moved in.
A fresh fire risk assessment commissioned by the residents and carried out by consultancy Fire-X last month, and seen by Inside Housing, found three sources of “high substantial risk” in the building.
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As its first substantial risk, Fire-X found “service penetrations” through the riser walls had “either been sealed incorrectly or not sealed at all”.
As a result, the assessment said, there was not a reasonable standard of compartmentation, meaning if a fire started it could spread rapidly from flat to flat. Fire-X recommended that fire stopping needed to be installed within a month.
The assessment of Hortensia Road found that the doors leading to the fire escape had gaps larger than the recommended 3mm, meaning fire and smoke could spread through them. It was also found that these doors didn’t have intumescent smoke seals to stop the spread.
Inside Housing reported last month that a Grenfell survivor living in this development had the safety of their new home “compromised” after the bottom of the fire door was trimmed off by a contractor.
RBKC said the block had a sprinkler system and 30-minute fire-resistant doors, and that weekly inspections were carried out to ensure safety issues are dealt with.
The Grenfell Tower fire spread rapidly within the building after ripping through the external cladding. The tower’s fire doors later failed fire tests carried out by the Metropolitan Police.
Fire-X recommended in its Hortensia Road report that RBKC should carry out a compartmentation survey immediately “as a matter of extreme urgency”.
RBKC said that it had already completed works to improve compartmentation in the block’s basement rooms and riser cupboards to all floors.
As its third substantial risk, Fire-X noted that the electrical riser cupboards were full of personal items and “housekeeping is very poor in the carpark and the refuse area that has spilled into the carpark”.
As well as these three risks, the assessment noted that the smoke extraction system was not working and there were no adequate procedures for evacuation of disabled residents.
One resident of the block has a disability which severely impacts their mobility.
Emma Dent Coad, MP for Kensington, said: “This is the same attitude which allowed Grenfell to burn.
“The deficient compartmentation, poor housekeeping and maintenance, inadequate fire safety signs and alarms are bad enough – the lack of procedures to evacuate disabled people who live there is frankly unforgivable. These must be actioned immediately.”
When contacted by Inside Housing for comment, a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said that this was a matter for the council.
Update: at 8.48 on 20.8.19 This story was updated to correct the number of storeys from five to seven.
RBKC’s full response
“Our first priority is the safety of our residents and we have been working closely with them from the beginning, keeping them regularly informed of progress. The new build property was bought from a private contractor as part of the 300 homes for survivors of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
“It has a sprinkler system, 30-minute fire-resistant doors and a firefighter lift for use in the event of an emergency. We undertake weekly block inspections to ensure communal areas are kept clear and any safety issues are dealt with.
“The fire risk assessment (FRA) being discussed was commissioned by one resident and is a Type 1. It contains a number of errors and parts appear to be cut and pasted from other assessments. There are also references to features which do not exist at Hortensia Road.
“We undertook an enhanced, Type 3 FRA on 18 July, the results of which we will be sharing with residents soon. This will include timescales to deal with the issues raised. Many of the issues have already been addressed and we have recently replaced insulation around windows as recommended by the latest government advice.
“There are currently fire wardens on site who will remain until issues regarding pipes and wiring going through walls and floors are resolved. This has been agreed with residents at the last meeting. We have already completed works to improve compartmentation in basement rooms and riser cupboards to all floors.”
