Croydon fire: facade issues not classified as high priority by housing association two years ago
Remediation works needed on the exterior of a block of flats where three flats were destroyed after a fire this month were not deemed a priority by the housing association responsible for them more than two years ago, emails seen by Inside Housing reveal.
Optivo, now Southern Housing after their merger last year, said in an email in June 2021 that after undertaking a survey it needed to carry out remediation works to the exterior of Hallam Court, but that it was taking a risk-based approach in its programme.
It said that as a result, the work on the block would not be completed until April 2023 at the earliest.
The staff member added: “I would add a note of caution to the date given. The programme may change – we’re taking a risk-based approach and other properties may become a higher priority. And of course if we complete works sooner works may be brought forward.”
The works were still not under way on 7 June, when a fire ripped up the combustible timber balconies and facade of the block in Croydon at around 5pm.
In response, Southern said that its programme of fire safety remediation works “is based on the advice of independent fire safety engineers which we’ve followed”.
“We’ve allocated a further £324m of additional funds to tackle fire safety issues and have recently taken the decision to significantly scale back our new build development programme to help free up resources for safety works to our existing homes,” it added. The organisation’s full statement is below.
Since the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, housing providers have discovered combustible materials in facades in thousands of blocks of flats.
But with limited government funding available and shortages of workers and materials, they are required to prioritise – and tend to focus on high-rise buildings initially and blocks with particularly combustible materials or a high volume of cladding.
Hallam Court, which is only five storeys tall, would be unlikely to have been considered a high priority by any landlord with a large number of high-rise buildings – but the fire demonstrates the risks even in these buildings and the need for interim measures.
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The fire, which the London Fire Brigade believes was accidentally started by an unattended barbecue, led to around 80 residents evacuating, while eight fire engines and 60 firefighters tackled the blaze.
The block was subject to a ‘stay put’ strategy, which says residents should stay in their flats unless affected by smoke and flame, and is based on the assumption that a blaze will be contained to a single compartment until it is extinguished.
Instead, this incident saw two flats and two balconies on the first and second floors destroyed, while most of a third-floor flat and balcony were also damaged, as fire raced up the wooden balconies.
Further emails shared with Inside Housing show that a Southern Housing staff member told residents the evacuation policy was ‘simultaneous evacuation’ in April, which means all residents should leave immediately if a fire breaks out.
A spokesperson for Southern said the message was sent in error and was quickly rectified.
Some residents have been placed in temporary accommodation following the fire, while those who have moved back in say they are “heartbroken” and worried about the safety of their homes.
A Southern spokesperson said: “The fire didn’t cause enough heat or smoke to trigger the detectors in the communal areas as the fire was external to the building. The fire doors on each of the affected flats did their job in stopping smoke getting into the corridors.”
They added: “The building has a recommended stay put policy in line with advice from the London Fire Brigade. The stay put policy does not advise someone to stay in their flat if it’s affected by fire, heat or smoke.”
They said that an independent fire safety engineer has reviewed the assessment and “re-confirmed the building remains safe to live in”.
Hallam Court, a mixed scheme with social tenants, shared owners and leaseholders, is managed by Southern, formerly by Optivo before the merger.
An email sent by the Optivo staff member in 2021 in response to a concern raised by a resident stated that a survey had been undertaken at Hallam Court and found no increased risk of external fire spreading and that there was no need to change the evacuation policy.
It said the survey found that the association needed to carry out “some” remediation works to elements of the external wall system.
The works were expected to be carried out in year three of its remediation programme, between April 2023 and March 2024, the email said – although it warned that the dates may slip.
A further letter sent in April 2023 from Southern updated residents on a fire safety assessment at Hallam Court using the latest government guidance.
It confirmed that the assessment recommended works to the external wall system and said the landlord is working with its partnering contractor to plan and programme the works to the building.
It went on to say: “You’ll be aware your building has a temporary alarm and detection system installed. This is to support the recommended change in evacuation strategy from stay put to ‘simultaneous’. The simultaneous evacuation strategy means if there’s a fire anywhere in your building, you will be alerted and need to evacuate.”
When questioned by a resident about this, the staff member said that he had made a mistake and “had the wrong document open”. He then confirmed the building was in fact subject to a stay put policy.
Residents became concerned following the email and just a week before the fire at Hallam Court, they submitted a collective complaint to the chief executive of Southern about the “contradictory” fire safety advice and asked for a date that remedial works would begin.
In another letter a week after the fire, the residents, who have formed a residents association, said: “We are heartbroken – we never wanted our greatest fears to be proven right.
“We are traumatised and trying to put the pieces back together, after watching our homes burn. Our children have witnessed a traumatic event, no specialist support has been offered to them.
“Many of us have now returned to our homes, whilst several neighbours are temporarily rehoused. We do not believe our homes to be safe.”
They have urged the housing association to take “swift remedial action”, including addressing building defects, implementing an “appropriate” fire safety plan, including personal evacuation plans for disabled and vulnerable residents, and providing specialist trauma support, including specific support focused on children.
Residents have asked for a dedicated housing officer to deal with residents’ “long-standing” issues and complaints and an urgent meeting between senior representatives of Southern and the residents association, inviting all residents to discuss fire safety issues.
One member of the residents association told Inside Housing: “The reality is we are living in a block full of deeply traumatised people, worried about their kids, and with no assurance that we’re actually safe in our homes.”
Combustible balconies were permitted by building regulations before Grenfell, which placed no restrictions on the type of materials which could be used to build them - unless they were designed to be used as part of a means of escape.
As a result, thousands of multi-storey buildings around the country are fitted with wooden balconies and many have suffered fires which have spread from floor to floor after a fire started on one.
The government was warned in July 2016 by the Building Research Establishment that fire spreading via balconies up the external face of a building could “pose a significant life safety issue”.
However the report added that because such dangers have not yet “impacted on life safety”, there is no basis “to support changing the requirements”.
Southern has provided Inside Housing with a statement, included in full below.
Southern Housing statement
The London Fire Brigade have said it’s probable the fire at Hallam Court was started by a barbecue on a balcony.
This is a serious breach of our tenancy agreement, and we regularly warn residents of the dangers of barbecues on balconies. We’re relieved no one was hurt in the fire.
There are detectors in the communal areas at Hallam Court which trigger the automatic opening vents, along with independent detectors and sounders in risk areas. These have been tested and continue to work as they should.
During the fire on 7 June the fire safety systems operated as intended for a building with a ‘stay put’ strategy.
The fire didn’t cause enough heat or smoke to trigger the detectors in the communal areas as the fire was external to the building.
The fire doors on each of the affected flats did their job in stopping smoke getting into the corridors. However, there was significant smoke and heat damage to the contents of three flats and mainly water damage to a lower flat.
We continue to work closely with the affected residents.
The building has a recommended ‘stay put’ policy in line with advice from the London Fire Brigade. The ‘stay put’ policy does not advise someone to stay in their flat if it’s affected by fire, heat or smoke.
There is and always has been a fire risk assessment in place for Hallam Court. Following the fire we arranged for a new fire risk assessment to be carried out on Monday 12 June.
An independent fire safety engineer has reviewed the assessment and they re-confirmed the building remains safe to live in.
As an organisation we’ve been proactive in tackling fire safety in our homes and we committed to carrying out a PAS9980 assessment at Hallam Court by March 2023.
This was completed and we wrote to our residents in April 2023 to inform them of its findings. The independent fire safety engineer concluded that the building was safe to occupy.
The letter to Southern Housing from Hallam Court residents on 31 May relates to building remediation work that we raised with them in April.
This letter from residents was in response to what we shared with them in April rather than highlighting any new fire safety issues to Southern Housing.
We’ve apologised a letter was sent to residents in error about the evacuation strategy of the building. This was immediately rectified to confirm the stay put policy.
Southern Housing have continued to follow the government’s changing guidance on building safety, including the PAS9980 assessment which was introduced in January 2022.
The national shortage of qualified assessors has made it incredibly challenging for housing providers across the country to carry out the PAS9980 assessments.
The programme of fire safety remediation works we’re carrying out is based on the advice of independent fire safety engineers which we’ve followed.
We’ve allocated a further £324m of additional funds to tackle fire safety issues and have recently taken the decision to significantly scale back our new build development programme to help free up resources for safety works to our existing homes.
We were also one of the first major housing associations to announce we wouldn’t re-charge leaseholders for any fire safety remediation works we undertake related to PAS9980 assessments.
We’re continuing to do all we can to support our residents at Hallam Court during this difficult time. We’ve been on site door-knocking, set up a dedicated email address to answer any queries urgently and have offered personal appointments to all our residents. This is an opportunity to discuss individual needs and share concerns so we can offer the appropriate help.
We’ve also shared the details of external agencies, including free counselling for anyone struggling or having difficulties since the fire.
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