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London Fire Brigade completes all 29 phase one recommendations from Grenfell Tower Inquiry
The London Fire Brigade (LFB) has completed all 29 recommendations from phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, it revealed on Wednesday.
Improvements included changes to firefighter training, refreshed processes for managing major incidents and the introduction of innovative technology to support firefighting.
The LFB has also introduced specialist equipment and replaced its entire fleet of high-reach vehicles, as well as introduced new 64m turntable ladders – the tallest ladders in service across Europe.
New command units equipped with technology to improve incident commanders’ ability to respond on the ground came into service at the end of 2023.
Firefighting efforts during the Grenfell Tower fire, which claimed the lives of 72 people, were affected by, among other things, poor equipment, inadequate communication between the control room and the incident commander, and a lack of knowledge about the building.
The first phase of the inquiry made 46 recommendations in total, 29 of which were aimed at the LFB. They covered areas such as improved communication, training, emergency calls, equipment, and knowledge and understanding of materials used in high-rise buildings.
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New fire ground radios allow firefighters wearing helmets and breathing apparatus sets to communicate effectively with their teams and entry control officers when inside buildings, the LFB said.
More than 200 people have been rescued using escape hoods – gear that inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick recommended introducing for firefighters – since their introduction in 2018. London firefighters are among the first in the UK to carry them, and they offer the public protection from toxic smoke.
Drones are also used to transmit information about incidents. They provide live images and thermal imagery to better allow incident commanders to develop tactics to tackle fires. The drones can also act as a loudspeaker to provide instructions or reassurance and provide light in dark conditions.
The LFB has also trained control officers on providing fire survival guidance, as well as software that allows members of the public to provide control officers with a video feed from an incident.
Andy Roe, commissioner of the LFB, said: “We owe it to the bereaved families, the survivors, the residents of Grenfell Tower and Londoners to change and improve.”
He added: “We accepted every recommendation from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and have been working hard over the past five years to implement significant changes to the way we operate.
“We are the only organisation to have completed every recommendation directed specifically to them and I am proud of the work that staff have put into this, but I also know that there is still much more to do.
“Fundamental change in large, complex organisations takes time and while our transformation programme is safely on track, we are not finished.
“I’m dedicated to continuing this journey with full commitment so that we can continue to be trusted to serve and protect our capital.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The Grenfell Tower fire was an appalling tragedy and we will always remember the 72 people who lost their lives.
“The most fitting tribute to the people who died, their loved ones and those who survived, is to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”
He said the LFB’s new equipment and protocols “will help save lives” and welcomed the “significant steps” the brigade has taken to “transform the way in which it responds to incidents, and high-rise building fires in particular”.
However, Mr Khan added that there is “more to do”.
He said: “It is vital that the government steps up, along with housing and building industries, to act now and ban combustible materials in external walls no matter their height and provide funding support for those unfairly saddled with large costs to remediate unsafe cladding. It’s vital that all possible steps are taken now to prevent another tragedy.”
The Grenfell Tower Inquiry panel’s final report was delayed last year and is not expected to be published before April.
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