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Social landlords running checks after fire door revelations
Social landlords have been carrying out fire door checks after news that a flat front door taken from Grenfell Tower resisted flames and smoke for only half the time required by building regulations.
At least one other council has identified fire doors made by the same manufacturer, Manse Masterdor, in its blocks.
Inside Housing also understands that of three doors that failed tests in the past week, at least one was not taken from Grenfell – indicating that the failure might not be restricted to the 14 June blaze.
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Last Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said an undamaged door recovered from the building withstood fire for just 15 minutes when tested, despite being designed to provide 30 minutes’ resistance.
Ministers later insisted there was “no evidence that this was a systemic issue” and that no further action was needed from social landlords, but added that the government would be carrying out further tests.
Inside Housing asked more than 100 housing associations and councils from across England if they had been taking steps to verify the safety of their fire doors in the past week.
Of the 44 which responded, another five councils indicated they may have fire doors manufactured by Manse Masterdor in their stock.
East London borough Barking & Dagenham was the only landlord to confirm the presence of Manse Masterdor FD30 doors.
“The type of doors fitted were fire-resistance-tested by the company and met the expected 30-minute time to failure test,” a spokesperson for the authority said.
The council said it is considering upgrading the doors to models designed to offer 60 minutes’ fire resistance.
Harrow Council said it is seeking clarity from government on the exact model of door and the nature of the fire safety testing.
Many Manse Masterdor doors are understood to be fitted throughout Kensington and Chelsea Council’s housing stock and are likely to be fitted in many other buildings in the social housing sector.
Another 10 landlords – including Home Group, Optivo and Riverside – said they would be carrying out extra checks after last week’s news.
The doors tested by the Metropolitan Police were manufactured by Manse Masterdor in 2013, which is no longer trading and is going through a liquidation process under a new name.
Its assets were acquired by Synseal for an undisclosed sum in 2014, which then established a new, separate company that trades as Masterdor.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
