Fire Brigade Union calls for more to be done to help people ‘trapped’ by the cladding crisis

A union has called for more to be done to help people ‘trapped’ by the cladding crisis.

A motion was put forward by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) during the Labour Party’s conference over the weekend.

The motion called for “more sustained investment in local authority building control, in fire service fire safety teams, fire inspectors and in other public agencies required to ensure building safety” and opposed “privatisation, deregulation and contracting out” of the services.

The motion also stated that there “remains a deep, unresolved crisis in building safety”, and noted that hundreds of thousands of people are “trapped” in unsafe buildings, with “tenants and leaseholders expected to pay the price” for the crisis.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, said: “People up and down the country are stuck in homes, schools and offices which are death traps.

“To say that is unacceptable is a huge understatement, and we are glad that the Labour Party has come together and backed action that will help resolve this situation.

“More than four years after the fire, the courage and strength of the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell as they fight for justice and safer buildings is clear to all of us.

“We at the FBU stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their fight.”

Rosa Crowley-Bennett, a serving firefighter and member of the (FBU), said: “On June 14 2017, the fire at Grenfell Tower claimed the lives of 72 people.

“It devastated a close-knit, working class community in the heart of London.

“My colleagues in London worked tirelessly in impossible conditions in the face of an unprecedented fire.

“This tragedy also marked the beginning of a national scandal which still continues to unfold in front of our eyes.

“In all the discussion of regulation and legislation, we must never forget that this debate is about real people, with real fears, suffering grave injustices in what should be one of the most basic of rights: the right to a decent and safe home.”

A Labour Party spokesman said: “Four years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, there is still no justice for the bereaved, survivors and residents. [The Labour Party] stands in solidarity with the firefighters who attended the fire, and backs cladding campaigners.”