London Fire Brigade to inspect Deptford estate in light of Grenfell tragedy

By Grainne Cuffe, local democracy reporter

London Fire Brigade (LFB) is set to inspect a Deptford estate after residents said they were worried about a repeat of the Grenfell tragedy.  

Lewisham Homes is carrying out fire safety works on the Pepys Estate, but residents are worried that holes drilled into each floor and panels on doors labelled fire doors cut through could put people’s lives at risk. 

A Lewisham Homes spokesperson said the doors in question “are only for security” and that they are labelled “fire doors” because they can operate as them. 

But residents called for an urgent and independent inspection from LFB, which is now set to be carried out.  

Today a spokesman for LFB told the local democracy service: “The Brigade is aware of the issues raised by the residents and is working with Lewisham Homes to ensure that appropriate mitigating measures have been put in place while work is carried out.  

“Fire Safety Inspectors will be revisiting the properties and will take any action necessary if there are breaches of fire safety law.” 

Responding to concerns raised a spokesperson for Lewisham Homes said last week: “These works are part of electrical and alarm upgrades being carried out specifically to improve the fire safety of the buildings.  

“The doors in question are only for security and are not intended to be sealed units. The temporary apertures are in already vented panels which form part of the building’s smoke dispersal system.   

“There is a permanently open vent at the end of the corridor to allow smoke to vent to the outside.  

“The doors are labelled as fire doors because they are of a type which is suitable for that purpose but in this particular setting that is not their function.  

“We have asked our fire engineers to undertake a survey of the corridor ventilation and the security doors in order to address our residents’ concerns in more detail.”