Southwark council blasted for failed fire checks in block of flats next to Lakanal House

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A town hall failed to spot fire dangers in a block of flats next door to a near identical tower block where six people died in a blaze in 2009. 

Southwark council failed to carry out proper risk assessments at Marie Curie House in Camberwell, despite claiming it had learnt lessons from a fatal blaze in next door Lakanal House, an independent report has found.

Six people died in a fire in Lakanal House in July 2009. Following the blaze, London Fire Brigade prosecuted landlord Southwark council for multiple safety failures, including not carrying out a fire risk assessment. The council pleaded guilty and was fined £570,000. 

A new report into fire safety in next door Marie Curie House has blasted the council for allowing “inadequate” fire risk assessments to be carried out by unqualified contractors.

The report, published on Wednesday of last week, said: “There appears to be limited oversight on the level of knowledge of contractors providing such advice and the qualifications required in order to be deemed competent are in some cases inadequate for the tasks they undertake.

“This has resulted in both inadequate assessments in some respects and over-provision in other aspects of fire safety.

“Overall, although Southwark continues to make progress, the evidence demonstrates there were missed opportunities to identify the fire safety deficiencies at Marie Curie House earlier and issues resultant from the Lakanal House fire in 2009 were not fully addressed, despite assurances previously given in the Rule 43 response [letter to the coroner].” 

In the same letter, the council asks the government for clarification on fire safety in communal areas and access into flats.

The report said it was “disappointing” that the local authority appeared to need help when the Government had published guidance on the same issues a year before. 

The report goes on to blast the council for signing off inadequate works at Marie Curie House in 2009/10 that were aimed at containing a fire in one section of the building.

It said: “There appears to have been a lack of adequate scrutiny of these works before they were signed off as acceptable.”

The council was also criticised for failing to carry out bathroom ventilation works in the tower block, even though these were scheduled to be completed in 2009/10.

When ventilation works were carried out several years later in next door Lakanal House, nobody at the council appeared to be aware that the problem remained unfixed in Marie Curie House.

At a council meeting today, Labour’s Darren Merrill, cabinet member for council homes, apologised to residents of the estate for the disruption they had faced while waiting for the report’s findings.

He said: “I want to apologise to residents for the disruption and anxiety they have had to go through over the last few years or so while this report was looked at. 

“We fully accept what the report has said. We fully accept their recommendations and we will be implementing them.

“It’s clear there were mistakes made and it’s clear things should have been done better at the time.

“I cannot go back. I don’t have a time machine. I wish I did. But I am confident the team we’ve got in place now are taking fire safety and building safety at the top.”

Pictured top: Marie Curie House on the Sceaux Gardens estate (Picture: Robert Firth)