The LWF Blog
Grenfell Tower fire
June 14, 2017 3:58 pmLWF have received a number of enquiries from the media following this morning’s terrible fire at Grenfell Tower.
There are a number of factors that may have contributed to the rapid fire spread witnessed in the early hours of this morning and potentially a number of combinations of these factors are possible. There is insufficient information available at this time from which to draw meaningful conclusions regarding the cause and development of this fire.
Historically, major disasters have generally occurred as the result of a combination of factors, rather than a single failing. The investigations that follow this tragic incident will no doubt identify these factors that led to this catastrophic fire which is, thankfully, a rare occurrence in the UK.
The majority of such tower blocks have been designed for any fire to be contained to an individual flat and the requirements of the Building Regulations support this approach.
Evacuation policy is determined for existing buildings by the outcomes of the fire risk assessment, and for new buildings largely by the fire strategy for that building. This means that the approach is specific to that individual building and a generic approach is not advisable.
Our sympathies are with all of those who have been affected by this incident and particularly with those who have lost family or friends as a result.
Pat Scott-Youldon
Principle Fire Engineer