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Direct contact 0303 444 0000On 3 July 2009 at Lakanal House in Camberwell, London, 6 people lost their lives as a result of a fire.
Communities Secretary John Denham wants to ensure there is no delay in learning any necessary lessons from the tragedy and that any emerging conclusions can be shared quickly with fire and rescue authorities, landlords and tenants.
Mr Denham has therefore asked the Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser Sir Ken Knight, to report back to him urgently on any emerging findings from the various investigations into the fatal fire.
What to do if you are a tenant
What to do if you are a landlord
Communities and Local Government's Homelessness Action Team has been in close touch with the London Borough of Southwark, contacting 14 housing associations operating in or near Southwark a number of whom are already offering accommodation for people displaced by the fire.
They have also spoken to housing departments in neighbouring boroughs and, so far, the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham and the City of Westminster have also offered help in providing accommodation.
The London Borough of Southwark are currently matching the offers received against the assessed needs of the displaced households, and are also working with some success to make accommodation from their own stock available. They have been very grateful for the help offered and have said they will be in touch with the Department if they need more assistance.
Housing Minister John Healey has written to Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords asking them to offer some reassurance to tenants, including practical measures that they could take such as reminding tenants how to protect themselves from fire, which includes having a working smoke alarm and regularly testing it (see below).
His letter also reminds Authorities and Landlords of the requirements under the Housing Act 2004 and the Housing Health and Safety Rating System which helps them to evaluate potential risk to health and safety from deficiencies in dwellings. The letter also reminds them of the national fire safety protocol and guidance published a year ago by - LACORS - Local Authority Coordinators of Regulatory Services (which includes the Fire Safety Order).
Fire Minister Shahid Malik MP has met with the London Fire Brigade's incident commander Assistant Commissioner Nick Collins on afternoon of Monday 6 July to hear for himself about the fire.
The Government's Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser Sir Ken Knight has visited the site of the fire Lakanhal House and attended a meeting of the residents of the housing estate in Camberwell to hear for himself about the fire and their concerns.
The Director of Housing Delivery and Homelessness in CLG has sent a letter to all Local Authorities concerning further information that has become available in relation to the fire at Lakanal House in Camberwell on Friday 3 July (see below). A similar letter was also ent by the Director of Fire and Resilience (see below) and the Tenant Services Authority to all Registered Social Landlords (external link).
These letters remind Local Authorities and all social landlords of their existing legal obligations in respect of the fire safety procedures for their housing stock and suggest that landlords may wish to be aware of a particular feature of Lakanal House - a 'scissor style' - block, which may require further consideration of the existing fire safety risk assessments that are in place for these type of premises.
The London Fire Commissioner, Ron Dobson, has also written to all social landlords in London reminding them of their responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.
Social landlords are advised that should they require assistance in reaching appropriate judgements in respect of these specific types of properties, that they may like to contact their local FRA for further information.
Coroners Inquest
The inquest into the fire in Lakanal House opened on Wednesday 15 July at Southwark Coroners Court. The Deputy Coroner, Dr Adela Williams opened proceedings by reading out the statements of identity of the deceased followed by hearing a short Police statement informing the Court that police and fire authority investigations were continuing.
Counsel for the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government attended the opening and said that the Secretary of State was keen that any lessons learnt would be acted on and offered the Coroner any assistance the Department's officials could give.
The inquest was then adjourned to a date to be fixed.
