Update: Statement about fire safety on estates
Update: 21 July 2017
Following the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower, the Council is providing an update on the measures it is taking to reassure residents about the safety of Council blocks across the borough.
Robust procedures are in place to ensure all blocks have an up-to-date fire risk assessment, and none of the Council’s blocks have the type of cladding used at Grenfell Tower.
The Council completed an initial inspection of cladding within 48 hours of the fire, and confirmed to the Department of Communities and Local Government that it had no blocks with cladding made of Aluminium Composite Material - the type used at Grenfell.
However, in order to reassure residents, the Council has produced an action plan, which has been approved by an independent fire adviser.
A comprehensive fire safety review is taking place, as well as a review of cladding used on Council blocks. Sprinklers will be fully explored as part of these reviews and the Council will move to install them if recommended to do so by our independent fire adviser or following advice from the London Fire Brigade.
Council staff and cladding experts, Cladtech Associates, are visiting estates and carrying out tests. They will be easily identifiable and will carry ID.
Work currently underway includes:
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A fire safety review across the borough, which is looking into a range of fire safety measures, such as fire safety signs and the information given to residents
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An independent review of all cladding used on Hackney estates which has started. This will also involve the removal of sections of cladding for testing
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Fire Risk Assessments for medium to high rise blocks of five storeys will be reviewed
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Fire Risk Assessments will be made available to view online
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A meeting has been held with local Housing Associations to discuss fire safety
“While the cause of the fire hasn’t yet been officially confirmed, residents are obviously concerned and are seeking reassurances that our blocks are safe. It’s only right that we take stock now, and we have commissioned an expert independent company to carry out a review, to allow us to give residents some extra peace of mind. Staff are busy completing this work now, and we will keep residents up dated as to the outcome of the review, and other measures we are taking to provide added reassurance.”
The Council has also asked all social housing providers in the borough to investigate the cladding on their properties. Where action is being taken in response to this, housing providers will write to tenants to update them.
Council staff have been helping those effected by the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in Kensington, as well as taking measures to reassure residents about the safety of blocks and estates across the borough.
Staff from departments including Adult Social Care, Children’s Social Care and Housing Needs have been at the scene, supporting people as part of a London-wide response to the tragedy.
Mayor Glanville said: “What happened at Grenfell Tower is devastating and, like residents across our borough, the Council wanted to find a way to support the survivors of this awful tragedy. On Sunday councils across London received a call to help with the effort in supporting all of the families affected by the tragedy. Hackney Council was one of the first to respond, with some of our social workers arriving by Sunday afternoon, to be a point of contact for those in need of help.
“This is just one small example of how Hackney, as well as other councils and ordinary Londoners, is helping the London-wide response to support Grenfell Tower residents."
An updated list of frequently asked questions is available on the fire safety web page. If residents have any questions or concerns about estate fire safety, they can contact their neighbourhood office by phone on: 020 8356 3330/4440.