1. Background

2. Fire
     Victims  

3. Investigations
     Fire brigade  

4. Aftermath
     Accommodation    Settlement  

5. See also

6. References

7. External links

The Lakanal House fire occurred in a tower block on 3 July 2009 in Camberwell, London. Six people were killed, and at least twenty injured, when a high-rise fire developed and spread through a number of flats in the twelve-storey building.

Background

Lakanal House is a 14-storey tower block that forms part of the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell.^[1] Lakanal House contains 98 flats,^[2] and is {{convert|137|ft|6|in|m|2}} high.^[3] The building dates from 1959.^[1] It is made up of two-bedroom maisonettes of a distinctive two-storey interlocking design (scissor section flat).{{citation needed|reason=The target article explicitly says that Lakanal House is NOT a scissor section flat.|date=July 2017}} The flats are entered from the right or left side of a central access corridor. On the access level, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. There are stairs to the upper level where a lounge and kitchen stretch across the full width of the block. This means that the lounge for each flat is above one of the bedrooms of that flat and one of the bedrooms of the flat on the opposite side of the access corridor.^[2] The flats were built with fire exits from the lounge and the kitchen to 'exit balconies' on either side of the building, and also a fire exit from the largest bedroom into the central access corridor, separate from the front door.

Fire

At 16:20 BST (15:20 UTC) on 3 July 2009, a fire broke out in one of the flats of Lakanal House. London Fire Brigade responded with a total of eighteen fire engines attending the incident.^[4] The 'seat' or source of the fire was a faulty television in a flat on the ninth floor.^[8][5]

The central stairwell, the only way in and out of the building was filled quickly with thick dark smoke, and an operational command centre was erected on the seventh floor.^[1] First responders repeatedly urged 999 callers to remain in their flats instead of attempting to flee, based on the theory of compartmentalization, or that the flats would help protect the families while the blaze was contained.^[6]

London Fire Brigade rescued a number of people from the flats. The injured were taken to Guy's Hospital, King's College Hospital and Lewisham.

Victims

One person admitted to Guy's Hospital and two people admitted to King's College Hospital later died, in addition to three people who died in the fire. Nine other people were treated at an emergency centre set up by Southwark Council.^[4] One of the firemen was also admitted to hospital after being injured while fighting the fire.^[13]

The deceased were three adults and three young children, aged 20 days to 34 years.^[6] One of the deceased, a 31-year-old fashion designer spent 40 minutes on the phone with 999 responders who urged her to stay in her flat; at the end of the call the responder could no longer hear her breathing.^[7]

Investigations

The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the fire, which was initially treated as "suspicious"^[8] but was later said to be due to an electrical fault in a television set.^[9][10]

Fire brigade

The London Fire Brigade also opened an investigation into the fire.^[13]{{update inline|date=July 2017|reason=What was the outcome of this investigation?}} It was revealed that Lakanal House had been identified as being at risk of enabling a fire to spread if one should occur in one of the flats. Southwark Council scheduled the building in 1999 for demolition, although later it was decided not to demolish it. Although it was originally reported that some of the windows were uPVC, the windows in the block were in fact made of metal.^[11]

An inquest into the deaths at Lakanal House "found the fire spread unexpectedly fast, both laterally and vertically, trapping people in their homes, with the exterior cladding panels burning through in just four and a half minutes".^[12] As in the case of the Grenfell Tower fire eight years later, "the official advice was for people to remain in their homes in the event of a blaze. The inquest concluded that years of botched renovations had removed fire-stopping material between flats and communal corridors, allowing a blaze to spread, and that the problem was not picked up in safety inspections carried out by Southwark council."^[12]

Aftermath

Accommodation

Some of them found alternative accommodation with relatives although the majority were provided with accommodation by Southwark Council.^[13] Residents of the flats criticised the layout of the flats, which did not provide easy egress in case of an emergency. The flats also lacked a central fire alarm system, which was not required by virtue of the current Building Regulations Approved Document B for England And Wales. The regulations prevalent at the time of the construction of buildings of this age was far removed from the current state of regulation and control under Building Regulations. There had been calls in 2006 for the flats to be demolished.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} It was claimed that the residents had been told that the block could not be demolished because it was a listed building. Harriet Harman, in whose constituency the flats lie, announced that there would be a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire, and whether or not there were adequate fire-prevention measures.

A number of tower blocks of a similar design exist, such as the nearby Perronet House, also in Southwark. Perronet, however, has two staircases. Marie Curie House, also nearby, is of identical design to Lakanal.^[14]

Residents were rehoused elsewhere after the fire, and Lakanal House was boarded up. Refurbishment work commenced in 2015 with the block expected to reopen in 2017.^[13][15][16] Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the fire as an "horrendous incident" and announced an investigation into the design of the building, which has a single central staircase.^[17] London Assembly Planning and Housing Committee chairwoman Jenny Jones called for a public inquiry into the fire.^[3] Communities Secretary John Denham asked for an urgent report from the government's Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor.^[18] At a meeting of Southwark Council, Cllr Ian Wingfield called for a "full and independent public inquiry" into the fire.^[19] The Fire Brigades Union supported the call for a public inquiry.^[20] No public inquiry was conducted into the Lakanal House fire.^[21]

Settlement

Southwark Council pleaded guilty in 2017 to four charges concerning breaches to safety regulations. It was fined £270,000, reduced from £400,000 because it had pleaded guilty, plus £300,000 costs. The council expressed "sincere regret for the failures that were present in the building".^[22]

See also

• {{section link|Building regulations in the United Kingdom|Part B. Fire safety}}
• Fire escape
• Grenfell Tower fire
• Ronan Point
• Skyscraper fire
• Structural robustness

References

External links

• South London Press article: 'Harold Shipman judge to probe Lakanal House fire'
• South London Press article: 'Tributes to victims of Camberwell fire'

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