FPA Looks Back At Significant Fires That Have Affected The Sector Over The Years

In the latest episode of Assembly Point, Howard Passey, director of operations at the FPA, Dennis Davis, executive officer at the Fire Sector Federation, Adrian Dobson, secretary of the RIBA EAG, and Peter Caplehorn, CEO at the Construction Products Association look back at the key milestones and turning points in fire safety in the UK, as well as looking ahead to the next 75 years. 

Episode 10 of the podcast marks the 75th anniversary of the FPA and began with a look back at significant fires that have affected the sector over the years. From the tragic circumstances at Bradford City Stadium to Lakanal House and Grenfell, these incidents have sent shockwaves across the fire safety sector – resulting in the introduction of new laws such as the Fire Safety Act.

Fire safety sector

Peter reflected on the Summerland fire on the Isle of Man at the start of his career, drawing comparisons to the circumstances that gave rise to the Grenfell Tower fire.

Peter reflected on the Summerland fire on the Isle of Man at the start of his career

The conversation turned then to Lakanal House, with Peter saying “There were some very clear lessons that we should have learned from Lakanal house – that's not saying that we could have avoided Grenfell. But certainly, there were clear issues with the spandrel panels, the maintenance, even the approach to the disaster that sadly affected people's lives. And it's an immense frustration to anybody involved with the construction sector at all that we have not grasped the nettle either as a country or as an industry.”

Underpinning regulatory requirements

Howard then asked Adrian about a perceived lack of understanding in the current guidance, and whether there’s more of a focus on complying than meeting the underpinning regulatory requirements. Adrian agreed that the guidance is ‘complex,’ and questioned how much of the non-compliance seen across the sector is a result of gaming the system, or is unwitting as a result of the guidance’s complexity.

Later in the conversation, Howard asked whether the construction industry is getting closer to a firm understanding of what competency is, and meeting the competency requirements that have been set out. Dennis said in reply “From my perspective, competency is the thread that runs through all of our work.”

Safely maintained buildings

The podcast drew to a close with Howard asking Adrian and Dennis about what changes they’d like to see in the immediate future and how things may evolve to ensure buildings are safely maintained for the coming 75 years and beyond.

Dennis voiced an optimism that there will be lessons learned from Grenfell, but cautioned that: “We have a tendency in this country to become complacent, if things go well for a long time, then we seem to think we’ve sorted this, we can forget it. And then worse than that, sometimes we actually extract resources from it. We don’t just take our eye off the ball; we divert out attention and our resources elsewhere. And I just hope going forward that we remember these lessons, and this particular lesson really well.”

Adrian ended the conversation by saying that while there are clearly things to criticize within the Building Safety Bill, he believes it to be progress toward the changes needed in the sector, and that the Health and Safety Executive’s oversight is a positive step too.