FBU calls for a forum to implement Grenfell inquiry recommendations

The union calls for a “turning point” in UK fire safety in a letter to representatives from the government and shadow cabinet, the London Fire Brigade, the National Fire Chiefs Council, the Mayor of London, the Local Government Association, the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, fire safety bodies and the Grenfell community.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, writes that firefighters, tenants, government and fire safety and housing specialists must work together to ensure “the lessons to be learned from this first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry are put into practice”.

The full text of the letter is contained below:

Dear

Re: Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Recommendations Implementation

I am writing to seek an urgent meeting to discuss how the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry can be addressed and implemented quickly and efficiently.

The Fire Brigades Union welcomes the recommendations and believes that many of them are long overdue. For the recommendations to be implemented, a forum of relevant fire safety individuals and organisations needs to be urgently convened. This should include fire safety specialists, representatives from central and local government, housing specialists, tenants’ organisations and other relevant organisations.

The 46 recommendations are laid on a variety of bodies. Central government has been instructed to develop national guidelines for carrying out partial or total evacuations of high-rise residential buildings. Other demands are made on the London Fire Brigade and fire and rescue service as a whole. The FBU believes that tenants’ representatives should have a voice in all of these matters. We also believe that fire industry bodies can help advise owners and managers of high rise residential buildings on how to implement the most robust fire safety measures.

The Grenfell Tower fire should be a turning point in fire safety across the UK. All relevant parties should be represented to ensure the recommendations are realised. We wish to ensure that the lessons to be learned from this first phase of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry are put into practice and set a precedent for action on the recommendations that will be made in Phase 2.

We would welcome proposals from any organisation with a suitable venue to host the first meeting of the forum or we are happy to make such arrangements ourselves.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Matt Wrack

General Secretary