Lessons in Resilience: Fire Recovery and Prevention in 2025

*Photograph: Business Sprinkler Alliance/@Wallettography

The current Government’s ambitions on housing have been made very clear. A fire last August, which consumed the privately-owned Spectrum building in Dagenham, itself a block comprising 60 flats, highlighted a threat to those ambitions. The stark pictures which appeared at the end of 2024 showed the complete removal of the building, largely driven by safety concerns.

Demolition began within months of the fire, in fact, but the human cost remains steep. Circa 100 displaced and traumatised residents not only lost their homes, but continue to pay leasehold charges for a building now reduced to rubble.

Thankfully, no lives were lost in the incident, but the broader consequences linger for those directly affected. As yet, there are no disclosed plans for the rebuild of this property and anyone with knowledge of the sector will place that process beginning somewhere in 2027 at the earliest.

One of the largest fires in Europe was that involving a Cannock warehouse last May. Fast forward to the end of the year and the rusting remains of the 33,000 m² logistics facility served as a solemn reminder of the devastation.

More than eight months later, the site is slowly being cleared. No formal plans have been made for the land’s reuse, although consultants have made an application as to whether an additional Environmental Impact Assessment is going to be necessary.

Reflecting on this episode brings to mind another devastating fire, one that razed the Gardman garden supplies Distribution Centre in Daventry to the ground back in March 2018. The unsprinklered, newly opened facility was completely destroyed, leaving a site that took years (and upwards of £30 million) to clear, plan for and rebuild. The company never recovered.

Today, the location finally has a new building and a new tenant (ie Hankook Tyre UK), the latter taking residence in late 2024. The scale of time and investment required to return this site to full use illustrates a truth many are surprised to learn: the aftermath of a fire is not simply a matter of extinguishing flames, but also an enduring process of recovery and rebuilding.

Extension of fire

In order to illustrate how the impact of fire extends across our built environment and go beyond just industrial sheds or buildings that are completely destroyed, consider an event from last December.

A fire at St Michael’s Primary School in Stoke Gifford required 40 firefighters to quell the blaze. The fire did not level the school, but instead destroyed a small number of classrooms. The ongoing challenge now for the staff and children is the timeline for repair, which is optimistically estimated at six months.

Effectively running the rest of the academic year, the school must continue educating children, while juggling limited space on site. All of this must be managed, while having an active building site in their midst.

The fate of these buildings destroyed by fires highlights a troubling gap in resilience. The vast warehouses and Distribution Centres destroyed by fire often require significant resources from regional Fire and Rescue Services to subdue the flames and then frequently sit for months (or even years) as rusting hulks.

The Dagenham fire adds to a list of residential building fires that, thankfully, have not resulted in injuries, but have witnessed the structures involved damaged to the point at which they cannot be occupied. This displaces scores of individuals, often due to an event that, in many cases, could have been foreseen: a fire. A school that’s damaged by fire leaves a legacy of impact on teachers and the education of our children.

I have long commented that people are quick to point out compliance with the regulations and its guidance following such events. However, the response has to be to question whether this is a success? Or does it point to a lack of resilience that we can no longer afford to ignore?

The time it takes to rebuild, reuse and rehouse following such events highlights the fact that resilience must be brought into building design and safety considerations, and particularly so in an era marked by climate change and evolving urban landscapes.

The lessons from Grenfell Tower are being focused on high-rise residential buildings, but in truth extend far beyond that sector. They demand a fundamental reassessment of our approach to building safety across all types of structures. Are we truly designing and regulating buildings to withstand and recover from disasters, or are we merely meeting the minimum requirements and, in doing so, hoping that our response will suffice?

Far-reaching consequences

Three devastating fires – from Cannock to Gardman to Dagenham – all tell the story of fire’s far-reaching consequences. They don’t last long in our memories as there were no fatalities and the news moves on. However, they leave behind a lasting legacy of time in terms of rebuilding and reorganising. For some people, it means that their lives must be put on hold.

For this reason, it also underscores the importance of proactive measures designed to prevent such disasters and mitigate their consequences when they do occur.

In looking ahead, we at the Business Sprinkler Alliance continue to advocate for the widespread adoption of fire sprinkler systems in warehouses and similar industrial units, knowing full well that there has never been a better time to commit to building a safer and more resilient built environment: one in which the harsh lessons learned from the past inform the designs of the future.

Tom Roche is Secretary of the Business Sprinkler Alliance (www.business-sprinkler-alliance.org)