Fire Safety Birmingham: Checks being missed on numerous occasions.
- Blaze killed six people at Lakanal House in Camberwell, London, in 2009
- Jurors said flats had inadequate protection to stop the spread of fire
- Inquest hears safety issues could have been spotted during work on flats
- Three of the victims were children – the youngest just 20 days old
Three women and three children who died in a fire caused by a faulty television set could have been saved if basic fire safety checks had been carried out on their flats, an inquest ruled today.
Southwark Council missed ‘numerous opportunities’ to check fire safety at Lakanal House in Camberwell, south London, before a blaze killed six people there in July 2009, jurors decided.
Catherine Hickman, 31, Dayana Francisquini, 26, and her children, Thais, six, and Filipe, three, were killed in the blaze along with Helen Udoaka, 34, and her daughter Michelle, who was just 20 days old.
In six narrative verdicts read out at Lambeth Town Hall today, jurors agreed that the flats had inadequate protection to stop the spread of fire from one home to another.
Fire safety issues could have been spotted in major works during the1980s and again between 2006 and 2007, it was heard – and the replacement of asbestos window panels with non-fireproof ones in 2006 had a ‘serious impact’ on how the blaze spread.
Reading out the narrative verdict, a juror said: ‘There were numerous opportunities to consider whether level of fire protection was adequate.
You might wish to read about our passive fire protection service, or read our previous blog post about Taylor Hart Ltd.