Lakanal House fire

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The Lakanal House fire took place in the tower block on July 3, 2009 in Camberwell, London. Six people were killed, and at least twenty people were injured, as high-rise fires developed and spread through flats in the twelve-story building.

Video Lakanal House fire

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Lakanal House is a 14-story tower block that is part of the Sceaux Gardens Estate, Camberwell. The Lakanal House contains 98 flats, and 137 feet 6 inches (41.91 m) high. The building dates back to 1959. It consists of two bedroom maisonettes with a typical two-story design (flat scissors section). These flats are inserted from the right or left side of the central access corridor. At the access level, there are two bedrooms and one bathroom. There are stairs to the upper level where the lounge and kitchen runs across the wide block. This means that space for each flat is above one of the bedrooms in that flat and one of the bedrooms in the flat on the opposite side of the access corridor. The flat is built with fire exit doors from the lounge and kitchen to 'out balcony' on either side of the building, and also fire out of the biggest bedroom into the central access corridor, separate from the front door.

Southwark Council stated that it recently spent Ã, Â £ 3.5 million on improvements to meet current fire safety standards.

Maps Lakanal House fire

Fire

At 16:20 BST (15:20 UTC) on July 3, 2009, a fire broke out in one of the flats at Rumah Lakanal. The London Fire Brigade responded with a total of eighteen firefighters attending the incident. The 'chair' or fire source is a broken television in a flat on the ninth floor.

The central staircase, the only access and exit from the building, was filled with rapid black smoke, and an operational command center was set up on the seventh floor. First responders repeatedly urged 999 callers to stay in their flats instead of trying to escape, based on compartmentalization theory, or that flats will help protect the family while the flames are contained.

The London Fire Brigade saves some people from the flats. Injured persons were taken to the Guy Hospital, King's College Hospital and Lewisham.

Victim

One person who was admitted to Guy's Hospital and two people who were treated at King's College Hospital then died, in addition to three people who died in the fire. Nine others were treated at an emergency center established by the Southwark Council. One of the firefighters was also hospitalized after being injured against the fire.

The deceased is three adults and three young people, aged 34 to 20 days. One who died; a 31-year-old fashion designer spent 40 minutes on the phone with 999 respondents urging him to stay in his flat, at the end of the call the respondent could no longer hear his breath.

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Investigation

Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into the fire, which was initially treated as "suspicious" but was later said to be due to an electrical fault on television.

Firefighter

The London Fire Brigade also opened an investigation into the fire. It was revealed that Lakanal House had been identified as at risk of allowing the fire to spread if someone had to happen in one of the flats. Southwark Council scheduled the construction in 1999 for demolition, although it was later decided not to destroy it. Although it was initially reported that some windows are uPVC, the windows in the block are actually made of metal.

An investigation into the deaths at Lakanal House "found a rapidly spreading fire, both laterally and vertically, trapping people in their homes, with burning exterior panels in just four and a half minutes." As in the case of the Grenfell Tower fire eight years later, "the official suggestion is that people stay in their homes in the event of a fire.The examination concludes that many years of failed renovations have removed the fire-stopers between flats and communal corridors, allowing the flames to spread, and that the issue is not raised in the safety inspections carried out by the Southwark council. "

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Aftermath

Assistant Commissioner of the Fire Brigade London, Nick Collins described the incident as "one of the most significant fires in some time in terms of loss of life". About 150 people were evacuated or rescued from flats, with fifty people evacuated to Welton Hall nearby. Firefighters were also criticized for confusion among the 999 operators who urged some deceased victims to live in their flats, and the confusion among the failed controllers to immediately locate the flats in time, as they were confused about the flat layout.

Accommodation

Some of them find alternative accommodation with relatives even though the majority are given accommodation by the Southwark Council. Flat residents criticize the flat layout, which does not provide an easy way out in an emergency. The flats also do not have a central fire alarm system, which is not required under the current Building Rule Approved Document B for England and Wales . The rules that apply to the construction of buildings in this era have been far from the current rules and controls under the Building Regulations. There was a call in 2006 for flats to be destroyed. Claimed that the residents have been told that the block can not be demolished because it is a registered building. Harriet Harman, where his constituency is flat, announces that there will be a thorough investigation into the cause of the fire, and whether or not there are adequate fire prevention measures.

A number of similarly designed tower blocks exist, such as the nearby Perronet House, also in Southwark. Perronet, however, has two stairs. Marie Curie House, also nearby, has a design identical to Lakanal.

Residents were rehabilitated elsewhere after the fire, and Lakanal House was closed. Renovation work begins in 2015 with blocks expected to reopen in 2017. London Mayor Boris Johnson described the fires as "a horrendous incident" and announced an investigation into the design of the building, which has one main staircase. Chairman of London Planning and Housing Assembly Jenny Jones called for a public inquiry into the fire. Community Secretary John Denham requested an urgent report from the Chief Fire Adviser for the Government. At the Southwark Council meeting, Cllr Ian Wingfield called for "full and independent public inquiry" into the fire. The Fire Brigades Union supports calls for public inquiry. No public investigation was conducted on the fire at Rumah Lakanal.

Settlement

The Southwark Council pleaded guilty in 2017 to four counts of breaches of safety regulations. It was fined Ã, £ 270,000, reduced from Ã,  £ 400,000 for having pleaded guilty, plus Ã, £ 300,000 fee. The Council declared "sincere regret for the failure that was present in the building".

src: www.designingbuildings.co.uk

See also

• Building codes in United Kingdom Ã, Â. Part B. Fire safety
• Escape from fire
• Fire of the Grenfell Tower
• Ronan Point
• The skyscraper flame
• Structural firmness

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References

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External links

• South London Press article: 'Harold Shipman rate to investigate Lakanal House fire'
• South London Press article: 'Tribut for Camberwell fire victims'

Source of the article : Wikipedia