Shropshire fire chiefs welcome new safety rules after Grenfell tragedy
Changes will be made to make buildings safer in Shropshire following the Grenfell tower block tragedy, say senior fire officers.
Fire officers are expected to be given more powers to question new developments and planned alterations to buildings when Dame Judith Hackitt reveals the results of her review of building regulations later this month.
The Grenfell high rise flats tragedy saw 71 people killed when the 24-storey block was destroyed by fire in June last year.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service's Deputy Chief Fire Officer Andy Johnson and station manager Ian Leigh, from Shrewsbury fire HQ, attended the national conference of the National Fire Chiefs Council in Oxford where Dame Hackitt was the keynote speaker.
Station manager Leigh said: “We don’t have a Shard in Shropshire and we are not festooned with high-rise buildings. But that is not to say that the Hackitt report will not affect us in our county. “
He added that they attended the conference to get a better understanding of how new legislation may affect the county and the fire service.
Developments
“Throughout Shropshire we are seeing ever more new developments, both domestic and commercial. We have to look at how we manage fire safety now and in the future.
“As a fire and rescue service we have to be ready to respond to new legislation when it comes in.”
He revealed that fire safety reports from officers on planned developments were, currently, only advisory recommendations and could be legally ignored.
“We expect that to change and for our advice to be acted on in changes to be implemented after the Hackitt report. Dame Hackitt indicated that there would be greater accountability, more powers for the fire service for enforcement and we would have a meaningful voice on building regulations.
“It is all positive news with the end result that there will be safer buildings, people will be safer and there will be less potential for fire deaths and property loss.
“We are a small fire and rescue service in Shropshire but the need to ensure buildings are compliant with building regulations is important whether it is one-storey or 100-storeys tall,” he said.
“This is why we continue to invest in training our officers up to the highest level.”
