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7 Years After the Grenfell Disaster: How Has Fire Safety Changed?

Posted on 5th August 2024

Seven years after the Grenfell disaster, fire safety has changed and adapted to stop a tragedy like this happening again. Legislations such as the Building Safety Act 2022, the Fire Safety Act 2021 and establishing the Building Safety Regulator have been brought in to help improve fire safety.

How Have Fire Safety Regulations Changed Since the Grenfell Disaster?

Seven years on from the Grenfell disaster, legislations have begun to change. The public inquiry after the fire is still underway, having completed Phase 1 and Phase 2, with the Phase 2 report expected for publication in September 2024.

Following the fire, changes have been made to fire safety legislations in line with advice and recommendations following the Grenfell inquiry and a review of building regulations and fire safety.

The Building Safety Act 2022

The Building Safety Act 2022 includes 6 parts which contain provisions to improve safety and security of people in building and improve the standard of buildings themselves. Another major factor of this Act was that it established the Building Safety Regulator and gave local authorities more power against building violations.

Building Safety Regulator

The Building Safety Regulator (BSR) was established to improve standards and secure the safety of people in and around buildings. The government introduced a new regime for ‘higher-risk’ buildings, these being buildings over 18 metres high and have more than two residential units.

Under the new regime:

Developers must obtain approval from the BSR to build new ‘higher-risk’ buildings or to make changes to existing ‘higher-risk’ buildings

All high-rise blocks of flats need ‘Responsible Persons’ who will have new duties and must share this information with the local fire service

All ‘higher-risk’ buildings must have an ‘accountable person’ who must assess and manage the building safety risks

Fire Safety Act 2021

The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified the duties involved for ‘Responsible Persons’ in blocks of high-rise flats. This Act follows from the Fire Safety Order 2005 and amends some of the elements including: having the person inspect the structure and external walls of the building and all fire doors. To comply with this Act, responsible persons must regularly review the fire risk assessment of their building.

In October 2023, new safety requirements and regulations for blocks of flats took effect in England in response to the Grenfell Tower fire. These requirements have built further on the acts of 2021 and 2022. The House of Commons Library has released a full report discussing these amendments.

What Was the Grenfell Disaster?

In the early hours of June 14th 2017, the UK was shocked and devastated by the reports of a fire in a high-rise building in West London. Grenfell Tower was a 24-storey block of flats in North Kensington, London that broke out into flames in June 2017, leading to the loss of more than 70 lives. This national disaster was the worst residential fire in the UK since the Second World War.

The fire was started by an electrical fault in a refrigerator on the fourth floor which rapidly spread on the exterior of the building due to highly combustible cladding and insulation. The devastating fire burned for 60 hours and required over 250 firefighters and 70 fire engines to control and extinguish it.

The Grenfell disaster became subject to multiple investigations by the police and became a public enquiry. This tragic and avoidable event was a terrifying example of how important fire protection and maintenance is.

What Was the Grenfell Disaster?

The Grenfell Tower fire is reported to have begun inside an apartment on the fourth floor due to an electrical fault in a refrigerator. The occupant was awoken in the night by their fire alarm and promptly called the fire brigade after noticing smoke in his kitchen.

Once the fire brigade had arrived, the fire had already begun to spread outside the kitchen window. The fire spread rapidly due to the highly combustible aluminium composite cladding and external insulation.

In 2015-16, Grenfell Tower underwent major renovations including new windows, heating systems and new aluminium composite rain screen cladding. Two types of cladding were used during this renovation: Arnonic’s Reynobond PE and Reynolux aluminium sheets. Alternative cladding with better fire resistance was refused due to the costs and the contractor was changed after receiving a lower bid.

What Caused the Grenfell Tower Fire?

So, what is the purpose of passive fire protection? Quite simply, it ensures the safety of occupants and, potentially, the structural integrity of a building. This is done by containing and reducing the potential for fire to spread.

Beyond that, building codes and regulations often stipulate that fire protection measures are implemented. Thus, it helps the property or business owner to be compliant with legal regulations, avoid legal issues and ensure insurance coverage.

Lastly, passive fire safety measures work to create an environment which is salvageable by firefighters. By reducing the threat of fire spread, professionals can focus on combating the fire, reducing building damage and rescuing occupants.

Why Did the Grenfell Tower Fire Spread?

The Grenfell Tower Fire spread rapidly due to the combination of the insulation and the combustible cladding that was installed during renovation in 2015-16. Between the cladding and the insulation on Grenfell Tower, there was an air cavity which offers thermal insulation and allows for rain to run down. In the event of a fire, this air cavity draws hot air up and intensifies the fire which can spread into the building through open windows.

Although cladding has its benefits, one of the main issues is that the core material is often polyethylene, and this is highly combustible. If the core of the cladding is combustible, the fire will spread throughout the cladding installed into the building.

Grenfell Tower had cladding with a polyethylene core which was highly flammable, causing it to spread rapidly. Some cladding has an incombustible core that is slightly more expensive, but provides much better fire protection. It was heard in the official inquiry that the cladding was known to not meet the required fire safety standards at the time of installation.

Before the renovations, safety experts cautioned that the insulation that was planned to be installed should only be used with non-combustible cladding and on high-rise buildings with fibre cement panels. Despite the warnings, the cladding and insulation was passed for installation by a building control officer in 2015.

Another issue during the Grenfell disaster was that the fire doors were not closing and sealing properly. This meant that the fire and smoke began to spread between flats and lobbies. Along with the cladding, the fire doors and smoke venting systems were also labelled as an area of concern in 2016.

Ensure the Right Fire Safety with GRJ Contracting

Since the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, significant changes have been made to fire safety regulations in the UK. The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced stricter measures for high-rise buildings, including new duties for developers and building safety regulators.

The Fire Safety Act 2021 clarified responsibilities for managing fire risks in high-rise flats. Recent updates in October 2023 further strengthened safety requirements. These changes aim to prevent tragedies by improving building safety standards and regulatory oversight.

If you have any questions about fire prevention and protection or wish to find out more about GRJ’s services, please get in touch with our team.