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Tenant’s death prompts MP to ask: Just who is responsible for fire safety?
Fire safety in Houses in Multiple Occupation was the subject of a debate in Parliament on Tuesday.
The debate, secured by Cardiff North MP Jonathan Evans, highlighted issues arising from the death of a young woman and the coroner’s indictment of fire safety at the inquest last year.
In 2012, Sophie Rosser, a 23-year-old PA, died when she went into a tower block, Meridian Place, in London’s Docklands, attempting to save her fiance from their rented flat on the fifth floor.
A fire had broken out, caused by a damp towel left on a lamp in a flat on the floor below.
The inquest heard that the fire alarm at Meridian Place had not been working for two years; there were problems with the self-closing fire doors; and there had been only one fire risk assessment since 1997.
Coroner Mary Hassell said that the death could have been avoided if a self-closing fire door had not become stuck, preventing it from closing.
The inquest apportioned no blame, because the coroner was unable to identify where the blame lay – with the owner, property management company or fire risk assessors.
There remains an ongoing investigation by the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.
Sophie’s parents live in Cardiff, where she was brought up, and Evans is their MP.
Evans told MPs: “The primary concern that has been expressed by Sophie’s parents, as well as by many professionals who deal with fire safety, is the lack of clarity about who is accountable for the implementation of fire safety laws.
“In large-scale developments, who has that responsibility?
“Is it the owner, the property management company, the residents’ association or the individual tenant?
“Responsibilities sometimes seem to overlap to such an extent that each party comes to believe that it is someone else’s job to ensure that fire safety rules are followed.”
MPs heard that a survey last year showed that 37% of those responsible for fire safety were unclear about their legal obligations.
Sophie’s father Julian Rosser is campaigning for a review of the law governing the regular inspection and maintenance of fire doors in multi-occupancy residential buildings.
He wants to see closer definition of who the ‘responsible person’ is in Houses in Multiple Occupancy and legislation requiring annual fire risk assessments by properly qualified inspectors.
The British Woodworking Federation has also been campaigning for legislation governing fire doors.
Iain McIlwee, chief executive of the BWF, said: “There are some 3m new fire doors sold in the UK each year.
“There is industry concern that a number are not fit for purpose or installed correctly, and there is no legislation yet which requires a third-party certificated product, installation or maintenance of fire doors.
“These products have the potential to save lives, but only if correctly specified, manufactured, installed and maintained.
“That’s why we welcome this debate, and applaud the tireless efforts of Julian Rosser to encourage Government to look at these regulations and to improve the law around fire safety, particularly in HMOs.”
