Barking fire

The Barking fire was a structure fire that occurred on 9 June 2019 at a newly built six storey block of flats named Samuel Garside House, located in De Pass Gardens, Barking, London, the United Kingdom.

Building

Samuel Garside House is part of Barking Riverside. The six storey block was built by Bellway Homes, and sold on to a private landlord, Adriatic Land 3 (GR1) Limited,[1][2] an investment vehicle created by fund manager Longharbour.[3]

Safety concerns

Residents had complained that the use of wood on the flats was unsafe.[4] The developer, Bellway Homes, assured them that the wood cladding was fire retardant.

Peter Mason, chair of the Barking Reach residents’ association contacted the builder in May 2019 to ask for the fire risk to be investigated after watching a BBC Watchdog report that highlighted fire safety problems at two other developments. He was told via e-mail not to worry, as the construction method was different to the ones in the report.[1][5]

Fire and aftermath

The fire started at 3.30 pm, 9 June 2019[6] at a newly built six storey block of flats named Samuel Garside House,[7] located in De Pass Gardens, Barking, London, United Kingdom. The developers believe the fire to have been started by a fallen-over barbecue on a fourth floor balcony.[8] It spread rapidly engulfing the wooded balconies.[9] Residents stated afterwards that the fire alarm was not triggered,[10] nor did the sprinkler system activate.[5] Residents informed their neighbours by banging on doors.[11] The fire brigade attended and initially were hampered by finding a water supply.[12] They deployed 15 fire engines and around 100 firefighters.[5] The fire was declared to be under control at 6.30 pm. Ten flats were completely destroyed and 43 had varying levels of damage caused by the fire.[13] There were no deaths or serious injuries; two residents were treated for smoke inhalation.[1]

According to Inside Housing magazine, a report prepared by Osterna for the building managers RMG had said the external cladding, wooden joists and deck balconies were "a significant hazard" and recommended both that a responsible person should check whether the wood had been appropriately treated and that the residents should be advised not to use barbecues on the balconies. The builders Bellway Homes claimed not to have seen that report before the fire.[14] An investigation of other blocks post fire found ‘faulty fire doors, broken smoke alarms and combustible cladding’, while the original developer Bellway said fire protection measures inside ‘received all regulatory approvals’ and ‘ensured occupants were safely evacuated’.[15]

Also according to Inside Housing the material used for the cladding and decking was ThermoWood, which was banned for use on buildings over 18 metres high (these flats being 13.75m high) and has a class D rating.[7][16][17] Inside Housing found twenty low rise developments where its use had been authorised.[7]

As a consequence of the fire, the wooden balconies and elevation fragments have been replaced on both Samuel Garside House, and its twin block on the same estate, Ernest Websdale House.[18][19]

The event has featured in many reports[20][21] and articles[22][23] highlighting the lack of fire safety improvements and remediation following the Grenfell fire.

Inquiries into the fire

Barking and Dagenham Council commissioned a review[24] of the Samuel Garside House fire, and a report was published in January 2021.[25]

An independent, resident-led inquiry was conducted under the lead of the Barking Reach Residents' Association and a report was published on May 10th, 2020.[26] It included, among others, a testimony from a fire safety expert, Dr Jonathan Evans.[27]

See also

References

Cross-reference
  1. Southworth 2019.
  2. "Barking Riverside fire - Sunday 9 June 2019 | LBBD". www.lbbd.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  3. "Barking Fire: What Can We Learn?". concretecentre.com. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. "Barking flats fire: Residents had safety concerns before blaze". BBC News. 10 June 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  5. Booth & Badshah 2019.
  6. Coleman, Benedict Moore-Bridger, John Dunne, Liam (10 June 2019). "City Hall probe after fire destroyed 20 wood-clad flats in Barking". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  7. Barratt 2019.
  8. BBC 2019a.
  9. Coleman, Benedict Moore-Bridger, John Dunne, Liam (10 June 2019). "City Hall probe after fire destroyed 20 wood-clad flats in Barking". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  10. Morris, James (10 June 2019). "'No fire alarms' sounded in Barking flats blaze". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  11. Simpson 2019c.
  12. "Timeline of fire, 9 June 2019 – Barking Riverside Fire Inquiry". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  13. "Barking Riverside fire - Sunday 9 June 2019 | LBBD". www.lbbd.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  14. Simpson 2019a.
  15. "Council review into Barking fire published | Fire Protection Association". www.thefpa.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  16. Simpson 2019d.
  17. Morton & Acton 2019.
  18. "Barking fire developer 'highly likely' to strip cladding and remove balconies from block". Inside Housing. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  19. "Bellway to pay for Barking fire safety work after blaze – Construction Manager". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  20. "Cladding: progress of remediation - Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee - House of Commons". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  21. FREP Committee. "Cladding Crisis and its Impact on Londoners" (PDF). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  22. "Barking fire widens cladding fears". CIBSE Journal. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  23. Bright, Susan; Maxwell, Douglas. "HUMAN RIGHTS AND STATE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR FIRE SAFETY IN BLOCKS OF FLATS" (PDF). Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  24. "Barking Riverside fire - Sunday 9 June 2019 | LBBD". www.lbbd.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  25. "Council review into Barking fire published | Fire Protection Association". www.thefpa.co.uk. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  26. "Contents – Barking Riverside Fire Inquiry". Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  27. "Dr. Jonathan Evans – Barking Riverside Fire Inquiry". Retrieved 21 January 2021.

Reference bibliography

Further reading

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