Bucks Fire and Rescue respond to Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations
BFRS has been working to respond to recommendations listed for fire services across the country from Phase One and Two
Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service (BFRS) say they've worked with 46 high rise buildings to ensure they meet regulation standards following recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GFI).
On September 4th, 2024, phase two of the GFI was published, with more recommendations listed, with officers from BFRS now updating the public on further improvements made within the service.
Phase one recommendations were released in December 2023, as part of a wide report on Operational Learning and Assurance.
On June 14th 2017 the north Kensington tower block became a scene of devastation as plumes of smoke rose into the capital's sky and pictures were beamed on news channels around the world.
72 people died in the Grenfell Tower fire.
With recommendations now made for both phase one and two, BFRS have spoken with Greatest Hits Radio about what has been actioned since their release, to ensure better preparedness for any future devastating fire, similar to Grenfell.
Douglas Buchanan's the Head of Protection, Assurance and Development at BFRS.
All Fire and Rescue services had to respond to 34 actions around preparation for those types of incidents, operational preparedness, how staff are trained and similar areas of need for complex incidents.
Doug says from the perspective of BFRS, they're in a "significantly better place" for understanding and managing a complex incident, such as Grenfell.
As BFRS continue to examine phase two, and what can further be learnt and implemented within the Service, many of the phase one recommendations are fully implemented within BFRS.
Phase One
Explaining the early considerations taken by BFRS, Doug and the team developed a greater understanding of the built environment and "building stock" in the county.
46 high rise buildings were identified in Buckinghamshire that fell into the category of those that they needed to work with. Operational plans were updated, in terms of how BFRS would respond, changes were made to predetermined attendances to ensure sufficient resources from the onset of an incident at any of those buildings.
BFRS Control Room also received more investigation into how they manage multiple calls and fire survival guidance. Tactics and equipment to support effective resolution to to an incident such as Grenfell have also been examined.
Doug believes the Service are in a strong position following implementation from the report recommendations. He said: "From a Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue perspective and probably the wider fire sector, we're relatively assured now that we've taken the learnings from phase one in terms of our operational response to those types of incidents. For me, there's probably a wider question about the built environment, more more broadly and the national response to ensuring the buildings meet appropriate standards.
"Certainly from our regulatory role in protection, we're working closely with with colleagues in other in other regulatory positions to really try and push that improvement and make sure the buildings are safe."
Effective response to any future incidents similar to the Grenfell Tower fire is something which BFRS, like many fire services across the country, have focused on to ensure a high level of preparedness, as well as responding effectively.
Doug said: "We probably can't legislate at the moment for the fact that there are still some buildings out there that that don't really support a stay put policy. But from a Fire and Rescue perspective, we're working really closely with partners to try and speed up that remediation process, but also operationally, should those incidents occur, we feel that we're much better prepared to respond effectively than than we maybe would have been a few years ago."
Phase Two
BFRS say phase two, whilst still being understood, is more around the root cause issues and history behind buildings needing further upgrading or support for potential similar disasters such as Grenfell Tower fire.
Doug explains that less of the recommendations in phase two are aimed directly at the Fire and Rescue services.
"We're currently reviewing the phase two findings. Many of the recommendations the certainly aim towards Fire and Rescue service I think are revisiting how we've responded to phase one ultimately in terms of our preparedness, our operational competence.
"But there are some additional considerations around fire safety, engineering qualifications, understanding the role of our commanders and whether we're really assured that they are qualified and competent to command real complex incidents like Grenfell.
"We're just kind of absorbing the recommendations and considering whether there's any additional actions and improvement we need to take at the moment."
Staying safe
Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service's website has information surrounding all elements of fire safety and staying safe in your home.
For more information on living with a stay put policy, click here.
Further information around other safety information can be found on the BFRS website.