The Grenfell Inquiry has today (4 September) recommended the development of a construction library to hold information "such as data from tests on products and materials, reports on serious fires and academic papers".
The Inquiry’s proposal draws inspiration from the Cladding Materials Library set up by the University of Queensland. According to its website, that library “comprises an extensive database of cladding materials based on their composition and flammability as individual components, and which may be used to perform hazard analyses. The database is a tool for qualified engineers to enable an adequate fire hazard identification and quantification of the potential fire spread of cladding materials.”
The Inquiry said that such a library could “form the basis of a valuable source of information for designers of buildings in general. We recommend that the construction regulator sponsor the development of a similar library, perhaps as part of a joint project with the University of Queensland, to provide a continuing resource for designers.”
Recording government response to recommendations
The Inquiry also recommended that “it be made a legal requirement for the government to maintain a publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries together with a description of the steps taken in response. If the government decides not to accept a recommendation, it should record its reasons for doing so. Scrutiny of its actions should be a matter for Parliament, to which it should be required to report annually.”
It made this recommendation given that “some important recommendations affecting fire safety were ignored by the government in the years leading up to the Grenfell Tower fire”.
London Fire Brigade’s approach to information
The Inquiry also noted that the London Fire Brigade (LFB) “consistently failed to implement an effective system for the collection, storage and distribution of operational risk information, in particular in relation to high-risk, high-rise residential buildings”.
Thus, the Inquiry recommended that the LFB be inspected “to examine and report on its arrangements for collecting, storing and distributing information in accordance with section 7(2)(d) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, and in particular its arrangements for identifying high-risk residential buildings and collecting, storing and distributing information relating to them”.
These recommendations are contained in the Grenfell Inquiry’s second and final report into the circumstances that led to the fire that killed 72 people on 14 June 2017.
Among other recommendations in the 1,700-page report are:
- the urgent review of statutory guidance;
- an expanded definition of high-risk buildings;
- the creation of a single regulator for the industry;
- the appointment of a chief construction adviser; and
- the inclusion of academia in reviews of legislation.
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