What happened at Lakanal House?

On 3 July 2009 a deadly fire broke out at Lakanal House, a high-rise block of flats in Camberwell, London. The fire would tragically claim the lives of six people.

The building was a 14-storey tower block built in 1959, it comprised 98 flats and was almost 42m high. It had been designed with escape balconies reaching to an enclosed central staircase. The council had spent £3.5m on fire safety refurbishment measures prior to the event.

How did the Lakanal House fire start?

The fire was found to have started due to an electrical fault in a TV set. The fire quickly escaped the flat of origin, billowing smoke from the window and radiating heat to the flat above.

A resident called the fire services and was advised to remain inside - this is due to the principles of fire safety and firefighting in the UK being based on containment of fire within a compartment. Around 28 minutes later the resident was overcome by heat and smoke.

What can the industry learn from the Lakanal House fire?

The inquest found that substandard renovations had removed fire stopping elements from between compartments. This enabled rapid fire spread which trapped people in their flats after they had been told to stay put.

The jurors also concluded that it would have been possible for residents to escape without assistance, however, there was confusion over the layout of the building and flat numbers which prevented firefighters from getting to residents quickly.

It’s therefore important that there is a full understanding of how and why the fire developed and spread quickly in order to improve building design and technology for passive and active fire protection.

Southwark Council has since recommended a review of its policies concerning fire risk assessments of high-rise buildings and training for staff, liaising with emergency services.