Leader – Fire alarm

June marked six years since the Grenfell Tower fire claimed the lives of 72 Londoners.

In the wake of the tragedy, the Citizen ran a number of stories about fire safety in Hackney.

These included a property where fire checks hadn’t been carried out for five years; the council’s failure to deal with several high priority fire risks; and safety issues at an estate that had gone unaddressed for nearly half a decade.

All of these stories and more were discovered by our reporters sifting through fire risk assessments (FRAs).

The coverage led to an apology to residents from the Mayor of Hackney for misleadingly saying that all of the borough’s FRAs were up to date at the time of the Grenfell blaze.

With that in mind, it is extremely concerning to see council tenants being asked whether the Town Hall should still prioritise FRAs as it weighs up cuts to its housing budget. Not doing so could “minimise the council’s ability to proactively identify fire safety issues”.

Anything that potentially puts tenants at greater risk should be non-negotiable, no matter the cost. And putting that choice to those same people is frightening and irresponsible.

Grenfell should serve as a stark reminder to councils that fire safety should never again be compromised.

Please note that this leader first appeared in our August 2023 print edition.