Deadly Inferno Sparks Inquiry
Charred Lakanal House
By Reena Kumar
A MASSIVE blaze has swept through a tower block in Camberwell killing six people and raised serious questions about the safety of similar buildings all across the capital.
An investigation has now been launched into the cause, which is currently being treated as suspicious.
Ed Hammond, 37, an accountant who lives on the 7th floor, said: “The flats are death traps. If the fire is in the central area you would have nowhere to go.”
The blaze started on the ninth floor of Lakanal House on the Sceaux Estate at 4.20pm on Friday 3 July and spread rapidly to the 11th floor, where all the victims died.
The 14-floor tower block is under severe scrutiny as fears are expressed over its 1960’s design and the safety of other such buildings.
The youngest victim of the tragic blaze was three-week-old Michelle Udoaka who perished along with her mother Helen Udoaka, 34.
The four other victims were Catherine Hickman, 31, Dayana Francisquini, 26, and her three-year-old son Filipe and six-year-old daughter Thais.
Mark Bailey, the boyfriend of Catherine Hickman, paid tribute to the fashion designer and said he had been planning to propose to her.
Mr Bailey who was in New York when the fire broke out said: “I was devastated when I realised she had died. She was a living angel. I had made up my mind to propose when I got back from my trip. Cat had no idea – it was going to be a surprise.”
Sunand Prasad, President of The Royal Institute of British Architects, told the Today programme on Radio 4: “I don’t see why this should have happened, there are three possible escape routes from each floor. For some reason the fire spread in a way in which it shouldn’t have spread.
“By looking at the photos of the fire spread, you can see the flats weren’t sufficiently well designed or built. We need to assure people that this is something that won’t happen again.”
John Denham, the Communities Secretary, has instructed the Government’s Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser, Sir Ken Knight, to report urgently on the investigation into the fire.
A government spokesman told The Independent that Mr Denham wanted to make sure that fire and rescue authorities, landlords and tenants can be told quickly of risks to avoid or changes that need to be made.
He said: “The fire is being investigated by both the police and the fire service. While it would be wrong to draw premature conclusions before we fully understand what happened, I want to reassure the public across the country that we will keep them fully informed and take any remedial action as quickly as possible.
Following the fire Nick Stanton, leader of Southwark Council, said the design of the building was “not untypical” and that £3.5m had recently been spent on refurbishing it to meet current fire safety standards.
