P1-2 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Train fire personnel on external wall fire risks

Recommendation

All fire and rescue services ensure that their personnel at all levels understand the risk of fire taking hold in the external walls of high-rise buildings and know how to recognise it when it occurs.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to gov.uk (Feb 2025), all 43 fire and rescue services have trained their personnel at all levels on the risk of fire taking hold in the external walls of high-rise buildings and how to recognise it. This training utilised National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) products, covering hazards associated with external wall system failures, including ACM cladding. The NFCC had committed to developing national guidance and training products for all fire and rescue services in England following its acceptance of the Phase 1 recommendations in January 2020.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
33.10b
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
21 Jan 2020

The government accepted in principle all the Phase 1 recommendations directed at central government. The Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick presented the formal response to Parliament on 21 January 2020, committing to swift and decisive action including new duties on building owners and managers to provide information to fire and rescue services, install premises information boxes, conduct regular inspections of lifts and fire doors, and equip buildings with evacuation signal facilities. The government stated it had already taken action in advance of the report and was actively looking beyond the remit of these recommendations.

Read Full Response
Progress Timeline
Official Report
26 Feb 2025

Status for fire and rescue services: complete. All 43 services have completed this recommendation and have trained all relevant staff using NFCC products on the hazards associated with external wall system failures including ACM cladding.

Source
Source
Inquiry Grenfell Tower Inquiry
Report Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report 30 Oct 2019
View Source
Responsible Bodies
National Fire Chiefs Council Primary
Themes & Tags
Fire risk assessment failures Staff training and development External Walls Training Fire Safety
Recommendation age 6.4 yrs
Last formal update 391 days ago