P1-24 Response Accepted

Direct control room to incident commander communications

Recommendation

The LFB develop a communication system to enable direct communication between the control room and the incident commander and improve the means of communication between the incident commander and the bridgehead.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- LFB accepted all Phase 1 recommendations in January 2020 (LFB Response to Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report, January 2020).
- LFB Commissioner stated in March 2024 that LFB had completed every recommendation directed to it (LFB Statement, March 2024).
- The government's Phase 1 progress report stated this recommendation is complete, with the Fire Survival Guidance application launched in March 2022 displaying real-time information between the control room and incident commander (Quarterly Thematic Update, MHCLG, February 2025).
- HMICFRS Round 3 inspection published November 2024 rated LFB "outstanding" for major and multi-agency incident response (HMICFRS London Fire Brigade Inspection Report, November 2024).
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
33.19
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.

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Progress Timeline
Official Report
26 Feb 2025

The LFB has reported that this recommendation has been completed. The LFB developed a Fire Survival Guidance application (live March 2022) displaying information simultaneously to all staff handling an incident.

London Fire Brigade states: Official Report
13 Mar 2024

LFB Commissioner Andy Roe announced LFB is "the only organisation to have completed every recommendation directed specifically to them." Key achievements: revised FSG policy, new MSA breathing apparatus with voice comms, 64m turntable ladders, fire escape hoods saving 200+ lives.

London Fire Brigade states: Official Report
21 Jan 2020

We accept the recommendations in both the Phase 1 Grenfell Report and HMICFRS inspection report.

Source
Report Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 1 Report 30 Oct 2019
Responsible Bodies
London Fire Brigade Primary
Recommendation age 6.6 yrs
Last formal update 459 days ago