Public Inquiry Recommendations

P1-2 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Train fire personnel on external wall fire risks

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 …

P1-3 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

LFB to review PN633 Appendix 1

The LFB review, and revise as appropriate, Appendix 1 to PN633 to ensure that it fully reflects the principles in GRA 3.2.

P1-4 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Train LFB officers on high-rise inspections

The LFB ensure that all officers of the rank of Crew Manager and above are trained in carrying out the requirements of PN633 relating to the inspection of high-rise buildings.

P1-7 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Equip fire services to receive electronic plans

All fire and rescue services be equipped to receive and store electronic plans and to make them available to incident commanders and control room managers.

P1-10 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

LFB review control room communications policy

The LFB review its policies on communications between the control room and the incident commander.

P1-11 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Train incident commanders on control room communications

All officers who may be expected to act as incident commanders (i.e. all those above the rank of Crew Manager) receive training directed to the specific requirements of communication with …

P1-12 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Train control room operators on incident commander communications

All CROs of Assistant Operations Manager rank and above receive training directed to the specific requirements of communication with the incident commander.

P1-13 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Dedicated control room to incident commander link

A dedicated communication link be provided between the senior officer in the control room and the incident commander.

P1-14 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Distinguish between advice and rescue callers

The LFB's policies be amended to draw a clearer distinction between callers seeking advice and callers who believe they are trapped and need rescuing.

P1-15 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Regular refresher training for control room operators

The LFB provide regular and more effective refresher training to CROs at all levels, including supervisors.

P1-16 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Develop policies for handling multiple FSG calls

All fire and rescue services develop policies for handling a large number of FSG calls simultaneously.

P1-17 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Electronic FSG recording and display systems

Electronic systems be developed to record FSG information in the control room and display it simultaneously at the bridgehead and in any command units.

P1-18 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Develop stay put to evacuation transition policies

Policies be developed for managing a transition from 'stay put' to 'get out'.

P1-19 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Train control room staff on evacuation advice changes

Control room staff receive training directed specifically to handling such a change of advice and conveying it effectively to callers.

P1-20 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Investigate inter-control room information sharing

Steps be taken to investigate methods by which assisting control rooms can obtain access to the information available to the host control room.

P1-21 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

LAS and MPS review FSG call protocols

The LAS and the MPS review their protocols and policies to ensure that their operators can identify FSG calls (as defined by the LFB) and pass them to the LFB …

P1-22 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

LFB improve deployment control policies

The LFB develop policies and training to ensure better control of deployments and the use of resources.

P1-23 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Improve crew debrief information systems

The LFB develop policies and training to ensure that better information is obtained from crews returning from deployments and that the information is recorded in a form that enables it …

P1-24 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Direct control room to incident commander communications

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 …

P1-25 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Investigate modern control room to bridgehead communications

The LFB investigate the use of modern communication techniques to provide a direct line of communication between the control room and the bridgehead, allowing information to be transmitted directly between …

P1-26 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Equipment for BA communication in high-rise buildings

The LFB urgently take steps to obtain equipment that enables firefighters wearing helmets and breathing apparatus to communicate with the bridgehead effectively, including when operating in high-rise buildings.

P1-27 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Command support system operational on all units

Urgent steps be taken to ensure that the command support system is fully operative on all command units and that crews are trained in its use.

P1-29 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Fire services develop evacuation policies and training

Fire and rescue services develop policies for partial and total evacuation of high-rise residential buildings and training to support them.

P1-34 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Equip fire services with smoke hoods

All fire and rescue services be equipped with smoke hoods to assist in the evacuation of occupants through smoke-filled exit routes.

P1-44 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Investigate LFB-MPS-LAS system compatibility

Steps be taken to investigate the compatibility of the LFB systems with those of the MPS and the LAS with a view to enabling all three emergency services' systems to …

P1-46 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2019)

Improve survivor information collection and sharing

The LFB, the MPS, the LAS and the London local authorities all investigate ways of improving the collection of information about survivors and making it available more rapidly to those …

P2-2 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Review Building Safety Act higher-risk building definition

We therefore recommend that the definition of a higher-risk building for the purposes of the Building Safety Act be reviewed urgently. (113.7)

P2-3 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Consolidate fire safety functions under single department

We therefore recommend that the government bring responsibility for the functions relating to fire safety currently exercised by MHCLG, the Home Office and the Department for Business and Trade into …

P2-4 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Appoint Chief Construction Adviser

We therefore recommend that the Secretary of State appoint a Chief Construction Adviser with a sufficient budget and staff to provide advice on all matters affecting the construction industry, including: …

P2-5 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Review statutory guidance and Approved Document B

We therefore recommend that the statutory guidance generally, and Approved Document B in particular, be reviewed accordingly and a revised version published as soon as possible. (113.11)

P2-6 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Add legal requirements warning to statutory guidance

We therefore recommend that a revised version of the guidance contain a clear warning in each section that the legal requirements are contained in the Building Regulations and that compliance …

P2-7 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Reconsider compartmentation in Approved Document B

New materials and methods of construction and the practice of overcladding existing buildings make the existence of effective compartmentation a questionable assumption and we recommend that it be reconsidered when …

P2-8 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Require fire engineer calculations for fire spread and evacuation

Calculating the likely rate of fire spread and the time required for evacuation, including the evacuation of those with physical or mental impairments, are matters for a qualified fire engineer. …

P2-9 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Include academics on statutory guidance advisory bodies

We therefore recommend that, as far as possible, membership of bodies advising on changes to the statutory guidance should include representatives of the academic community as well as those with …

P2-10 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Require fire safety strategy from registered fire engineer at Gateway 2

We therefore recommend that it be made a statutory requirement that a fire safety strategy produced by a registered fire engineer (see below) to be submitted with building control applications …

P2-11 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Develop new test methods for evacuation strategy assessments

It follows that assessing whether an external wall system can support a particular evacuation strategy is difficult because the necessary information is not always available. We therefore recommend that steps …

P2-12 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Clarify BS 9414 limitations requiring fire engineer assessment

For the reasons given by Professor Torero we think that BS 9414 should be approached with caution and we recommend that the government make it clear that it should not …

P2-15 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Establish legal recognition and regulation of fire engineer profession

We therefore recommend that the profession of fire engineer be recognised and protected by law and that an independent body be established to regulate the profession, define the standards required …

P2-16 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Increase Masters-level fire engineering course places

In order to speed up the creation of a body of professional fire engineers we also recommend that the government take urgent steps to increase the number of places on …

P2-17 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Define competent fire engineer knowledge and skills

The development and maintenance of a statement of professional skills should ultimately be the responsibility of the body that regulates the profession, but pending the establishment of such a body …

P2-18 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Develop fire engineering courses for construction professionals

We also recommend that the government, working in collaboration with industry and professional bodies, encourage the development of courses in the principles of fire engineering for construction professionals and members …

P2-19 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Review architect education and training for fire safety

We recognise that both the Architects Registration Board and the Royal Institute of British Architects have taken steps since the Grenfell Tower fire to improve the education and training of …

P2-20 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Require principal designer compliance statement at Gateway 2

We also recommend that it be made a statutory requirement that an application for building control approval in relation to the construction or refurbishment of a higher-risk building (Gateway 2) …

P2-21 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Introduce licensing scheme for principal contractors

We therefore recommend that a licensing scheme operated by the construction regulator be introduced for principal contractors wishing to undertake the construction or refurbishment of higher-risk buildings and that it …

P2-22 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Independent panel review of building control commercial interests

We therefore recommend that the government appoint an independent panel to consider whether it is in the public interest for building control functions to be performed by those who have …

P2-23 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Consider national building control authority

Accordingly, we recommend that the same panel consider whether all building control functions should be performed by a national authority. (113.38)

P2-24 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Create cladding materials library for designers

In Chapter 112 we have referred to the Cladding Materials Library set up by the University of Queensland, which could form the basis of a valuable source of information for …

P2-26 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Establish mandatory fire risk assessor accreditation

We therefore recommend that the government establish a system of mandatory accreditation to certify the competence of fire risk assessors by setting standards for qualification and continuing professional development and …

P2-27 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Standardise fire control switches and keys

Accordingly, we are not in a position to determine whether greater standardisation of fire control switches and keys is required. We therefore recommend that the government seeks urgent advice from …

P2-31 Accepted

Grenfell Tower Inquiry (2024)

Inspect London Fire Brigade control room operations

In the meantime, we recommend that His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (“the Inspectorate”) inspect the LFB as soon as reasonably possible to assess and report …