Prison fire safety

7 items 1 source

Failure of HMPPS to meet fire-safety compliance deadlines for a significant number of prison places.

Prison fire safety has been flagged across 1 independent accountability source:

7 PFD reports

This theme has been identified in one data source. As more data is added, cross-references may emerge.

Concerns: Deliberate tampering with prison fire alarm systems, disabling their buzzers, led to undetected fires, a systemic issue worsened by the absence of central oversight for wing office fault reporting.

Concerns: Inadequate risk formulation for IPP prisoners and failures by prison officers to conduct welfare checks according to guidance. Furthermore, some operational support staff lacked proper training or adhered to it.

Concerns: Delayed emergency "code blue" calls, absence of a central cell history record, and inadequate visual risk assessments by mental health staff in the prison pose significant ongoing safety risks.

Concerns: Prison fire detection systems are inadequate and unable to reliably detect cell fires early enough to save lives. Despite repeated warnings and notices issued since 2015, in-cell automatic fire detectors remain uninstalled.

Concerns: A lack of supervisory oversight, inadequate staffing, and a manual, untracked system for hourly checks in the SACU led to incomplete observations and a failure to ensure prisoner safety.

Concerns: HMP Leeds lacks certified anti-ligature cells, failing national standards, which allowed an inmate to use a jumper for self-harm in an ordinary cell.

Concerns: Concerns exist regarding the availability of appropriate equipment, specifically a hooligan bar, for dealing with cell door barricade incidents in prisons, potentially delaying emergency access to inmates.