BRITAIN

Urgent safety reviews have now been ordered on all tower blocks following the Grenfell Tower block fire in London.

London’s Grenfell Tower tragedy was always likely to have immediate and wider repercussions. If there was a design flaw in the tower (namely, the combustible cladding) which contributed to the resulting inferno, then other buildings could have a similar problem. If established – as is now the case with other tower blocks in Camden, and likely to be elsewhere too – these buildings would inevitably be deemed unsafe until such time sufficient testing be carried out to establish their fitness for habitation, or until any flaws have been remedied. And in such circumstances, no local authority could take the risk of keeping residents in situ.

Tower blocks in the London borough of Camden have now been ruled to have serious safety concerns. Occupants were evacuated on Friday evening and through the night into Saturday morning following the advice of the fire service who said it could not guarantee the safety of residents in those blocks. While deeply unfortunate, the council faced no option but to move people out.

The situation has appeared to be chaotic, but while that, too, is unfortunate, that is the nature of an emergency evacuation. Long-term tenants who are understandably upset at the upheaval in their lives state there has never been a problem in their building before. Sadly, most devastating fires could be set against the same kind of history and argument.

If one of the possible consequences of failing to act is another disaster, then what we have witnessed in Camden is justified panic. Local authorities cannot fall back on the laws of probability to make a safety judgement on this scale.

Georgia Gould, Camden’s Council leader, said: ‘I know it’s difficult, but Grenfell changes everything.’ She’s right.

The next step, however, is to ensure that all buildings – not simply housing blocks – are fully tested. There will be upheaval, inconvenience and uncertainty, but it is work that must be carried out. There will be repercussions over how this crisis came about – such as through the criminal investigation and public inquiry which have now been launched – but, right now, the number one priority must be the immediate safety for all residents.