This recent fire in Watford could have been a lot worse and fortunately was contained without anyone being seriously injured. This fire actually started as a bin fire which spread to the building from the ground floor level.
I think it raises a good point for fire risk assessors as often the sole focus is on the inside of a building. We are all too aware of the need to consider the external facade of a building with the Building Safety Bill and Fire Safety Act 2021. This primarily deals with cladding issues but we should also consider the location of bin stores and how these are being managed.
Whether the fire was deliberate or accidental, it had the potential to spread to the building and therefore the location and security of bins stores (in terms of access) is important.
How many times have fire risk assessors spent only assessing the insides of building only to later discover a fire has been started externally at ground floor level by a bin or discarded cigarette. Food for thought as always.
Watford fire: Residents feared ‘another Grenfell’ after fire at tower block (msn.com)
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