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On the Grenfell fire

posted by PMYA on UnitedKingdom

Since the fire, a few things have come to light regarding legislation that could have prevented something like this from happening. Last year, Labour pushed for legislation that would require landlords to comply with stricter health and safety regulations in properties. Over 300 Conservative MPs voted against the legislation. 72 of those MPs are landlords.

One of those MPs was the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, I shit you not. On the topic of making sprinklers a legal requirement for landlords to install, he said this:

“We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.”

“The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building – something we want to encourage – so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has.”

"We know that sprinklers are effective. Also, sprinklers will make the environment more survivable by containing the fire and containing the smoke.

"But they are not a total solution. We also have to make sure that passive protection measures - things like the structure of the building and the fire resistance of the building - are all properly in place as well."

How the fuck is this not a conflict of interest? The Fire Minister, who is a landlord, did not want to be legally required to install things that would stop fires because it would "discourage house building".

Fucking unbelievable.

Since the fire, a few things have come to light regarding legislation that could have prevented something like this from happening. Last year, Labour pushed for legislation that would require landlords to comply with stricter health and safety regulations in properties. Over 300 Conservative MPs voted against the legislation. 72 of those MPs are landlords. One of those MPs was the Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, I shit you not. On the topic of making sprinklers a legal requirement for landlords to install, he said this: >“We believe that it is the responsibility of the fire industry, rather than the Government, to market fire sprinkler systems effectively and to encourage their wider installation.” >“The cost of fitting a fire sprinkler system may affect house building – something we want to encourage – so we must wait to see what impact that regulation has.” >"We know that sprinklers are effective. Also, sprinklers will make the environment more survivable by containing the fire and containing the smoke. >"But they are not a total solution. We also have to make sure that passive protection measures - things like the structure of the building and the fire resistance of the building - are all properly in place as well." How the fuck is this not a conflict of interest? The _Fire Minister_, who is a landlord, did not want to be legally required to install things that would stop fires because it would "discourage house building". Fucking unbelievable.

3 comments

[–] Skyrock 1 points (+1|-0)

How the fuck is this not a conflict of interest? The Fire Minister, who is a landlord, did not want to be legally required to install things that would stop fires because it would "discourage house building"

If it astounds you that politicians put their personal interests before the common good, then be prepared for a lifetime of disappointments.

That being said, regulation is always coming with price increases, and I am especially skeptical of retro-active building regulations that force someone after the fact to modify their property on their own dime, rather than to be able to assume that once their building plans have been approved, they can realize them as planned at the cost that has been planned. Distrust into the stability of the law drives down investments, especially with expensive long-term investments such as real estate. Right of continuance is a very important right of investors that should only be undermined under overwhelming circumstances.

[–] PMYA [OP] 2 points (+2|-0)

Edited

I don't think it is right to be able to rent properties out that have little to no safety regulations enforced upon them. There are thousands of these apartment blocks all over the UK that are probably just as fucked as this one. Being responsible for installing fire alarms or sprinklers in larger buildings is not outrageous. Currently, you can get the fire brigade to come and install alarms for free, which seems to me like a waste of resources.

And that is ignoring the fact that it is basically pointless in larger buildings. What is the point in installing dozens of small fire alarms in a large building - which is apparently what the residents were told to do? If a fire starts on the second floor and you live on the 20th, you're fucked because you won't know about it soon enough to get out. Installing centralised fire alarm systems in high rise buildings should absolutely be a requirement and so should smaller alarms in smaller buildings. If you can afford to be a landlord, you can bloody well afford to comply with basic health and safety regulations.