A candle being used in a flat which had been disconnected from the electricity supply during electrical upgrade work was the cause of last month’s fire at Marie Curie House in south London.
No one was hurt at Marie Curie House – the sister block to Lakanal House in Camberwell where six people died in a fire in July 2009 – but the blaze severely damaged a maisonette on the thirteenth floor.
The electricity supply to properties in Marie Curie House had been disconnected at around 9.00am on 29 November to enable the completion of the upgrade of the mains supply. However, electricity supplier EDF Energy was unable to re-connect five of the dwellings because residents were not in at the time. It was in one of those properties that a candle which was accidently knocked over later in the evening, started the fire.
Southwark Council has confirmed the fire started from the use of candles in one of the properties that were not reconnected, but says residents were given six days’ notice that they needed to stay in while the work was carried out.
In a letter to residents the day after the fire, Southwark’s cabinet member for housing, councillor Ian Wingfield, said while the need for light in these circumstances was “completely understandable”, they should consider other forms of lighting, and housing officers had been asked to secure a stock of torches for any future power cuts. He also acknowledged the concerns of some residents about the amount of notice given for such work, and said the council would review its procedures for this with EDF.
EDF said letters were sent to all residents prior to 29 November to make them aware of the planned works and access required to their properties. Power was isolated at 9.00am and all properties to which engineers had access were reconnected by 4.00pm.
“In line with EDF Energy’s health and safety policy, power was restored to those properties at which residents were at home,” said an EDF spokesperson. “This is to ensure that no appliances which may have been left on, or turned on, whilst the power was shut down became live when properties are empty.”
In the wake of the Lakanal House tragedy, Southwark Council conducted what it described as an “intrusive” inspection of similar blocks, including Marie Curie House, and embarked on a programme to upgrade fire safety at the block. In September 2009 a further fire risk assessment on Marie Curie House was carried out by external fire safety consultants.
Southwark Council says it has now completed a £1.4m refurbishment programme for Marie Curie House which addressed all the actions raised by the fire risk assessments.
Blaze at Lakanal House’s neighbouring block
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