Jurors at the ongoing inquest into the deaths of six people in the July 2009 Lakanal House tower block fire in South London heard that precious time was lost as firefighters endeavoured to save those who were trapped.
The so-named super-inquest, now into its fifth week, was told that inadequate communication among firefighters hindered the emergency services, according to a BBC London report.
Evidence was given from firefighters on what they knew, when they knew it, and with whom they communicated in the early stages of tackling the blaze, whilst it may still have been possible to reach trapped residents.
Firefighters did not know, and were not told, how people might be rescued and did not have any plans of the complex building that might have helped them.
Crew manager Barry Willett said the crew had not undertaken any familiarisation visits of the tower block beforehand in order to build up knowledge of the layout, any fixed firefighting installations, the locations of hydrants in the streets, and any security key codes they would need to gain access.
According to the BBC London report, firefighter Mark Mullins, who was responsible for relaying messages from the operations control room to the incident commander at Lakanal, said it took more than 14 minutes for information to be passed on about people trapped in their flats. Six people, including three children, later died inside the flats.
Alex Miller, a trainee firefighter attending his first high-rise fire, told the court that radio communications with those fighting the seat of the fire using breathing apparatus radios were “limited”.
Asked by the counsel to the inquest, James Maxwell-Scott, if there were any single thing that would have most helped him to carry out his duties on that day, he replied that this would have been unimpaired means of communication with other firefighters.
The first fire chief on the scene was unaware of escape routes from individual flats in the tower block, Inside Housing reported.
The inquest also heard that John Howling, the watch manager in charge of the incident, had been “completely swamped by information” from police, the ambulance service, residents, and brigade personnel about which flats were afire. But firefighters had very little information about the layout of the 14-storey tower block, and exactly where each flat was located.
Eighteen firefighters have so far given evidence to say they had no idea of the layout of the high-rise building or the means of escape for residents via their balconies when they arrived to fight the fire.
The inquest so far paints a shocking picture of missed opportunities, lost time, insufficient communication, and an apparent total lack of forward planning on how to evacuate residents in the event of a fire. It remains to be seen what further lessons will be learned as the inquest unfolds.
The inquest is expected to continue until Easter. A daily summary of the proceedings is available on Lambeth council’s website.
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