Wembley fire: Grenfell lessons 'not learned by Government' say blaze residents in cladding flats

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Residents of a block of flats with Grenfell-style flammable cladding were told to “stay put” in their homes as fire ravaged the building and some alarms failed to go off, it has been claimed.

Brent North MP Barry Gardiner claimed that the incident showed the “lessons of Grenfell” have not been learned.

He said he had written to the block’s owners, Octavia Housing, “repeatedly” and met with the CEO last November after constituents complained of fire safety flaws.

Mr Gardiner told the Standard: “I think what is so shocking is that we know that the cladding on this building is similar to the cladding at Grenfell. They’ve known for three years now that this was the case.

"And they have not got it sorted. I’ve been writing letters, emails repeatedly. It is just an atrocious example that shows the lessons from Grenfell have not been learned.”

Mr Gardiner held a meeting with residents, London Fire Brigade (LFB) and Octavia Housing staff at the Brent Civic Centre.

He said it had emerged that “fire alarms had failed to go off, police had incorrectly advised residents to ‘stay put’ in their flats and Octavia Housing had failed to repair gas boilers and appliances for over six months”.

LFB facilitated the community meeting and helped people to evacuate when their crews arrived on the scene.

There were no reports of any injuries following the fire and Octavia said its safety protocols were followed.

Residents reported seeing a boiler ablaze on the balcony on the third floor after hearing a “boom”.

Amare Gealam, 28, told the Standard: “The fire started small then went up quick. I don’t know whether that’s because of the cladding but you couldn’t help thinking of Grenfell.”

Mr Gardiner, who released a documentary on Monday into the "injustices" faced by people living in leasehold housing, added: “Residents came up to me and said they have been making complaints about boilers not working and were told that it’s unsafe, and they must not use it.

"One lady had been complaining since September. People are very, very angry at the complete failure to sort the problems out.”

A spokesman for Octavia said: “We understand that the fire at Elm Road was distressing experience for our residents.

"Their safety and wellbeing remain our number one priority and our thoughts are with them while we continue to offer every possible assistance”.

“While we await the results of the London Fire Brigade’s fire investigation, we understand that fire detection alarms were activated in Petworth Court and monitored by the on-site fire marshal who alerted the fire brigade and assisted residents to evacuate the building safely.

"Alarms would not have been activated in adjoining blocks which were not subject to a fire.

“Our fire safety approach was changed to an Evacuate Policy in 2019 for the safety of our customers, in line with updated government guidelines at the time. This was communicated clearly to residents.

“All Octavia boiler contractors are Gas Safe registered which means they are duty-bound to cap the gas supply if they consider any appliance is unsafe.”

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