Vulnerable people

Grenfell Tower Inquiry: Phase 2 report overview, report of the public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017, published in September 2024, states:

We conclude our recommendations by looking back to Phase 1. In the Phase 1 report the chairman recommended that the owner and manager of every high-rise residential building be required by law to prepare personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) for all residents whose ability to evacuate the building without assistance may be compromised (such as persons with reduced mobility or impaired cognition) and to include current information about them and their associated PEEPs in a premises information box.

The considerations that led him to make those recommendations led us to investigate in Phase 2 why the LGA Guide advised landlords and responsible persons that it was usually unrealistic to plan for the evacuation and assistance in the event of a fire of disabled and vulnerable residents living in general needs blocks of flats, such as Grenfell Tower. That led in turn to our making a number of criticisms of the government and to recommend that the advice in the LGA Guide be reconsidered.

Moreover, the further evidence that we have received in the course of Phase 2 has confirmed us in the view that the responsible person for a general needs residential building should collect sufficient information about vulnerable occupants to enable appropriate measures to be taken to assist their escape in the event of a fire.19 Much of the evidence relating to the individual deaths set out in Part 9 emphasises the importance of being able to provide the fire and rescue service with reliable information about the vulnerability of those needing to be rescued.

We therefore recommend that further consideration be given to the recommendations made in the Phase 1 report in the light of our findings in this report.

We also recommend that the advice contained in paragraph 79.11 of the LGA Guide be reconsidered.

See also:

• Evacuating vulnerable and dependent people from buildings in an emergency FB 52
• Personal protection watermist systems in the homes of vulnerable people

[edit] Related article on Designing Buildings

• Building a Safer Future - Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety (Hackitt Review)
• Building Regulations – Part B
• Building Safety Act 2022
• Building Safety Regulator
• Evacuating vulnerable and dependent people from buildings in an emergency FB 52
• Fire safety
• Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022
• Golden thread
• Grenfell Tower
• Grenfell Tower Inquiry
• Higher Risk Buildings
• Personal protection watermist systems in the homes of vulnerable people
• Regulator of Construction Products
• Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005
• The Fire Safety Act 2021