After the devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in June 2017 and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service (WYFRS) have tried tackling the issue of unsafe cladding. WYFRS has written to residents of 13 blocks of flats in North England, the letter points out a lack of action by those legally responsible for the block of flats.

WYFRS then went on to outline their plans to the individuals who are legally responsible for the block of flats with a timeline, committing to when the cladding/insulation will be removed’

The Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Dave Walton, said: “we do not wish to cause any alarm, we must be clear in advance that prohibition of the entire building, or parts of it, will be one of our considerations if we are not satisfied with the response provided to us by those responsible for your building.”

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Walton goes on to add that the current safety measures “should not continue indefinitely” and the best and safest outcome is for the cladding to be removed. This suggestion is in line with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s phase one report recommendations which states: “that the fire risk presented by flammable cladding can only be removed if the cladding itself is completely removed”.

The building owners or managers have been asked to respond by January 10 2020. So far there has been a mixed response from those responsible for the blocks of flats, a spokesman for Yorkshire Housing said that they have taken the decision to rehouse all their residents and have done so - except one family who will be rehoused shortly. Whereas Landmark House have applied for the government funding to replace the cladding, but their application is still being assessed.

Find out more about cladding here 

Source: Inside Housing