Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
1519. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the way in which the early risk categorisation of buildings was carried out in view of the fact that cladding on high rise buildings was not the cause of fire in Grenfell but, rather, the material concealed underneath the cladding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15215/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI presume the Deputy is referring to the “area risk categorisation” process provided for in the national policy document “Keeping Communities Safe - A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland” which was published by my Department in February 2013. For the first time, this document set out a national process and standards against which local authorities can benchmark their fire services. A copy of “Keeping Communities Safe - A Framework for Fire Safety in Ireland” is available on my Department's website at: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/Community/FireandEmergencyServices/FileDownLoad%2C32381%2Cen.pdf.
This policy document provides for each fire service to undertake an Area Risk Categorisation process in respect of each of its fire station areas. In 2013/14, following the publication of “Keeping Communities Safe”, each fire authority undertook an initial area risk categorisation for its functional area and reported on the process. The outcome of this process is a judgement by fire service management to establish a risk grading across very high risk, high risk, medium risk, low risk or very low risk categories. The initial fire station risk ratings for Ireland’s 217 fire stations are published in the 2016 report “Local Delivery – National Consistency – Fire Services in Ireland”. A copy of “Local Delivery – National Consistency – Fire Services in Ireland” is available on my Department's website at:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/evg_report_-_april_2016_-_final.pdf.
The Keeping Communities Policy document requires fire services to have an initial response capability in place which is linked to the assessed Area Risk Category. Arising from the work of the External Validation Group mandated by the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management which prepared the “Local Delivery – National Consistency” report referred to above, I am satisfied that the fire services provided in Ireland are meeting the appropriate standards.
The Area Risk Categorisation process uses nine specific criteria, including 3 years of actual fire data, and it was not considered necessary or appropriate for the area risk categorisation process to look at fire safety in individual buildings. For individual buildings, fire services, based on a prioritisation by local fire station officers, undertake “Pre-Incident Planning” in relation to what they perceive as the major fire risk buildings within their fire station areas.
The fire in Grenfell Tower occurred in June 2017, a number of years after the initial area risk categorisation process had been completed by fire authorities. In this context, the connection suggested in the Question between the cause of the fire in Grenfell Tower (an individual building) and the area risk categorisation process undertaken by fire authorities (an area based process) is unclear.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy, my Department asked fire authorities to identify buildings of more than six stories or more than 18m in height in their functional areas. Among these medium to high rise buildings, fire authorities were asked to identify those buildings with cladding and to consider if the use of the power under section 18(6) of the Fire Service Acts 1981 and 2003, to require the person having control over the building to carry out a fire safety assessment of the building, including the cladding, was warranted.
In December 2017, my Department issued a guidance note "Fire Safety Guidance Note 01 of 2017 Assessing Existing Cladding Systems in Buildings of More than Six Storeys, or More than 18m in Height". The guidance note was circulated to fire authorities and placed on my Department’s website as a support for those undertaking assessments of cladding in existing medium to high rise buildings. The guidance note includes consideration of the components of the cladding system, including insulation and cladding materials and is available at:http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/fire_safety_guidance_note_01_of_2017.pdf.
