The Highest Fire Ladder In London Reaches 10 Floors
Safety inspections are being carried out in highrise tower blocks all over London after six people were killed in a blaze in the 12-storey Lakanal House, on Camberwell’s (SE5) Sceaux Gardens Estate last Friday.
Retired architect Harley Sherlock, who has worked on social housing in Islington, comments the situation in Islington Gazette:
“I think these blocks are dangerous. 19 storeys is too high to have just one staircase. A fire ladder can’t reach that far. Any block which is higher than a fire ladder can reach should have two staircases.”
In London, the highest a fire ladder can reach is 10 floors.
A few examples of how many buildings are at risk:
In Islington N1, there are 78 blocks with 7 or more storeys. And 51 of them only have a single staircase. They include the 19-storey Hind, Talbot, Citizen and Lillingston House towers, on the Harvist Estate, off Hornsey Road, Holloway, and the 17-storey Ilex House, off Crouch Hill.
Haringey has 47 council blocks with six or more storeys.
