Fire service 'limited' to protect heritage sites

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) does not have enough resources to adequately assess and protect London's heritage sites from future blazes, City Hall has been told.

Last year, more than 800 fire incidents happened in or within 50ft (15m) of a heritage site, which generally do not meet the requirements of current fire safety regulations.

In recent years, the capital has seen fires at Somerset House in 2024, Grade II* listed St Mark's church in St John's Wood in 2023 and Battersea Arts Centre in 2015.

The LFB said prevention was the "best way to protect London's historic and culturally significant buildings" and said fire protection was a "shared responsibility".

The London Assembly Fire Committee heard on 21 October that it was "not possible" for the brigade to assess every heritage building across the capital, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Professor José Torero, head of department of civil, environmental and geomatic engineering at University College London (UCL), said: "They are trying the best they can, but the reality is also that the level of complexity and uniqueness of these buildings it is most likely going to escape their level of expertise.

"You are talking about buildings like the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Abbey.

"It is not possible that they can provide this service with the resources that they have," said Torero, who is also a fire safety engineer.

"Pretending that a small group within the LFB, with the modest capacity they have to elevate their training, can handle a problem of that nature, is like trying to cover the sun with your hands."

Torero said that most of the time, heritage buildings were treated "like conventional buildings", with decisions made without considering how to refurbish and retrofit the building safely.

He added: "Generally, we don't necessarily identify the weak points that can result in a disaster."

Current guidance from the LFB and fire heritage experts advises that protecting people from fire while preserving a building's historic character requires "a balanced approach, taking account of both fire safety and heritage conservation."

Charles Harris, national fire adviser at Historic England, suggested to the committee that the LFB's limited resources meant that it was looking at buildings which would present a risk to life if there was a fire, such as care homes and hospitals.

An LFB spokesperson said protecting heritage buildings was a shared responsibility among building owners, premises managers, councils and fire brigades.

They said: "Through our dedicated heritage work, fire safety officers engage with those responsible for historic buildings to promote effective fire safety measures, share specialist guidance and encourage robust emergency and salvage planning.

"We also carry out familiarisation visits and salvage exercises at heritage sites to ensure firefighters are prepared to respond effectively should an incident occur.

"We welcome any measures that help strengthen the protection of these important buildings for future generations."

The London Assembly Fire Committee has launched a call for evidence as part of its investigation into fire risk management in London's heritage buildings.

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