In the early hours of Wednesday morning a fire broke out in South Lodge, a block of flats in affluent St. John’s Wood, London managed by Parkgate Aspen. Eight fire engines and over 40 firefighters attended the blaze, which took approximately 2 hours to get under control.
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The London Fire Brigade explained that ten people, including two children, were rescued and approximately 150 people were evacuated from the building. Two adults and two children had to be rescued by ladder from the roof of the seven-storey block and another six adults were led to safety from the building by fire crews wearing breathing apparatus.
Danny Weil, property manager for the building said: “In one sense, this fire could not have come at a worse time. Today was the final day of snagging for the building, as we have just completed a £750,000 internal refurbishment program. Fortunately, however, this also meant that all the fire safety measures in the building were fully up to date including an integrated fire alarm system, smoke alarms in the common parts and emergency lighting.”
South Lodge had purchased the freehold of the building using the enfranchisement process about two years ago. After taking control of the building, Parkgate Aspen were appointed as managing agents and according to Weil, they have “...literally transformed the building”.
The cause of the fire is currently been investigated but is thought to have started in a fridge freezer in a rented flat on the third floor of the building. The fire has badly damaged some of the other flats in the building, including the flat above and the flat below which has been flooded. The common parts have also suffered severe smoke and water damage..
The flat in which the fire is thought to have started is a rented flat. The tenant of the flat alerted the night porter, Eric Aidooklin, when she saw flames. Weil describes the night porter has been hailed as “...a hero” by residents and praised him for his quick thinking as he contacted the fire brigade and assisted evacuating residents including carrying one elderly man from the block. He was later assisted by the head porter who arrived on site.
“At Parkgate Aspen, we take fire safety in the blocks we manage very seriously. In fact, every quarter we run our own training courses for all of our porterage staff using a dedicated instructor. This investment in staff training has clearly paid off, as the night porter was able to tell fire officers of his fire training certificate from these courses. However, although you can study hundreds of ringbinders and manuals on fire safety, it is only when something like this actually happens do you really learn from the experience”, said Weil.
Looking at the issue of fire safety in blocks more generally, Weil said he believed more powers should be given to property managers.
“At the moment, we have no control over the fire precautions in individual flats. As property managers, we should be allowed to install smoke alarms within the flats themselves and pay for them as a service charge item. As the fire officer pointed out to me, it takes time for the smoke from a flat fire to seep under the door and trigger the alarms in the common parts. The property management industry needs to recognise the benefits of smoke alarms in individual flats for the block as a whole.”
