Andrew Dismore

A cabin used by the Waking Watch on the Pulse development in Colindale caught fire on the night of Wednesday 10^th March. The Cabin was used by fire marshals working for Notting Hill Genesis Housing Association to patrol the estate for fire safety.

Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden Andrew Dismore, who is chair of the London Assembly Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee said:

‘There are very serious questions to be asked about this incident – how can a container used for fire safety be so easily flammable? I have been pressuring the Government to establish a proper plan to remediate dangerous cladding, so that waking watches can be done away with. They are extremely expensive, and as we see here, we need assurances that the fire marshals are capable of doing their job properly, given what has happened to their own accommodation.’

London Assembly candidate Anne Clarke said:

‘We are taking this incident seriously and are writing to the London Fire Brigade to ensure that this waking watch is operating properly, and whether it is necessary for this development. I am assisting several different developments who all have the same cladding issues, and the lack of attention from the Government to deal with the problem is causing extreme hardship. It is disappointing that there was nothing announced in the recent budget to help, when such help is urgently needed.’

Colindale Councillor Nagus Narenthira added:

‘We will be contacting Notting Hill Genesis to ask them to expedite working on fire safety. There is the financial cost of waking watches, but also the impact on people who cannot sell and move out, and those who live with anxiety about the safety of their homes.’

ENDS

Notes:

• Andrew Dismore is the Labour London Assembly Member for Barnet and Camden. Cllr Anne Clarke is the Labour candidate for Barnet and Camden in the London Elections on 6^th May and Cllr Nagus Narenthira is a Labour Councillor for Colindale.