A TASK FORCE which was set up assess fire safety in Ireland following the Grenfell Tower blaze in London has found such an event could not happen here.
Today, Cabinet ministers were briefed on the group’s report, Fire Safety in Ireland, which states “the circumstances of Grenfell do not appear to be present in Ireland”.
The task force, which was coordinated by the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management, was set up by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy last June in which 71 people died.
The report looked at fire safety in social housing and in medium to high-rise buildings.
While the work of the task force is still ongoing, their initial findings rule out any such incident occurring in Ireland.
When announcing the setting up of the group, Murphy said:
“We must learn the lessons and take appropriate and balanced action to minimise the possibility of a large-scale fire occurring in Ireland.”
In June 2017, the minister also published a guide on undertaking fire safety assessments and a renewed focus on the preparedness of local authorities for a large-scale emergency.
Murphy also met with local authority chief fire officers to review their current plans for fire safety initiatives.
The task force’s membership was drawn from a cross-section of specialists. In addition to planners, regulators, architects and social housing experts, there were also representatives from private sector consultancies, chief fire officers, a staff association and both local and national government.
The task force met on 12 occasions between July 2017 and April 2018.
With reporting by Hayley Halpin.
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