Inspectors from the HSE’s Investigations and Building Safety divisions visited Spectrum House in Dagenham yesterday where a fire tore through the building earlier this week during cladding removal work.
The HSE is working alongside London Fire Brigade investigators to determine what caused the blaze on Monday morning at the six-storey building.
The building was shrouded in scaffolding to allow remedial work to the top two floors where non-compliant cladding was being replaced.
As the investigation got underway a spokeswoman for residents claimed that the building’s fire alarms failed to go off and the fire escape route for tenants was padlocked shut.
HSE said: “HSE continue to provide support to the emergency services and are working closely with colleagues in the London Fire Brigade (LFB) to progress our respective investigations and determine the areas that HSE will focus on within its remit under the Building Safety Act, 2022 and the Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974.
“The building involved in the fire was a working site undergoing remediation and therefore a joint investigation team within HSE will work closely with the LFB, the Police and other parties including the local authority.”
It added areas for investigation include:
how the cladding remediation works were organised and undertaken, and whether this was a factor in the fire
whether the Principal Accountable Person for the building had discharged their duties under Part 4 of the Building Safety Act in relation to spread of fire.
