30 October 2019

This report aims to understand what happened on the night of the 14 June in the Grenfell Tower: how the fire started, how it escaped from the flat where it began and how it spread across the whole building.

A key conclusion at this stage is that the façade failed to comply with building regulations.

Phase 2 of the Inquiry is focusing on the outstanding issues and hearings are expected to begin in early 2020, following which the final report will be written and subsequently published.

All information

31st October 2019

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31^st October 2019 - For its very first edition, the European Fire Safety Week will gather, from the 18^th to 21^st November 2019, a myriad of activities related to fire safety. Under the umbrella of the European Fire Safety Alliance, a large range of stakeholders are organizing an international congress, education seminars, conferences and meetings with Members of the European Parliament. The European Fire Safety Week will start with the Award Ceremony and the launch of an Exhibition in the European Parliament.

Fire Safety touches all European citizens. 5,000 people die because of fire each year. Many more persons are injured. The European Fire Safety Alliance initiates the European Fire Safety Week to raise awareness among policy-makers and stakeholders on this issue.

"We believe that most of the European fire victims in the home are preventable! Many individuals, industry and organisations from the professional fire sector will share creative, pragmatic and successful initiatives to reduce fire risk during this first European Fire Safety Week. This first step to combine knowledge and best practices will lead to a European approach that will save lives.”

Elie van Strien, Chair of the European Fire Safety Alliance

The European Fire Safety Week will start with the 12^th International Congress Fire Safety & Science in Arnhem, followed by a large meeting of European Fire Officers associations in Copenhagen. From the 18^th to the 21^st, 4 days of high-level conferences will take place in Brussels. Days are shaped by 4 main themes: Community Fire Safety, Building Fire Safety, Electrical Safety & Energy Transition, Furniture Fire Safety & Smoke Spread in residential buildings. In parallel in Antwerp, the International Safety & Education Seminar will gather to exchange experiences concerning fire safety awareness. Themes like research, focus on target audiences, communication, innovation and behavioural change including overseas experiences will be presented and discussed.

The outcome of the European Fire Safety week will be consolidated into a report that will pave the way for the next two years. This major piece of work will be presented to the European Parliament in March 2020 to secure further progress in Fire Safety. The European Fire Safety Week and the report to be issued in March 2020 will contribute to the Fire Information Exchange Platform, initiated by the European Commission in 2017.

Partners of the Week:

Federation of the European Union Fire Officers Associations (FEU) - Dutch Fire Service Academy (IFV) - Dutch Burns Foundation - European Fire Safety Alliance - Organisation for Burns Scar Aftercare and Research (OSCARE) -  Antwerp Fire Service - Flame Retardants Europe (FRE) - Modern Building Alliance (MBA) - Europacable - European Aluminium - Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Protection (COgDEM) - European Copper Institute - European Fire Sprinkler Network - European Association of Electrical Contractors (AIE) - International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users (Fisuel) - European Committee of Electrical Installation Equipment Manufacturers (CECAPI).

Additional information: www.firesafetyweek.eu

About EuroFSA:
The European Fire Safety Alliance (EuroFSA) shares national knowledge and innovations on international level. We form an independent alliance of fire professionals and preventions specialists that does not support any individual fire safety product, technology or commercial organization. EuroFSA is an authority on fire risk, based on a strong statistical evidence. We do research, support and encourage research, studies and reports that highlight the dangers from fire in the home and support their widespread availability. We focus on sharing knowledge and we deliver strong scientific relevant consistent messages on home fire safety.
www.europeanfiresafetyalliance.org

Press Contact:

Elie Van Strien

Phone number +31 62 24 36 934

Email address Evanstrien@eurofsa.org

8th October 2019

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TUESDAY 8^th OCTOBER – Today, in the European Parliament, the Modern Building Alliance, together with MEP Theresa Griffin (S&D, UK) and MEP Pernille Weiss (EPP, DK), organised a roundtable discussion on fire safety in buildings. Seven members of the European Parliament, the European Commission (DG GROW - DG JUST) and key stakeholders representing fire services, academics and industries discussed the role and actions of the EU in this area. This event gives the preamble of the discussions that will take place during the very first European Fire Safety Week organised by the European Fire Safety Alliance from the 18^th to the 21^st November 2019.

Based on the 7 layers of fire safety in buildings presented in the EU Fire Safety Guide[1], discussions acknowledged that any fire safety strategy should holistically consider the role of prevention, detection, early suppression, evacuation, compartmentation, structural safety and fire-fighting. It is estimated that, in Europe, an amount of 5000 people a year are killed due to fires. As most fire fatalities happen in residential fires and are preventable, the EU has a key role to play, including collecting comparable data, supporting research and prevention, and ensuring product safety.

“Fire Safety touches all European citizens. Therefore, it is important that we share knowledge and best practice across the EU. Even if fire safety is a national competence, I want all Europeans from children to elderly to learn how they have to behave to avoid any fire. This is something in which the European Union has a key role to play.”

MEP Pernille Weiss, host of the event, EPP, Denmark

“ Improving the awareness on fire safety by organising a roundtable is very positive as it gives the opportunity for all backgrounds to listen to each other and draft action plans. It is imperative that regulators, scientists, fire services and industry collaborate to improve fire safety for the citizen in Europe That’s why we initiated the European Fire Safety Week.”

Elie Van Strien, Chairman of the European Fire Safety Alliance

“Two years after the launch of the Fire Information Exchange Platform (FIEP) by the European Commission, we see that the interest and the ambition of the FIEP have slowed down. We are fully committed to play our part and support the FIEP, which is the right platform to look at fire safety holistically, beyond construction products. The tool is on the table, financial means unlocked with the pilot project initiated by the European Parliament in 2019; let’s make it work and become an essential tool for national ministries that want to improve fire safety in buildings.”

Quentin de Hults, Executive Chair of the Modern Building Alliance

The European Commission is currently running initiatives to address fire safety in buildings. The Fire Information Exchange Platform (FIEP) aims to enhance knowledge and share best practices between Members States. At the end of 2018, the Parliament voted for a pilot project proposal submitted by 24 MEPs and by the Industry (ITRE) Committee asking the European Commission to address the gap on fire statistics and support pan-European fire safety efforts. Recently, the European Commission also launched a tender for the finalisation of an EU test method for fire safety of facades.

More information is available concerning the FIEP, the pilot project and the European Fire Safety Week.

Press Contact:

Quentin de Hults, Executive Chair
@: quentin@modernbuildingalliance.eu

t: +32 486 03 29 21

  About the Modern Building Alliance

 We are an alliance of trade associations and companies representing the plastics industry in the construction sector. Plastics are increasingly used in building and construction applications to make our buildings more sustainable, from window frames and durable pipes to state-of-the-art insulation solutions. An essential pillar of our cause is the ambition for greater fire safety across the construction industry. It is a key driver of our product design and manufacturing: improving the fire safety in buildings is a joint responsibility of the whole value chain involved in building and construction. That’s why, by engaging with policy makers and stakeholders, we are committed to supporting the EU in ensuring safe and sustainable construction for people across Europe.

@ModernBuildEU

modern-building-alliance

www.modernbuildingalliance.eu

[1] EU Fire Safety Guide, July 2019, Modern Building Alliance available on https://www.modernbuildingalliance.eu/EU-fire-safety-guide