Lambeth Tall Building Kitchen Fire Sprinkler Activation

 Lambeth Tall Building Kitchen Fire Sprinkler Activation

• Fire Recue Service; London Fire Brigade (LFB)
• Incident; Kitchen apartment fire
• When; 9 August 2023
• Time of call; 18:17
• Where, Lambeth, London
• Type of Premises; Purpose Built Flats/Maisonettes – 10 or more storeys.
• Automatic fire suppression System; Residential Sprinkler System

LFB have reported the above-mentioned incident resulting in the activation of the premises residential sprinkler system.

The Premises

• Consists of a 32-storey hybrid building waterfront development completed August 2019, providing a mixture of residential apartments with recessed balconies, winter gardens and commercial units.

Incident

• At 18:17, LFB mobilised fire appliances from Lambeth, Dockhead, Old Kent Road and Shoreditch fire stations to a fire on the seventh floor
• On arrival operational crews identified a kitchen fire within a three roomed apartment involving a deep fat fryer/chip pan which had been contained controlled to the compartment of origin by the activation of two sprinkler heads.
• Total fire damage up to 51-100 sqm
• Firefighting media Main branch/jet
• The fire was under control by 18:46
• There was no report of any injuries.

Fire Safety

• The residential levels of the building are fully sprinkler protected with concealed heads.
• Mains wired fire detection system within the dwellings.
• Wet main

Benefits of the Residential Sprinkler System 

• Internal fire spread within the apartment contained/controlled, preventing fire spread to the common ways.
• Rapidly reducing the rate of production of heat and smoke
• Integrity of the means of escape, maintained.
• Flash over prevented.
• Allowing firefighters time, security to implement a tactical fire plan.

This incident once again demonstrates the clear benefits of installing a residential sprinkler system for a high-rise residential building

When you compare this incident to the high-rise fire at New Providence Wharf involving an electrical consumer unit reported by LFB on the 7^th May 2021 where sprinklers were not fitted the outcome was far different

• Location; Tower Hamlets
• Purpose group: Purpose built flat, 10 or more storeys, circa 2005
• Use of property; Residential flat
• Time of call; 08:54
• Incident; Fire
• Location of Incident.

1. Flat on the eighth floor.
2. Storage cupboard which contained the electrical consumer unit

• Cause of the fire; electrical fault potentially relating to a timer switch within the consumer unit 

Summary

• Fire spread to the exterior of the building affecting balconies directly above on the 9th, 10th and 11^th floor.
• ACM cladding on 8th and 9th floors involved.
• Flat of origin 80% damaged by fire
• 67 residents’ self-evacuated prior to arrival of the FRS
• Incident escalated toa 20 pump fire
• Major incident declared mass evacuation of the block implemented.
• Fire fighters committed wearing Breathing Apparatus
• Firefighting resources; 6 jets, one aerial monitor, Drone team
• 22 smoke hoods used to rescue residents.
• LFB rescues 34 residents.

Sprinkler System

• The most obvious solution would have been the installation of a sprinkler system.
• As the fire started within the flat and spread to the exterior of the building spreading vertically effecting balconies above.
• The fire would have been contained/controlled or even extinguished before the arrival of firefighters.
• Delaying or preventing the fire to spread from compartment of origin.

Links—

• British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association, Sprinkler Saves Annual Review 2022/23
• Fire Sprinklers Greater London Review 2018-2021
• LFB Press release
• LFB New Providence Whalf report
• Sprinkler Saves News Letter Number 2