News
Protecting disabled people from fire
It’s almost four years since the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower in London. The fire claimed the lives of 72 people, half of whom were disabled people or children and 85% of whom were from minority ethnic backgrounds.
It’s shocking to think that despite this devastating fire, the government has failed to implement the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s recommendations made in October 2019 on Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans for disabled residents who can’t self-evacuate in the event of fire.
We’ve joined with Disability Rights UK, Grenfell Next of Kin and the Leaseholders Disability Action Group, alongside other disability, access and housing organisations, in signing an open statement that calls on the government to take urgent action to protect disabled people from fire. The statement urges the government:
- To protect the lives of disabled people in the event of fire
- To prevent disabled leaseholders being forced to leave adapted homes
- To ensure that disabled leaseholders are not impacted by the costs of remedial safety works.
The open statement was shared with the secretary of state for the Home Office, Priti Patel and the secretary of state for housing and local government, Robert Jenrick.