Although I normally find your leader page of great interest, I must admit to some disappointment in the choice of words regarding the fire at Camberwell

You stated that: “In Scotland, every refurbishment must comply with the latest fire regulations. To follow its example would be hugely expensive in England, but we ought to require smoke alarms at the very least.”

I wondered how you concluded that it would be “hugely expensive” to comply with existing fire safety legislation? What additional costs do you have in mind?

Regulation 16B requires that fire safety information is passed on to the “responsible person[s]”. Someone is accountable for providing and using this information. This is not an optional matter, as implied. The legislation already exists as Regulatory Reform (Fire safety) Order 2005. We need to comply or face the consequences.

Bill Parlor, Bill Parlor Consulting

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