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THE government must urgently review its “stay put” strategy after the Grenfell Tower disaster, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) has warned.
Brigade commissioner Dany Cotton also blasted what she called “20 years of neglect in relation to fire safety” by successive administrations.
She demanded legal action to change building regulations and a review of fire safety in residential blocks.
Sprinklers for every block of flats and a complete ban on combustible cladding were essential, according to the top firefighter.
Ms Cotton said: “I want the public, and especially the Grenfell Tower community, to know everything we are doing to learn from that night and to prevent a tragedy like this from ever happening again.
“It was the single largest residential building fire London Fire Brigade has ever fought and the building should have protected the people that lived there in the way it was supposed to.”
Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said that he was “glad” the LFB had made the call, but added: “Central government’s neglect of fire safety does not just go back 20 years — every government from Thatcher onwards has wreaked untold damage on the UK fire and rescue service.”
Mr Wrack said that the “catastrophic” damage at Grenfell, where 72 people were killed, was down to the government’s “utter failure” to develop a national fire policy.
He added: “Like all brigades, LFB was left completely exposed by decades of failed government policy.
“However, LFB and its political masters, including the current Mayor of London and his predecessor Boris Johnson, must also take their share of responsibility.”