LONDON | September 27, 2025
Safety experts and officials are calling for urgent reforms to protect residents of high-rise buildings, citing persistent risks from combustible cladding, inadequate sprinkler systems, and unclear evacuation policies.
The call follows major inquiries into high-rise fires, including the Grenfell Tower tragedy, which exposed serious flaws in building materials, oversight, and emergency planning.
Despite new legislation and remediation programs, thousands of apartments remain clad in unsafe materials, prompting warnings that progress has been too slow.
Fire-safety bodies highlight that automatic sprinklers can cut civilian fire death rates by up to 90 percent in affected buildings, yet installation remains patchy in older towers.
Campaigners are urging governments to accelerate retrofitting, especially in densely populated urban areas.
Experts also argue that evacuation strategies must be reassessed.
Traditional “stay-put” guidance has been shown to fail when fire spreads rapidly, leading to calls for clearer building-specific evacuation plans and stronger resident communication.
Regulators and lawmakers are pressing for tougher accountability measures for developers and manufacturers involved in unsafe construction practices.
They stress that without swifter remediation and stricter enforcement, residents will remain exposed to unacceptable risks.
