Following an inspection by the local fire brigade, a care home in the south London district of Addiscombe has been found to have breached fire safety regulations.
London Fire Brigade (LFB) inspected the Iyanala Residential Home in September 2013, and published the results of the inspection recently. The home was found to have committed nine offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, which included:
• Failure to provide staff members with adequate fire safety training
• Failure to provide suitable warning of a fire – i.e. with fire detection systems such as some detectors and fire alarms
• Failure to maintain fire safety equipment in good working order
The owner of the home, Kehinde Lipede, was reportedly given an official enforcement notice by the fire brigade, requiring urgent improvements to be made. These improvements must be made by Christmas 2013, or the facility could be shut down.
Speaking to the local newspaper about the breaches, Ms Lipede said:
“I’ve basically just gone ahead and done everything, so whether I agree with what they’ve said or not is irrelevant. Anything that saves lives is a good thing.
“I wouldn’t necessarily take it as a damning report. Any issue that is flagged up can only be a positive thing in terms of learning from it.”
