Over 70 representatives from different faith groups in Southwark and Lewisham learnt about fire safety in buildings used as places of worship, at a seminar hosted by the London Fire Brigade and Southwark Multi-Faith Forum, on Saturday 21 July at Southwark Town Hall.
The Brigade is working with different faith groups to raise awareness of the safety risks and implications of holding meetings and gatherings of large numbers of people in buildings that were not built for that purpose. This can present a fire safety risk to the people attending if a proper risk assessment has not been carried out to cover the change of use of the building.
Valerie Shawcross, Chair of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority said: “It’s vitally important that the organisers and leaders of faith groups know how they can make sure the buildings they are using as places of worship are safe from the risk of fire. This first seminar is the beginning of a much wider campaign to engage with faith groups across London and raise greater awareness of fire safety and how our fire safety inspectors can help.
London Fire Brigade has sole responsibility for enforcing fire safety legislation across London. This means that people responsible for buildings could be prosecuted if the building does not have suitable fire safety measures in place for the number of people who are using it. Anyone who attends faith group meetings in Southwark or Lewisham who would like more information about fire safety can contact their local Fire Brigade borough team.
Note to editors:
· Southwark borough team can be contacted on 020 7587 4975
· Lewisham borough team can be contacted on 020 7587 2500
· London Fire Brigade and Southwark Multi-Faith Forum hosted the event
Members of the media can obtain further information from the press office on:
telephone number: 020 8536 5922
email: press@london-fire.gov.uk
