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Grenfell fire risk assessor had “misleading” qualifications and “copied” other building reports into assessments

31/5/2021

1 Comment

 
It has emerged that the fire risk assessor hired to check the safety of Grenfell Tower between 2009 and 2016 had “misleading” qualifications in his title and “cut and pasted assessments” from reports on other buildings he checked into Grenfell assessments. 

Carl Stokes, a former firefighter turned fire risk assessor claimed he was ‘fire eng (FPA)’, despite no such qualification existing, as well as an ‘IFE assessor/auditor’, even though he was not a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers. Also included were ‘NEBOSH’, ‘FIA BS5839 system designer’ and ‘competent engineer BS 5266’ – but agreed when responding to the Inquiry that such post-nominals aren’t recognised by any professional body, but were simply courses he had attended.

Colin Todd, a Fire Engineer and Expert Witness – who spoke last year during FIREX Digital Week – commented that Mr Stokes use of such letters after his name would “significantly mislead clients and potential clients as to his qualifications, regardless of his level of competence”. Stokes replied he did not understand the use of post-nominals.

As part of the fire risk assessment his job involved checking vital fire safety measures in communal areas, such as door closures, firefighting equipment and evacuation routes, though was not tasked with checking the external cladding system or inside individual flats. Several of these areas were, however, found to be not working or ineffective at the time of the fire.

The Inquiry also heard that Mr Stokes “cut-and-pasted assessments about the fire safety of the tower from reports on other buildings he had carried out”, such as reporting the Tower had balconies and pigeon netting, which was incorrect, while his claimed “three years of experience” turned out to be 15 months.
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Mr Stokes is no longer working as a fire risk assessor.
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Technician Institute of Fire Engineers:  
Membership No. 00056956
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Registration No. 157
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Membership No. 00029982
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Registration No. 60

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1 Comment
cladding fire risk assessment link
3/8/2022 04:34:48 am

The third stage of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) enquiry into the use of combustible cladding on buildings has recently come to an end as of the 3rd of May 2021.

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    Bryn Bashford

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