Tower Block Safety Investigation Calls After Blaze Claims Six Lives

Calls have been made for a public inquiry into the safety of high-rise tower blocks, after a blaze killed six people in south London.

Politicians called for all tower blocks across the country to be investigated for safety, after it was found the tower-block in Camberwell had caught fire numerous times.

Three women and three children died in Friday's fire, which is thought to have started in a flat on the ninth floor.

Police forensic officers and fire investigators are still searching Lakanal House to discover the cause of the fire and find out why it spread so quickly.

Local Labour councillor confirmed he would be writing to the government to demand an inquiry into the cause of the blaze.

He said: "We need to look not only at the cause of this tragedy and establish what is needed to prevent it reoccurring, but it also becomes a larger national issue because this is not the only block like this in the country.

"There are thousands of others and this is an issue of national significance."

London's mayor Boris Johnson, thanked fire crews at Peckham fire station, who were among 100 who fought the fire, saying it had been an "horrendous experience" for them, adding that they had done a "very, very good job in very, very hard circumstances".

He said: "We will be looking at safety and why there were six casualties.

"The issue of building design is uppermost in people's minds.

"People don't understand what the safety routes are and that is something we need to get across.

"I hope very much that we are able to learn some lessons from it and to see what we can do to make these kind of flats safer."

Helen Udoaka, 34, and her three-week-old daughter Michelle died in the fire in the 12-storey block.

Dayana Francisquini, 26, her three-year-old son Filipe, her daughter - who has been named in media reports as six-year-old Thais - and Catherine Hickman, 31, also lost their lives.

(JM/CD)