Fires burning in several parts of the UK last week spread in the same way as those that led to the Great London Fire and would have been much worse with stronger winds, a fire safety expert said.
Fires in Wennington, Uxbridge and Erith destroyed 41 properties last Tuesday as temperatures topped 40C, making it the hottest day in UK history and fire services had their busiest day since the Second World War.
Guillermo Raine, professor of fire science at Imperial College London, said strong winds played a major factor in the spread of the 1666 fire, which lasted four days and ended when soldiers blew up houses to create firebreaks, and the strong east wind died down.
“While it blew, [great fire of London] was completely unstoppable,” he said. “So let’s put it this way. Tuesday could have been even worse if there was more wind.” Gusts reached 14 mph last week, just above average.
“Obviously the London of today is much safer than the London of 1666. But this was a town fire where the fire spread from one home to another, aided by the vegetation. It happened in 1666. It happened on Tuesday.
After the fire of 1666, London’s mostly wooden houses and churches were rebuilt in stone, and the changing climate means that builders, architects and the public must also change their approach to fire safety now, Raine and other experts said.
Most fires are started by humans, usually accidentally, through sky lanterns or from barbecues or campfires that are thought to have been extinguished but continue to smolder.
Anyone with a garden should be aware of how fire can spread to their home, according to Rein. A compost fire can spread to a wooden fence, which can then ignite an overhanging tree and in turn to the roof of a house.
The Great Fire of London depicted in a Dutch School painting. Photo: Imagno/Getty Images
Windblown embers are also dangerous – the 1666 fire spread to different areas as embers fell on other houses.
“The tiles are extremely fire resistant,” Rein said. “But if they are not well maintained then the embers can fall through a hole and the roof structure is made of timber.”
Paul Bussey, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects’ fire expert advisory group, said: “Our legislation does not cover anything about external fires spreading from one building to another. We’re not used to it. But we really need to start thinking about it.
“When you’re dealing with a zero-carbon economy where we’re trying to use more timber and less concrete, it’s a tough question.”
Green living walls, such as the one at the ExCeL building in London, can be considered a vector for fire spread, he added. “We need to get to a stage where we can reconcile all these conflicting issues in a proportionate way.”
The Bushfire Building Council of Australia released designs last April for a “disaster-resilient house” called the Fortis, with the aim of allowing Australians in areas prone to bushfires, cyclones or floods to evacuate but return to find home you are intact.
Kate Cotter, the body’s chief executive, said the designs included an aerodynamic roof to withstand cyclones and metal mesh screens to protect the windows from glare and heat. Retrofitting existing homes is also an option depending on the type of building, she added.
“Ninety percent of our homes are not resilient to local disaster risks,” Cotter said. “The classic British house has many strengths – brickwork and stone are strong and durable. What is most important is the detailing, looking at where we have chimneys, vents, exhausts, exhaust fans and sealing them off with mesh screens so embers can’t get in.
“People should definitely look at tempered glass – double glazing is usually not fire resistant, but tempered glass is.”
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