14 The Sunday Times February 13, 2022
NEWS
becoming a giant chimney. Flammable
balconies and the block’s timber-frame
structure also contributed.
The findings, by the Building Research
Establishment (BRE), confirm reports by
the LFB, and by the forensic architects
Probyn Miers for Richmond House’s
owner, the housing association Metropol-
itan Thames Valley (MTVH), which con-
cluded that the cavity barriers were “too
small” or “missing completely”. Thecladding, made of non-flammable
cement fibre, did not spread the fire.
Berkeley, the developer that built the
homes, denies liability.
The story of Richmond House goes to
the heart of why The Sunday Times has
been campaigning for better building
safety since the Grenfell disaster in 2017,
when 72 people were killed.
The scandal demonstrates how hard it
is to pursue the companies that profitedfrom building these homes, despite the
government’s threats to make them pay.
Two and a half years later the former
residents of Richmond House are still in
temporary homes, many still suffer
nightmares and their lives remain on
hold. Work to rebuild the block has not
started, fire-safety repairs to many of the
622 other homes on the estate, known as
the Hamptons, are incomplete and
claims for compensation have ground toa halt. The Richmond House families,
who typically lived in two-bedroom flats,
lost almost all their possessions, worth
£30,000 to £50,000 each. But the real
cost to them is incalculable.
Russell Tuahene, 36, a social worker,
received an LFB commendation for
warning neighbours, knocking so hard
on every door that he permanently dam-
aged his knuckles. The trauma meant
that he lost his job. He gets panic attacks
in tight spaces such as trains. His wife,
Sophie, 35, said: “I remember howling as
I watched him run up to the top of the
building.” Their cat, Chica, was killed.
Now expecting their first child, Sophie
fears leaving the baby in a separate room.
The Mikkelsens, who had twins in
2020, cannot move back to their two-
bedroom flat once it is rebuilt and will be
unable to buy a bigger home nearby.
“We’re both 40 soon and I just can’t see
us ever owning a home,” Mikkelsen said.
Geeta Nanda — chief executive of
MTVH — told Times Radio last week: “It’s
a complicated matter with many differ-
ent parties — insurers, ourselves and
Berkeley. But it is being rebuilt, people
have been rehoused and they will be
moving back. Some have chosen not to
come back and have moved out and are
being able to move on with their lives.”
MTVH says its priority is rebuilding
Richmond House and rectifying defects
at other properties across the Hamptons.
Six of the block’s families have accepted
MTVH’s offers to buy back their flats.
Three months after the fire Tony
Pidgley, who founded Berkeley, attended
a meeting with residents and was
recorded apologising. He said: “It is our
fault ... We did miss that fire stop, and
I’m sorry, and we will be taking responsi-
bility.” When a resident asked if that
included compensation, he said: “Yes.”
However, after Pidgley’s death in
2020, Berkeley told residents that its
founder’s apology did not legally amount
to an admission of liability. It said that it
did not start the fire and would not pay
damages without evidence that it was lia-
ble, blaming delays in compensation on
the legal strategy of residents’ lawyers.
Berkeley has announced £3 billion in
pre-tax profits since the Grenfell fire.
Two executives, Rob Perrins and Pidgley,
before his death, pocketed £285 million
in dividends, share sales and pay since
the tragedy. Berkeley declined to com-
ment on the payouts.
The Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities said: “Devel-
opers must take responsibility for unsafe
buildings — the residents of Richmond
House suffered a huge amount of distress
for the shoddy work done on their
homes.”
Berkeley said: “The cause of the fire
was never identified but the building
‘performed’ as it was supposed to, allow-
ing everyone to get out safely.” It said
compensation had been paid and resi-
dents had been able to sell their flats to
the owner, MTVH. Residents say Berkeley
has paid each household £3,000, plus a
contribution towards legal fees.
“I think about the fire all the time. It
will never leave us,” said Mikkelsen.I can’t
see us
owning
a home
Danielle Mikkelsen was forced to flee
barefoot with her eight-month-old baby
and 12-year-old son when fire engulfed
their block of flats in Worcester Park,
southwest London.
“It was splintering and crackling”,
recalls Mikkelsen, 39, a teacher. “The
whole side of the building was on fire.”
She and her husband, Darren, were
among 60 residents who lost everything
after the blaze was discovered shortly
before 1.30am on September 9, 2019.
The clothes that they were wearing
were all that the family escaped with. The
only possessions she was able to retrieve
from the ashes were her wedding and
engagement rings.
Firefighters could not save the build-
ing, Richmond House. The 23 flats were
destroyed “in approximately 11 minutes
once the fire had taken hold”, Andy Roe,
commissioner of the London Fire Bri-
gade (LFB), told a London assembly com-
mittee. The damage was so extensive that
the exact cause of the fire could not be
established.
Now a government investigation for
the housing ministry reveals that “poor
workmanship through poorly fitted cav-
ity barriers” enabled “unresisted fire
spread” through the facade and roof.
When built correctly and to regulation,
barriers fill the cavity inside the external
wall at regular intervals to stop the gapShoddy work helped inferno sweep through flats
Two years after families
lost their homes to a fire,
an inquiry shows poor
construction, not
cladding, played a part
Martina Lees Senior Property Writer Darren and
Danielle
Mikkelsen and
their two sons,
far left, were left
with just the
clothes they were
wearing when
they fled the
blazeLONDON FIRE BRIGADE/PA WIRE; GARETH PHILLIPS FOR THE SUNDAY TIMESNEWS
IN BRIEF
The comedian Ed Byrne has
paid tribute to his younger
brother Paul, a comedy
director who has died aged- He was diagnosed with
Hodgkin’s lymphoma in - Ed, 49, a Mock the
Week panellist, said he was
“loved by so many. But to
me, he was my pain-in-the-
arse little brother and I will
miss him so much”.
TV comic Byrne
mourns brother
A three-year-old boy died in
hospital on Friday, almost a
week after a car crash on the
M4 near Newport. A tribute
from his family said he
“turned the grey skies blue”.
His mother remains in
hospital. A girl, 4, was killed
in the same crash. A man has
been charged with causing
death by dangerous driving.Second child dies
after crash on M
A man caught with drugs
worth £6,300 had “bulk-
bought” in case of a
lockdown. Daniel Welby, 34,
was arrested for possessing
cannabis, but a search found
a stash including cocaine.
He admitted possession and
was given a 12-month
community order and fined
at Winchester crown court.Drugs bulk-bought
in fear of lockdown
A cat called Smudge who
disappeared in 2009 aged
three has reappeared just six
miles from his old home in
Dundee. Rescuers said he
was skin and bone. A scan of
his microchip confirmed his
identity. The charity Cats
Protection is looking for a
new home because his
former owners were not able
to take him back.Missing cat turns
up 13 years later