Experts had warned of fire risk at Barking block of flats

Fire experts had warned of the risk of deaths at a block of flats in east London as a result of the building’s wooden balconies five months before it went up in flames.

An independent fire risk assessment of Samuel Garside House in Barking, built by Bellway Homes, was carried out in January. It warned that the wooden structures might not be fire-resistant and could “accelerate fire spread … and this will put residents and visitors at risk of smoke inhalation and burn injuries”. When the building caught fire on 9 June onlookers watched as flames swept through the balconies in minutes.

The report, seen by the Guardian, also noted gaps in service cupboards where pipes and cables had been routed which “may compromise the fire barrier to floors above and may allow for fire and smoke to spread” and that there was no maintenance and testing contract in place for the dry rising fire main used by firefighters to get water to fires.

The faults at the block of 80 flats were all considered high-risk, which means they could cause deaths, according to the fire risk assessment commissioned by Residential Management Group (RMG), which looked after the building for the head leaseholder, a company called Adriatic Land 4.

Building safety experts warned there would probably have been deaths if the fire had started at night. Three cats were killed and a dog was badly burned.

Peter Mason, the chair of the Barking Reach residents’ association, said “everybody is very angry” after news of the warnings emerged. He said most residents did not know about the assessment.

The block was one of several built recently by Bellway at the Barking Riverside development. After the fire Bellway said it had commissioned an independent fire expert “to undertake a full review of the properties we constructed”.

“At the time of construction, the apartments received approval by the relevant authorities,” it said. “Whilst the fire safety measures designed within the building ensured the safe evacuation of residents, we have commissioned an independent fire expert to undertake a full review of the properties we constructed at the Barking development.” It said it would remove non-essential timber and was discussing treating other wood with fire-retardant coating.

A spokesperson for RMG and Homeground, an agent for Adriatic, said all actions identified by the risk assessor had been followed up and added: “At the time the risk assessment was carried out, remedial works to address certain issues were already being undertaken in the building by Bellway.”

The Guardian has also learned that fire hazards were discovered in two other apartment buildings on the same estate, including faulty fire doors, holes in walls and ceilings that could spread smoke and flames, and missing fire safety notices. A fire risk assessment conducted in October on Farsby House and Dalton House, which contain 94 flats, found damaged smoke seals on 19 fire doors, gaps where electrical wires pass through walls and floors, through which smoke or flames could pass, doors that were left open, and a barbecue, rubbish, furniture and other combustible materials in service corridors and shafts.

One leaseholder who moved in last August said they were “very distressed” by the problems. Bellway said it was on site on Wednesday addressing some of the issues.

A spokesperson for Pinnacle Places, the managing agent that commissioned the Farsby and Dalton report, said: “We responded on receipt of the report and carried out remedial actions accordingly.”

The problems have emerged two years after the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people and add to growing concerns about the fire risks posed by modern building techniques beyond the use of combustible cladding of the kind that was wrapped around Grenfell Tower.

Manchester city council, where dozens of blocks of flats have been built in recent years, has said that as well as 31 towers clad in Grenfell-style combustible aluminium composite material it has discovered other risks at 14 other blocks, including missing fire breaks, timber cladding and balconies, missing intumescent paint and defective insulation. These include Burton Place, where leaseholders are facing bills of up to £80,000 each to make their homes safe.

Related: Barking fire: residents claim safety fears about flats were downplayed

The government also admitted this week it has known since November that another type of cladding panel, high-pressure laminate (HPL), had also failed fire safety tests when used with combustible insulation. Industry data suggests scores of high-rise residential buildings could be built with such panels, which are often made from compressed paper or wood and synthetic insulation.

The Labour party said ministers should have taken immediate action to remove it from buildings in the same way as it has announced £600m in funding to remove aluminium composite material panels from social and private residential towers.

“There must be no more excuses and no more loss of life,” said Steve Reed MP. “All flammable cladding must immediately be banned and removed, including HPL.”

Kit Malthouse, the housing minister, told parliament on Tuesday that the government was carrying out its own tests on HPL panels and that wall systems using combustible materials would be in breach of building regulations unless they had passed a fire test.

The leader of Barking and Dagenham council, Darren Rodwell, and the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, have written to the housing secretary, James Brokenshire, calling for the government to apply its ban on combustible materials on new buildings to all residential buildings instead of only those over 18 metres high.