London Fire Brigade says 1 149 buildings in London need a 24-hour “waking watch” because of severe fire safety defects. These “waking watches” were put into place in fire-unsafe buildings in London following the Grenfell Tower fire, in which 72 people died. This concerns buildings where fire risk is such that residents should evacuate, not stay in their flat, in case of fire, because of flammable cladding or defective fire safety installations such as non-functioning or absent sprinklers or fire doors. Such waking watches cost an average of over 160 Euros per dwelling per month. National guidance says that waking watches should be a temporary measure only until fire safety defects are remedied. London Fire Brigade says that householders are ”currently facing unacceptable burdens” with the cost of such watches and calls the situation, five years after the Grenfell fire, “appalling” and “unacceptable”.
“More than 1,000 buildings in London need 24-hour fire patrols”, BBC 7th February 2021 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-60291553