The head of a firefighters’ union has said their warnings about the dangers of a ‘stay put’ policy after a fatal fire in Stevenage were ignored in the years leading up to the Grenfell Tower fire.

His comments come after Andy Roe, head of the London Fire Brigade, told the BBC that Grenfell residents were told to “stay put for too long” during the 2017 fire that killed 72 people.

Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union general secretary, said his union had called for a review of the policy after the 2005 Harrow Court fire in Stevenage that killed two firefighters and one resident.

Jeff Wornham, 28, and Michael Miller, 26, died while tackling the blaze in a 17-storey block of flats. Natalie Close, who lived in the flat where the fire began, also died.

Temperatures are thought to have reached 800°c in the bedroom.Temperatures are thought to have reached 800°c in the bedroom. (Image: Archant)

In a letter to members, Mr Wrack says warnings from the Fire Brigades Union about ‘stay put’ were “ignored at the highest level”.

“The Grenfell Tower fire was a crime caused by deregulation and institutional failings at the highest level,” Mr Wrack said. He added that the Fire Brigades Union had also warned about “the dangers of cladding fires [and] it is a national scandal that our warnings were ignored”.

Mr Wrack concluded: “The government has still not produced proper guidance on how to evacuate a high-rise tower in the middle of a fire, despite having had years to do so. We highlighted this in a letter to the [then] Home Secretary in March this year.

“The FBU will not rest until we achieve justice for all victims of the fire and until everyone has a safe and decent home.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are wholly committed to putting measures in place to ensure a tragedy like the Grenfell Tower fire never happens again.  

“We are considering responses to our consultation on personal evacuation plans and our response will be published in due course.”