Fire at Old Kent Road - LFB Fire Investigation Report
Case reference FOI2026/01137
Received 13 September 2026
Published 9 October 2026
Request
LFB Received a request to disclose the Fire Investigation Report for a fire at Old Kent Road.
Response
The information gathered, and the reports prepared, by the LFB’s appointed Fire Investigators is generally considered exempt from public disclosure based on it being information provided in confidence (FOIA s.41).
LFB considers much of the information within incident records to have been provided in confidence because it is obtained in the course of an emergency response, often from people affected by the incident, witnesses, building occupiers, responsible persons or other agencies. That information is provided for the operational purpose of managing the incident, understanding what happened and supporting any necessary follow-up, not for wider public disclosure. Releasing details of that nature could undermine the confidence of those who provide information to LFB and may prejudice the willingness of people and organisations to share full and frank information with the Brigade in future. S.41 is an absolute exemption and doesn’t not require the consideration of a public interest test.
Whilst it is generally considered that the information held by our Fire Investigators is held in confidence, we do consider each request for FOIA access on its merits and the time of the request.
I have reviewed the information held in the report for the fire at Old Kent Road, and it does contain some information that is already known to the public (through news reports and other online articles). The report is therefore being released in a redacted form, with the already known public information visible, but the remainder of the report obscured.
It is our view that the s.41 exemption for information provided in confidence adequately covers all of the withheld information. However, we hold the right to apply the exemptions for personal data (s.40) and law enforcement (s.31(g)) to parts of the report should s.41 fall away.
Documents
This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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