Grenfell substation fire-risk assessment and Maida Vale transformer-oil investigation
Case reference FOI2026/00904
Received 1 August 2026
Published 28 August 2026
Request
Please provide:
The Grenfell Tower substation fire-risk assessment required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including all versions held, the competent assessor, the responsible person, the assessed location and any LFB inspection or enforcement records.
All records reconciling whether the Grenfell substation was in the basement or on the ground floor.
All LFB records showing whether the transformer oil and electrical equipment at Maida Vale were examined and ruled out as the cause of, or a contributor to, the 29 April 2025 fire, together with any Fire Safety Order investigation or enforcement records and any explanation for why LFB’s public reporting did not identify the same electrical-equipment and enforcement focus publicly stated after the Hayes fire.
Response
Please see my response to each of your requests in turn below:
The Grenfell Tower substation fire-risk assessment required under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, including all versions held, the competent assessor, the responsible person, the assessed location and any LFB inspection or enforcement records.
The information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as it is already reasonably accessible to you by other means. Section 21 applies where the requested information can be obtained outside of the Freedom of Information process.
In this case, the information can be accessed via the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website, which can be found in The National Archives. The site, and documents held within, remains fully searchable however, to aid with your initial search, the LFB Fire Safety Audit report dated 03/11/2016 for Grenfell Tower can be located using the following link:
As the enforcing authority under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order, 2005, (RRO) the Brigade does not provide, or carry out fire risk assessments (FRA) as this is the responsibility of the responsible persons (RP). However, it is my understanding that this information can also be searched for and located on the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website. I located a document on this site which provides the information you have requested (please note, this is not an LFB produced document):
All records reconciling whether the Grenfell substation was in the basement or on the ground floor.
The information you have requested is exempt from disclosure under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, as it is already reasonably accessible to you by other means. Section 21 applies where the requested information can be obtained outside of the Freedom of Information process.
In this case, the information can be accessed via the Grenfell Tower Inquiry website, which can be found in The National Archives. The site, and documents held within, remains fully searchable however, to aid with your search the following document I located a document on this site which provides the information you have requested:
All LFB records showing whether the transformer oil and electrical equipment at Maida Vale were examined and ruled out as the cause of, or a contributor to, the 29 April 2025 fire
The supposed motive for the fire that took place on 29 April 2025 at ELECTRICITY SUB STATION, NW8 8NS is recorded as being “deliberate – others property”. The transformer oil and electrical equipment were ruled out as the cause was recorded as a deliberate act of naked flame to combustible materials.
any Fire Safety Order investigation or enforcement records
I have checked our Fire Safety Regulatory records and there is no folder in place for this electricity substation.
any explanation for why LFB’s public reporting did not identify the same electrical-equipment and enforcement focus publicly stated after the Hayes fire
It is my understanding that the supposed motive for the Hayes fire was accidental. The supposed motive for the Maida Vale fire is recorded as being “deliberate – others property” (the cause was the deliberate act of a naked flame to combustible materials).
Documents
This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.