Recurring concern

Unreliable fire-safety protection for telecare clients

First to latest report 24 Jan 2014 — 21 Feb 2022

Reports that mention this concern
3
Times this concern has been raised
9
Stated actions linked to this concern
2

What this concern includes

Includes failures in telecare arrangements that affect fire safety for clients, including inconsistent treatment of watch-only and wider-support clients, failure to identify or communicate fire-safety needs, and failure to offer or arrange relevant Fire Home Safety Checks or equivalent protective measures.

What is not included
  • Excludes generic telecare availability, funding or operator-information failures that do not concern fire safety.
  • Excludes general fire-safety deficiencies affecting people with no telecare connection.
  • Excludes physical fire-detection, evacuation or emergency-response failures where the telecare-related fire-safety arrangement is not deficient.
  • Excludes neutral differences between telecare service categories where no inconsistent fire-safety protection is asserted.

Reports and published responses 3 reports

See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response

  1. North London

    AI-generated summary

    Sean Ennis · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Sean Ennis was found in his flat after a fire and died in hospital from the consequences of smoke inhalation. The principal concerns included incomplete fire-risk assessment and inadequate smoke detection and telecare arrangements for a vulnerable resident, including the alarm centre not knowing he was a smoker and not responding when he did not answer calls.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to link telecare to smoke alarms or AFSS

    Wider context from the report

    “3. Telecare is not always offered to vulnerable people or if individuals do receive it, is not always linked to smoke alarms or AFSS. Telecare is often at the cost of the individual or Local Authority which may be why a full telecare system is not offered or installed. The Telecare Services Association should consider exploring a sustainable funding source to enable all vulnerable residents in need of telecare to be provided with a full system. ”

    Source location

    Sean Ennis · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 2 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this respondent position was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Matters of Concern 2, 3 and 4 are not issues for the landlord to address.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Matter of Concern 2:”

    Source location

    2022-0054-Response-from-Network-Homes_Published.pdf
    Page 7 · response
    Published 24 February 2022

    Open published response

  2. Inner West London

    AI-generated summary

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin, who was wheelchair bound due to advanced multiple sclerosis, was alone at home in bed when a dishwasher fire started on 14 July 2017. She activated her pendant alarm, but the responder did not recognise the smoke alarm, could not communicate effectively with her, and did not call the fire brigade; Mrs Griffin later died in hospital on 21 August 2017 from smoke inhalation injuries and bronchopneumonia. The concerns included delayed action by the dishwasher manufacturer, lack of appliance-owner registration and contact, and shortcomings in telecare arrangements, including unlinked fire alarms, responder training, communication, and escalation procedures.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to make linked fire alarms a contractual requirement for telecare clients

    Wider context from the report

    “8. That telecare systems providers and WWA in particular, insist that their clients, who by definition are vulnerable, have linked fire alarms as a contractual requirement for both new and existing clients in the same way that such providers insist on the provision to them by the client of keys to the clients’ homes. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Artificially differentiated fire-safety treatment of watch-only and wider telecare clients

    Wider context from the report

    “4. That there is an artificial distinction between service users and clients who are “watch” only services, and those with wider telecare support. Either type of client would be vulnerable to fire. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Unlinked household fire alarms in telecare users' homes

    Wider context from the report

    “5. That users of telecare systems have the fire alarms in their homes directly linked to the telecare systems. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to identify and replace unlinked fire alarms in a timely and auditable manner

    Wider context from the report

    “9. That telecare systems providers and WWA in particular, take active steps to identify clients without linked fire alarms and arrange for them to be replaced with linked fire alarms and that this should be done in a timely and auditable fashion. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of working relationships with local fire brigades to facilitate client home fire-risk assessments

    Wider context from the report

    “13. That telecare systems providers and WWA in particular, develop working relationships with their local fire brigades to facilitate fire risk assessments visits to the homes of the clients by the fire brigade being offered to telecare clients and accepted by them. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to train staff to recognise and escalate linked and unlinked fire-alarm sounds

    Wider context from the report

    “11. That telecare systems providers and WWA in particular, train their staff as to what fire alarm activation sounds like whether from a linked or unlinked alarm and that they should call the fire brigade appropriately if they are heard by the responder to be activated. ”

    Source location

    Mrs Elizabeth Marion Griffin · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 4 · concerns

    Open source report

  3. North Central & North East Wales

    AI-generated summary

    Alfred Leonard Hodges · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Alfred Leonard Hodges, who had severe mobility, frailty and hearing difficulties, died aged 97 after a fire at his home on 26 June 2013. The report raised concerns that his smoke alarm was not interlinked with his Telecare system, that interim protections were unclear, and that he had not received a free Fire Home Safety Check. The inquest concluded that the medical cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning and severe ischaemic heart disease.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of interim protection for Telecare package users pending interlink installation

    Wider context from the report

    “(2) It is understood that there is a 2 year roll out programme to provide interlink as standard for those on a Conwy Council Telecare package. I am concerned as to what interim provisions are in place to protect those on the Telecare package until interlink is installed ”

    Source location

    Alfred Leonard Hodges · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 1 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to inform Telecare users about the free Fire Home Safety Check service

    Wider context from the report

    “(4) The deceased had not been visited by North Wales Fire Service for a free Fire Home Safety Check. It appears neither he nor his family were aware of the service and that Conwy Council had not brought this to the attention of the deceased ”

    Source location

    Alfred Leonard Hodges · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 1 · concerns

    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Establish a six-month full-time Council post to accelerate installation of linked smoke detectors for Telecare clients.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Officers from NWFRS and Conwy County Borough Council met again on 11th December 2013 and reached an agreement for the funding of a full time post in the Council for 6 months in order to install the linked smoke alarms in a considerably shorter timescale. The NWFRS also agreed to provide 500 smoke alarms during 2014/15 and have provided refresher training for Conwy Telecare Services installers on the correct positioning of smoke detectors in domestic dwellings and, will be providing fire safety awareness training for social services staff. Between December and February 105 detectors have been installed and the new full time officer has now started work.”

    Source location

    2014-0033-Response-by-Conway
    Page 4 · response
    Published 24 January 2014

    Open published response

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Install linked smoke detectors for Telecare clients identified as lacking them, using the accelerated installation programme.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “The Council and NWFRS reviewed the current practice in October 2013. The NWFRS concluded that it would be beneficial for people in Conwy if a linked smoke detector was installed as part of the basic Telecare package on initial installation, or during regular support visits to those already with a Telecare package. The NWFRS donated 900 linked smoke detectors to the Council for the Conwy Telecare Service to install for clients identified as not having a linked detector.”

    Source location

    2014-0033-Response-by-Conway
    Page 3 · response
    Published 24 January 2014

    Open published response

Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.

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Data last updated 7 September 2026