'We live in fear' - Trying to rebuild in a home devastated by fire

It has been a "difficult journey" rebuilding her life after the fire in 2019, says Agnese De Masi, who suffers from PTSD

"If I'd found somewhere else I would have gladly moved on," says Agnese De Masi from inside her beautifully furnished flat on the second floor of Richmond House.

She is one of three residents who have moved back into a rebuilt property on an estate of American-style houses in Worcester Park, south-west London.

In September 2019, a fire ripped though the block of flats in minutes and took 125 firefighters five hours to bring under control. Nothing of the building could be saved.

Memories of that blaze are never far away and since March, the fire alarm has sounded multiple times in the night and the newly rebuilt flats have been evacuated twice.

"We live in fear," she says.

Richmond House has 23 flats, part of The Hamptons, a mixed development estate surrounded by parkland in south west London

Ms De Masi, an interior designer, is still working on the decoration of her flat while she tries to rebuild her life. She was one of 23 households that lost everything on the night of the fire almost six years ago.

She was uneasy about moving back into the rebuilt Richmond House but hadn't found anything else of a suitable size or location.

"I don't want to be away from my network of friends, which has been my safety net in the past few years," she explains.

Since the fire, she has suffered anxiety and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), so is particularly vulnerable to fire alarm issues in the newly-completed property.

It has been activated five times since March, with the London Fire Brigade (LFB) attending on three of those occasions. And residents have been evacuated from the building twice in the night.

"I had heart palpitations the whole day because obviously the alarm went off during the night, which is exactly what happened the night of the fire," she says.

"You go to bed and you don't know if you're going to be woken up by another alarm. It's not a pleasant situation to be in."

'Complete lack of empathy'

Housing Association Metropolitan Thames Valley (MTVH) is the freeholder and management agent for Richmond House. Ms De Masi says her concerns about the fire warning system were initially not taken seriously.

She feels residents have been given insufficient detail about works to the alarm system and the long gaps in communication show a "complete lack of empathy."

MTVH has now addressed some of Ms De Masi's concerns and says it has specialists investigating why the alarm is being activated.

A spokesperson said: "We rebuilt Richmond House to the highest fire safety standards, and fully involved residents in the process."

In the wake of the fire, the housing association "offered to buy back flats from any resident who wished to move on", and to ease transition back into the building "offered residents a two-month grace period to move back in gradually".

"We know how distressing fire alarm activations are for all residents and we particularly understand the anxiety this may cause for those original residents returning to Richmond House. Their safety, and feeling of safety, is hugely important to us and has been our focus both during the rebuild and return to their homes," they added.

London Fire Brigade arrived at Richmond House to find a well-established fire, which left a charred and splintered shell

The first residents of Richmond House had moved in only nine years before it was destroyed. There was a stay-put strategy for those living there, meaning that a fire should be contained in one area, allowing time for emergency services to safely evacuate the building.

But the blaze tore through the timber frame in minutes. It was thanks to the quick thinking and bravery of residents helping each other to escape that no one was killed or seriously injured.

An investigation by LFB and independent experts found serious safety defects. Missing cavity barriers and fire-stopping measures allowed the fire to spread rapidly.

'Inadequate fire safety measures'

Ms De Masi was part of a group that brought a £3m damages claim against the original construction firm, St James - a subsidiary of the Berkeley Group - and the Richmond House freeholder, MTVH. They settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Solicitor Christian Hansen, a partner at Bindmans which represents the residents, said: "Since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, it's come to light that there are thousands of buildings across the country, which have been constructed with inadequate fire safety measures."

He likened the fire in Worcester Park to the Spectrum building in Dagenham, which was destroyed in similar circumstances in August last year.

Mr Hansen said most of the Richmond House residents "suffered traumatic psychological injuries on the night of the fire".

"Having to go through a years-long battle with the constructors and the freeholders in their claim for compensation, was in many cases re-traumatising and actually exacerbated the symptoms they were suffering," he added.

For Ms De Masi, the years of litigation, consultation on the rebuild and now ongoing maintenance issues have taken their toll.

"It is a second job. It's a very frustrating second job, for which you don't get paid, you don't get holiday," she said.

"And it actually ages you because you're constantly trying to get justice and to balance things out. It's very difficult."