Living through remediation

Deepa Mistry shares her real-life experience as a resident living through remediation.

My name is Deepa Mistry. I am an accountant, leaseholder, shared owner, and a resident campaigner for Building Safety. However, my most important role is as a mother to three beautiful children, and for the last few years, our lives have been filled with stress and uncertainty (pandemic aside). In 2010, I was living and working in London with no idea of the journey that lay in store for me. Not a clue that I would have to fight for the right to basic safety whilst we slept at night!

It was during this time I was looking for a home to make my own. There were not many affordable options and Shared Ownership caught my eye. I was able to purchase a share of a two-bedroom, sixth-floor apartment within walking distance of work, and it sounded like a dream opportunity.

By the time the Grenfell tragedy occurred in 2017, I was married with two young children and although we were outgrowing our small home, I couldn’t face the upheaval of moving with very small babies. I hadn’t fully digested the extent of the tragedy until weeks later when scaffolding was erected on my block. The Housing Association wanted to inspect our building, and when they reported that the cladding was similar to the ACM on Grenfell, I panicked. It’s a pit-of-your-stomach fear where you picture at any point running with the babies down six flights of stairs. This panic lasted weeks, months, and years, and still causes anxiety if we visit high-rise locations.

As part of the Fire Protection Association's continuing commitment to increase fire safety awareness across the built environment, a number of informative feature articles are available to read on our website.?You can read the full article here.