Speaker's Corner with Jonathan Herrick of Herrick Fire

I have a history in the Fire and Rescue service. I was an operational firefighter and junior officer in the East Midlands before starting a degree in Fire Engineering and, at the same time, moving to the West Midlands, where I started in fire safety. A whole new world opened before me, and it suited me well. From being mentored, I went on to become a Fire Safety Training Officer and continued to develop, taking on many roles culminating in my appointment as the technical head of Fire Safety Policy and I built a national reputation. I also gained a bachelor’s degree with honours in Fire Engineering and Master of Science in Fire Safety Engineering. During this time, I supported my own brigade and other brigades in providing expert witness services in relation to alleged offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. 

When my expert witness services are required, my average day is heavily focussed on reading through the relevant material in the various bundles of information provided by instructing solicitors for the proceedings afoot. I make notes on the relevant contents of the bundle, reference matters of potential importance and, importantly, consider matters that are central evidential points in connection with my instructions. Sometimes, the absence of information on a particular issue in dispute can be as important as what has been included in that respect. 

I am typically asked to respond to specific questions. Recent instructions have involved opining on the extent to which fire safety defects are relevant defects under section 120 of the Building Safety Act 2022. 

My task is usually the production of an independent expert report, the function of which is to assist the court on technical fire safety matters. My duty is to the court and not to those who have engaged my services. I spend time considering all angles of the matter and challenging myself as to the reasoning for my opinion. My opinions are underpinned by reference to recognised guidance or industry standard, whenever possible. 

When the Grenfell Tower fire happened, I was abroad on holiday. My first thought was “how dreadful, I wonder what country that was in”. As the news continued, I found out that it was England and my thoughts turned to, "how could that happen at home?". The next day I was at the airport waiting to come home, when I received a telephone call from the Chief Fire Officers Association – now the National Fire Chiefs Council. They had identified me as the right person to assist the Ministry for Housing Communities and Local Government ("MHCLG") to prepare for whatever the outcome of the independent review of building regulations and fire safety might be, which had been announced and was to be undertaken by Dame Judith Hackitt. 

I was subsequently seconded to MHCLG and assisted some great civil servants to prepare for what might come. When the independent report was finally delivered, MHCLG maintained my services, and I assisted with the drafting of primary and secondary regulations. I was heavily involved in the drafting of Part 4—Higher-Risk Buildings, of the Building Safety Act 2022 in particular. I was subsequently contracted to the Building Safety Regulator, helping their officers prepare for applications under Planning Gateway 1. 

The Grenfell Tower tragedy has resulted in such a myriad of important and ongoing changes in respect of both primary and secondary legislation (and new caselaw) that I find I am almost permanently bringing myself up to speed with the latest changes and guidance. 

A ‘level head’ and methodical approach are crucial to the role of expert witness. Honesty, integrity, clarity and an ability to express complexity as simply as possible are also essential qualities. 

The ethical behaviours that govern experts is principally enshrined in law. Experts must provide independent, objective and transparent evidence, work within their scope and (limit their opinion to) their respective areas of expertise. It is as important for an expert to understand the areas in which they are not an expert as it is for those areas in which they have expertise. 

I have represented clients on both the prosecution/applicant/claimant and respondent/defendant side, but most cases I have been involved with have been instructed by the prosecution/applicant/claimant. As a fire safety expert witness, I have worked for various Fire and Rescue Services in relation to a variety of premises types and alleged offences, principally under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. I have dealt with hotel premises, low-rise flats, technical cases involving the relative safety of fire doors, a post-fire prosecution in relation to a care home (for a defendant), fire hazards and means of escape issues in relation to a warehouse, among others. 

In a post-Grenfell Tower landscape, I have provided expert services in relation to a remediation order (regarding the fire risk posed by combustible external walls) and the fire risk posed by combustible walls in high-rise residential buildings. 

I was instructed by Mishcon de Reya on behalf of the leaseholder applicants in Princes Park Apartments, 52 Prince of Wales Road, London, NW5 3LN: LON/00AG/BSA/2024/0009 to opine on the extent to which fire safety defects at the building in question constituted "relevant defects" under section 120 of the Building Safety Act 2022. I was instructed to prepare a joint expert report setting out matters upon which I and the respondent's expert did and did not agree. The matter culminated in a remediation order being entered into between the parties, a success for the applicants.