Concerns have been raised about the ability of fire crews in Kent to respond to life threatening tower block fires, such last month’s Grenfell Tower disaster.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which represents the vast majority of UK firefighters, suggests the county could be one of the areas left worse off in a “postcode lottery” of emergency responses, which has been described as “utterly unacceptable”.

New research by the organisation claims the ‘pre-determined attendance’ (PDA) for a fire – the number of fire engines and resources automatically sent to an incident – varies greatly across the country.

The findings show that if a Grenfell-style fire were to happen in Kent, three fire engines would automatically be sent out. However, services in areas such as Surrey and Essex would send six fire engines and a high ladder as first response for a fire in a similar building.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster it emerged that the London Fire Brigade did not have aerial platforms (vehicles with long ladders or platforms used to tackle a blaze in high buildings) as part of their initial attendance, but has since changed its policy to include them, after concerns voiced by both the public and firefighters.

Three other fire services in England have also increased their PDA to fires in tall buildings to include long ladders since Grenfell. This is not the case here though, where an aerial platform will still not automatically be sent unless specifically requested.

In a letter sent to the Prime Minister, Matt Wrack, general secretary of the FBU, says that previous responses have been based on the understanding that a fire in purpose built blocks of flats are ‘generally contained’ inside the flat they start in.

He goes on to suggest that incidents at Grenfell Tower and Lakanal House have ‘altered’ this belief among some professionals.

The union is calling on Theresa May to agree to a minimum response across the UK of:

• Two pumps each with a crew of five within five minutes from the time of the emergency call

• Three further pumps each with a crew of five within eight minutes from the time of the call

• An aerial (high reach) vehicle with a minimum crew of two within 10 minutes of the time of the call.

Safety checks have been carried out on large numbers of buildings across Kent in the wake of the blaze at London’s Grenfell Tower, which left around 80 people dead.