Suspended engineer accused of forging fire safety certificates for high-rise flats

An adept has been accused of signing disconnected occurrence information certificates for flats successful high-rise blocks utilizing the credentials and signature of different technologist without permission, the BBC has been told.

Adam Kiziak has been nether probe for imaginable malpractice by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) - which suspended him successful August 2024.

However, Mr Kiziak's institution is understood to person continued to motion disconnected information certificates since then.

Lenders, including NatWest and Nationwide, are present withdrawing owe offers to radical hoping to bargain flats with occurrence information certificates issued by Mr Kiziak's company, Tri Fire.

Mr Kiziak's lawyer told the BBC: "Any allegation of fraudulent enactment is strenuously denied."

Tri Fire carries retired information surveys and issues occurrence information certificates for flats successful high-rise blocks crossed the UK. These certificates, known arsenic EWS1s, were introduced successful 2019 aft the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people.

The signifier rates the occurrence hazard of a gathering based connected its wide operation and an appraisal of immoderate cladding. The bulk of banks and gathering societies necessitate EWS1 certificates erstwhile deciding whether to lend wealth connected flats successful flat blocks.

There is nary authoritative registry of EWS1 certificates, but investigation by the Building Safety Register has recovered 410 of the 1,139 EWS1s signed disconnected betwixt March 2020 and the extremity of 2021 were issued by Tri Fire.

Mr Kiziak, who is inactive allowed to work, can't motion disconnected information certificates portion helium is suspended by the IFE.

Awwal Salisu, a qualified occurrence technologist based successful Saudi Arabia, told the BBC helium entered into an statement with Tri Fire via a recruitment bureau to measure up to 100 buildings.

He believes Mr Kiziak utilized his signature without his cognition to let him to proceed issuing information certificates.

In the bulk of cases, Mr Salisu alleges determination was insufficient accusation to beryllium capable to contented information certificates and returned the forms to Mr Kiziak's institution for further work.

But the BBC has seen a fig of EWS1 forms carrying Mr Salisu's signature and utilizing his IFE rank number, which Mr Salisu says were not among the 100 helium was asked to reappraisal and which helium knew thing about.

"I americium precise aggravated astir it," says Mr Salisu. "I've had sleepless nights - my estimation is astatine stake."

Mr Salisu says helium uses a unsocial physics signature connected documents that tin beryllium traced backmost to him utilizing the IP code connected his laptop

He added: "The 1 bully happening astir each of this is each study that is submitted with my initials, nary of them volition really person my physics signature."

He has written to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the IFE and UK Finance - which oversees the owe lending marketplace - to alert them to what helium believes has happened.

Some large lenders accidental that they person present stopped offering mortgages connected homes signed disconnected arsenic harmless by Mr Kiziak, leaving buyers successful limbo.

First-time purchaser Sam Ireland told the BBC his owe connection was retracted erstwhile his lender discovered the occurrence information appraisal of the spot helium hoped to bargain had been issued by Tri Fire.

"You consciousness wholly powerless," says Sam, who present has to commencement looking for different level to bargain and put different mortgage. "It's conscionable scuppered the full thing."

The BBC has besides learned of different radical whose applications person been rejected by different lenders wherever Mr Kiziak's steadfast was involved.

Mr Kiziak's lawyer told the BBC they were incapable to connection immoderate further item arsenic determination is simply a pending investigation, but added their lawsuit was "very atrocious for immoderate distress and the difficulties that the existent concern whitethorn person caused".

The IFE declined to remark further portion its probe is ongoing.

The authorities precocious announced plans to velocity up the process of getting the thousands of operation blocks with flammable cladding and occurrence information defects fixed.

A Freedom of Information petition by Construction News recovered much than 60 blocks accepted into the government's taxpayer-funded Cladding Safety Scheme had been carried retired by Tri Fire, throwing into uncertainty if they person been correctly assessed.