Campaigners looking to save rooftop fire escapes on a block of flats have urged the council to reconsider locking them off.
Camden Council padlocked fire exits leading to the roofs on the Holly Lodge Estate in Highgate in October.
Many of the four and five-storey timber-framed 1920s blocks are linked by fire escapes - originally designed for people to walk across to safety - but the London Fire Brigade no longer feels this is safe and asks residents to remain in their homes.
Leaseholders and tenants took their battle to the council chamber on Monday (January 29).
Grace Livingstone, a member of the Holly Lodge Residents' Association, said closing the exits after three years of negotiations "caused a lot of panic".
She said since the exits were closed there had been concerns about inadequate fire exit or fire information signs.
Claiming the residents association had heard reports of faulty alarms, she asked that they be regularly checked.
"After Grenfell the Hackett Report said councils should listen to residents, so listen to us," she said.
"Residents in the upper floors are scared that if the stairwells fill with smoke we won't be able to get out in the event of a fire.
"We would like emergency access only on the roof so nobody will ever be trapped in the block."
Highgate ward councillor Lorna Jane Russell (Green), who lives on the estate, was not permitted to participate or sit in the chamber while the issue was being heard.
Cllr Matthew Kirk (Liberal Democrat) asked if they had ever had "detailed discussions" about the cost of keeping the fire exits open.
Ms Livingstone said: "We've never been shown the figures, or breakdowns of the figures. We're unhappy with the way it's been done."
Cllr Merik Apak, cabinet member for better homes, said the council worked "tirelessly" with residents but "unfortunately solutions were changed".
He added: "We cannot countermand the fire brigade orders that we received, there are consequences to that, and we cannot countermand fire safety advice."
He said he would be happy to meet with residents and bring a fire brigade representative with him.
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