HT,
You are right I don't have a special knowledge of LHR operations. I think, I read on the main thread about the incident was the lack of fire cover. And I am wondering how long does a runway inspection take. I did few (unfortunately) during my time in the Air Force and it was a fairly straightforward think (military runway 9849 x 98 ft / 3002.0 x 29.9 m) albeit not after an incident but a routine inspection.
Maybe British tend to be overly safety related.
Rwy in Sight