Major fire in London Tower Block

[moley]

Not nice news this morning seeing the pictures of the blazing tower block in west London, hope everyone escaped, but I fear that is not the case. Assuming there is nothing sinister about the fire the investigation as to the cause and the speed the fire spread through the building will take time.

[LGM]

Just watching this now on the news  

[VRS Mike]

I was once advised by a fire safety officer to never stay on a hotel floor above level 3 as the fire brigade have no way of reaching you.

 

Heart goes out to those affected by this, all these recent events make you realise how fragile our existence is!

[KenONeill]

LFB have a number of Brontos, which are capable of lifting the rescue platform to 100 feet above road level.

[Auric Goldfinger]

Very sad news to wake upto this morning

 

[eyegr]

This story reminded me of an old film, The Towering Inferno.

Very sad, considering this one was a residential building and many people are now homeless.

[Clunkclick]

Localish to me. Worked in that area for 12 years.

 

Reported that its a local authority 24 storey  tower block, built in 1974 (As replacement accommodation, as North Kensington was cleared of WW2 bomb damage + slums). Apparently, recently refurbished at a cost of £10m which included the external fitment of decorative cladding - it appears that the cladding caught fire after a fridge exploded in one of the flats. Block managed for council by private concern.

 

Residents report no fire alarm heard, no sprinkler system installed, that emergency service access was impeded by unmodernised estate roads and that the building operators advice to tenants in the event of fire was to return to their flat, close the front door and sposition a wet towel against the gaps in the door surround - it appears that those that could took no notice of that and just got out. Looks like Lloyds are in for a big one.  Residents reported that "One-hour" resistant  internal fire doors fitted but these were ineffective against a fire that propagated through the external cladding.

Residents reported that some of the tenants were old people and that fire took less than an hour to seize the whole building - according to the Fire Officer, every thing above floor 2

 

Whilst the Fire Officer stated that the first fire engine got to the scene in 6 minutes  (A similar arse-covering PR statistic has been used somewhere else  recently), residents reported that there weren't enough fire units to deal with the blaze, they couldn't deal with anything above floor 4 (From the outside) and BBC say that fire equipment has had to be brought in from Surrey

 

Video clips that the BBC have been broadcasting show the fire racing up the outside of the building.

 

 

Nick

Edited 14 June, 2017 by Clunkclick

[Clunkclick]

21 minutes ago, eyegr said:

This story reminded me of an old film, The Towering Inferno.

Very sad, considering this one was a residential building and many people are now homeless.

 . . . And dead and injured, I suspect.

 

 

 

N.

Edited 14 June, 2017 by Clunkclick

[BJM]

It appears from BBC News that 6 people confirmed to have died, with the number expected to increase.

 

74 treated in Hospital, 20 critical.

 

A number of residents are unaccounted for.

[Aspman]

Looked terrible. Like something form the 3rd world.

 

[gadgetman]

Truly horrific. 

 

No legal requirement for sprinklers or alarms as with later buildings and regulations. 

 

Given the number of safety recalls on white goods, London fire service did raise their concerns of such a disaster 

[CWARD]

Caught bits on the radio including on Jeremy Vine and it sounds horrendous. Many killed, injured and the lucky ones are homeless but good to see people coming to their aid offering accommodation.

 

I hope the results of the investigation into how spread so quickly is confirmed soon so that action can be taken to avoid a repeat.  

[KenONeill]

7 hours ago, KenONeill said:

LFB have a number of Brontos, which are capable of lifting the rescue platform to 100 feet above road level.

Actually I've just seen footage which suggests that LFB's rescue Brontos were not deployed, only a single remote monitor model, and Bronto Skylift's own website shows that they now make a model capable of placing the rescue platform over 100m above street level.

[gadgetman]

Quite appalled at Corbyn trying to score political points ref more finances for the Fire bridges for such incidents. 

 

Legislation forcing these tower blocks to conform to current building regs is actually what's needed 

[@Lee]

Terrible tragedy and possibly preventable or at least it could have been limited.

Quite a few reports saying the same about the cladding used was not up to standard and the director has no clue what the cladding was made of

As for JC; point scoring or highlighting how woefully underfunded our services and infrastructure has become? Some messages need to be hammered home.

Still, at least austerity's over according to May.

[Adam_]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/people-tower-blocks-dont-matter-10621978.amp

 

£>people

 

 

[Adam_]

The government postponed looking into these problems even though JC tried to force it through. Stop hating on him because he has a social agenda.

[RainbowFire]

4 hours ago, gadgetman said:

Truly horrific. 

 

No legal requirement for sprinklers or alarms as with later buildings and regulations. 

 

Given the number of safety recalls on white goods, London fire service did raise their concerns of such a disaster 

 

A tragedy indeed. Let's hope that the toll remains as low as possible.

 

Sprinkers: such a good idea in a council tower block? Can they be made tamper-proof?

 

London Fire Service also signed the completed works off as posing no more risk than "normal".

 

Still, there's an investigation to be done, before fingers get pointed.

[RainbowFire]

56 minutes ago, Adam_ said:

The government postponed looking into these problems even though JC tried to force it through. Stop hating on him because he has a social agenda.

 

Trying to score points, before the fire has been put out, is a pretty poor show though. Tomorrow would be a different matter, but today thoughts should be with the survivors, their families, and the families of the dead/unaccounted for. Political agendas can wait a day or two.

[CWARD]

1 hour ago, Adam_ said:

The government postponed looking into these problems even though JC tried to force it through. Stop hating on him because he has a social agenda.

 

[moley]

1 hour ago, Adam_ said:

The government postponed looking into these problems even though JC tried to force it through. 

What is the source of this information?

[gadgetman]

1 hour ago, Adam_ said:

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/people-tower-blocks-dont-matter-10621978.amp

 

£>people

 

 

Blaming this government is a cop out. It has been an issue for many many years, with several fires last time labour were in power. 

 

How many are in Labour Council areas where they do have powers over building control or buildings they are responsible for? 

 

So let's not make out only Labour and corbyn care. 

 

What about all the asbestos and other dangers in housing? 

[Adam_]

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/corbyn-tried-pass-law-make-homes-safe-last-year-conservatives-rejected/14/06/amp/

 

But I feel the government are complicit in this. 

[lol-lol]

Fears that the final toll could be around the hundred.

So many questions to ask about whether the lessons of the 2009 Lakanal tower block fire were applied or ignored.  

 

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/ 

TALE OF TWO VISITS 
May Faces Storm Over Grenfell Residents' Snub As Corbyn Is Mobbed On Street

 

Labour Leader Hugs And Greets Locals As May Keeps Clear Of Residents 
LIVE: Fears Death Toll Could Hit 'More Than A Hundred' As 17 Confirmed Dead HuffPost UK Speaks To The Capital's Amazingly Generous Residents 
Prime Minister Orders Full Public Inquiry Into Grenfell Disaster 

[@Lee]

Heard reports today that two options of cladding were proposed. Both met fire regs but one outperformed the other.

No prizes for guessing which was used so I'll tell you; the cheaper one.

Other reports from Grenfell residents say that the block had to be tarted up because people accross the way in 'Ivory Towers' didn't like the view.

Poor loves. Don't worry, that view will be gone soon.

Sprinkler systems in flats? Yes! WTF not? FFS we fit them in underground car parks so why not where people live?

This tragedy could have been lessened had corners not been cut to save a few bob.

Blaming previous Governments doesn't wash, I'm afraid. This Government brought in austerity measures, this government are currently in power and the buck stops with this Government and their slash and burn policies. (Naylor Review anyone?), At least 70 tory MP's voted against an amendment to force landlords to make sure their properties are "fit for human habitation".

Not ONE Labour MP voted against that bill.

Selfservative barstewards.

 

Re 'politicising' things; this woman sums it up very well

"Political or not?

There is a debate raging about the 'politicisation' of the Grenfell Tower blaze yesterday. Many people feel uncomfortable, some even furious that there are questions being asked at such a tragic moment. Many feel that this moment is absolutely the right one to be demanding answers to those questions.

My view sits firmly within the latter. Having said that, I respect that some people need to step away from the politics that invariably underpin such a tragedy. That is their right. I also respect and understand that many people are experiencing an inchoate rage at the interwoven factors that are likely to have contributed to this dreadful, heartbreaking event.

I posted yesterday about my view that greed, expressed by way of austerity and its concomitant cuts, arguably, lies at the root of many of our recent tragedies - although I acknowledge that this is likely to be a relatively simplistic argument. However, in my opinion, the political facet of this event cannot be ignored even if a comprehensive examination of the interconnecting forces is beyond the scope of a Facebook status update.

Something that I hope will be discussed in the wake of this tragedy is that the people who inhabit 'tower block' housing like Grenfell are the victims of 'structural violence' - where politically and economically driven inequalities are socially embedded and work together to place populations and groups at risk and in harm's way. Put bluntly, these people are poor, they're voiceless and unrepresented, they're multiply disadvantaged and *that's* how they end up living in death trap housing, often unfit for human habitation.

To see people being told that they are showing disrespect to those that have died or suffered, is nauseating. Everyone has the right to grieve and reflect in whatever way they see fit. For me, though, pushing aside the 'politics' is supremely dangerous and does a scandalous disservice to those affected. As it does to the countless others who continue to be victims of our structurally violent society.

To quote our 'glorious' leader, enough is enough. Standing by and allowing the kind of society that benefits the few while depriving others of access to resources and real support is going to result in more pain and suffering and more deaths

That is not something that I can, or will, do."