London Tower Fire

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London fire latest: Grief gives way to anger as Grenfell tower residents demand answers over string of failures
The Telegraph
Hayley Dixon
The TelegraphJune 16, 201748 Comments


Grief and sorrow at the Grenfell Tower inferno on Thursday gave way to anger as residents of the gutted block demanded answers over the litany of failings which led to the disaster.

As fears mounted that the death toll could rise above 100, senior politicians who visited the scene were asked to explain why a series of loopholes had left the inhabitants vulnerable, despite repeated warnings over the last 30 years.

It emerged that there have been no updates to Britain's building fire safety regulations for more than a decade, even though a number of fires abroad suggested they are out of date.

Particular concerns have been raised about the cladding on the outside of buildings for a number of years, which experts say may have accelerated the inferno which consumed the 24-storey Kensington block in just 15 minutes.

It emerged last night that the United States had banned the type of cladding thought to have been used on Grenfell Tower.

The material used on Grenfell Tower was sold under the brand Reynobond which comes in three different varieties: one with a flammable plastic core and two with fire-resistant cores and the cheaper, more combustible, version was banned in the United States in buildings taller than 40 feet.

It is thought that Grenfell's exterior cladding, added in 2015, had a polyethylene - or plastic - core but conforms to UK standards.

Reynobond’s fire-resistant panel sells for £24 per square metre; £2 more expensive than the standard version.

Theresa May yesterday ordered a public inquiry into the fire as she promised that all residents would be rehoused locally.

It came as police admitted that the death toll could reach 100 and senior officers conceded the true scale of the disaster may never be known.

Mrs May said: "We need to know what happened; we need to have an explanation of this, we owe that to the families. To the people who have lost loved ones, friends, and the homes in which they lived.”

However she faced criticism over why she didn't meet residents when she visited the scene and instead attended a briefing with emergency services. She later defended her actions, saying: "I wanted a briefing from the emergency services."

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, was heckled by residents as he praised the emergency services. He tried to shake the hand of seven-year-old Kai Ramos, who instead asked: "How many children died? What are you going to do about it?"

In contrast Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour Leader, hugged relatives of the missing as at the scene and called for the empty homes of rich people in Kensington to be seized for residents made homeless by the fire.

Mrs May is struggling to recover her authority and form a Government in the wake of the Conservative's disastrous election performance. Nick Robinson, the BBC presenter, suggested that the fire represented the "biggest political risk" facing the Prime Minister and compared it to the situation George Bush Jnr faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Katerina.

John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor, urged the unions to mobilise more than a million protestors to put pressure on Mrs May to stand down in a march on July 1.

Lily Allen said last night: "I think there's a lot of anger here towards the council, how they've dealt with people's concerns building up to this event and how they have dealt with things after the event as well."

The singer added that the humanitarian effort was being led by community leaders rather than the council, saying: "It is chaotic, they don't have any experience of it and I think it's actually playing into the hands of the Government because once these people's hope turns to anger, they have got a real problem on their hands.

"I feel like the Government is trying to micromanage people's grieving here."



Sky News last night suggested that "political opportunists" could be among the crowds at the scene after a press conference was punctuated by residents shouting support for Mr Corbyn. The public anger was fuelled by an emerging picture of failings surrounding the safety in the building, including allegations that fire doors had not been fitted, which the police and fire brigade said would form part of their investigation.

Two separate sources have told The Telegraph that not all the front doors in the tower block were fire-proofed. This is hugely significant because official fire brigade advice to stay put in the event of a fire is based on fire doors offering protection to residents told not to leave the building.

Sidani Atmani, 41, said his neighbour on the 15th floor, a man he knew as Stephen, died because he had followed fire brigade instructions to stay in his flat.

“A lot of people died because of what they were told to do,” he said. “It was horrible.”

If there were a lack of fire doors that might also help to explain why the fire spread so rapidly through the building rather than being 'compartmentalised'. RBKC declined to comment as did the management company.

Information released by Kensington and Chelsea Council under a previous Freedom of Information request also suggests that Grenfell tower may not have had a full Fire Risk Assesment since December 2015, despite undergoing a full refurbishment completed in May last year.

Experts have been raising concerns for the last 30 years that building regulations concerning fire are not sufficient, especially surrounding fire escapes and the use of cladding to make buildings more energy efficient.

Until 1986 all buildings in London fell under the London Building Acts which ensured that external walls must have at least one hour of fire resistance to prevent flames from spreading between flats or entering inside.

But that stipulation was scrapped and from the mid 80s materials on outer walls did not have to be non-combustible, allowing builders to start installing dangerous cladding despite warnings from fire safety chiefs.

Nearly 20 years ago, following a fire at a tower block in Irvine in Ayrshire, MPs were warned by the Fire Safety Development Group that cladding can: ‘contribute to the fire, release toxic chemicals and drip plastic on people trying to fight the fire.’

Ronnie King, secretary of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Fire Safety & Rescue Group said: “We have been saying for years that the regulations need to be changed. But there has been no effort to improve anything because everyone believes there are less fires nowadays, so there was no will. Why would you increase the burden of regulation?




https://sg.news.yahoo.com/london-fir...062026861.html
Very long article, thus just post the link here.

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We are mostly living in high rise buildings here. This massive fire in London could occur here too, but luckily (or presumbly) our buildings are constructed under strict BCA/URA building guidelines.

[Guppies Onli]

Is there any fire alarm in hdb flat that residents can be alerted of?

[globalcookie]

I don't see any.

The good thing is, our HDB flats are build of concrete all over. So that shd be good to avoid rapid spread of fire since concrete isn't as combustible as those materials used in this London towel.

I don't know if our so called fire rated main doors can really hold fire in/out for an hour though. I look at my main door, it doesn't seems like very solid, as compared to MSCP doors.

[KeeHuat]

HDB main door accordingly is fire rated and complete with door closer

[Ong88]

The superfluous cladding made the tower a modified chimney

SG flats have multiple stairways.

No facade enclosures that will feed flames.

[streetsmart73]

Originally Posted by Guppies Onli

Is there any fire alarm in hdb flat that residents can be alerted of?

God meh

[streetsmart73]

Honest, those skyscrapers in many chi na cities are equally vulnerable.

[KeeHuat]

All the super high rise buildings look nice but you have to think about how to escape if a fire breaks out. How many staircases are there in the building if one is blocked off by fire and smoke. Smoke is a major hazard too.

[foxwagon]

BCA may be also reviewing the fire codes internally now

[CBTG]

Originally Posted by Ong88

The superfluous cladding made the tower a modified chimney

SG flats have multiple stairways.

No facade enclosures that will feed flames.

Provided residents never place any things at stairway and corrider if not, also take sometime to escape.