London fire

Local people are donating clothes and other goods - I hope the local charity shops follow and help with much needed things for these poor people that have lost everything

My little granddaughter goes to the Kensington Academy right next to the burning tower block. She is in shock as her best friend lives on the 24th floor. And so many children from that school were in that building.
What does one say to a 12 year old sensitive child at such an awful time?

I believe an 11 month old baby was saved- its mother threw it from the 11th floor and it was caught by a fellow and others on the ground.

After reading some of the links posted by The Grenfell Action Group (thanks Daphnedil) it seems that the residents of the block have been concerned for many years about the safety of the building. It appears that reports of power surges, electrical faults, smoking appliances and other safety breaches were ignored by the local council and the private company contracted to run the building. There are several other high rise blocks in the vicinity all with the same potential problems.

I foresee that criminal charges will be brought however that is too late to save those people who have died and families who have lost everything.

I am SO angry on their behalf!

This is not the first tower block fire this year. There was one in nearby Trelleck Tower in April and fire in another block last year, all three managed by the same organisation.

In 2009 there was a fire in a block in Southwark that led to 3 deaths. Southwark Council were taken to court over their failure to have sufficent fire precautions in place www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/24/southwark-council-admits-safety-failings-tower-block-lakanal-house-blaze

The Grenfell Tower action group has been campaigning on the fire dangers in the block for sometime//grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/grenfell-tower-fire/

I think the time has come when it is necessary to admit that all these tower blocks are inherently unsafe in case of fire. To make them safe will require fire safety procedures that will probably be too stringent to be practical.

Either way if the managing organisation is shown to have been negligent in any way, and the Grenfell Residents site suggests they were. They should have the book thrown at them. The law on corporate man slaughter has been tightened up since the Lakanal fire in Southwark and hopefully if a couple of the executives at the top of one of these organisations gets a substantial prison sentence and event like this will not happen again.

Nina I described it to my DH as akin to the horror of 9/11. A terrible tragedy, and if cutting corners to save money is something to do with this those who made decisions will be responsible for manslaugther. I'm in tears thinking of all those poor souls trapped in that inferno.

I feel like I'm in shock just from watching the news report. I feel so sad and very angry that safety concerns were ignored by the council. Words fail me.

My daughter's brother-in-law was one of the first firemen into the building, his team went to the 20th floor and brought out 7 people. He's still on duty as I write this. Can you imagine how his mother must have felt listening to the radio all night. She has a very brave son.

Such brave men who deserve major recognition not cutbacks and pensions withdrawn. Hope the politicians remember this next time they vote themselves an 11 per cent pay rise. Anyone who risks their life to do their job should be rewarded properly. God bless them all.

After 9/11 I have a vague memory of somebody who had developed a sort of parachute (which could be used at lower altitudes than a plane ) with the idea that they would effect a safe escape from a tower block.
Doe anybody else remember that?
If so and if it is not wishful thinking on my part, what a good idea it would be. Reading of the Mum whose her baby was caught by a bystander when she threw him out of a 10th (?) floor window, even if it saved ONE life, it would be worth it.
Clearly the current safety measures were grossly inadequate but even if the fire alarm had worked there could still have been fatalities.
Not enough to say "lessons will be learned" they need to be acted on.

Forensics without a doubt will be brought in. Not just for who or what started it but why it took hold so quickly and 'still' continues to burn as the news shows.
Insurance / compensation will go into millions.
Heads will roll you may be sure.

Gibby hats off to your DD's BIL and ALL our brave firefighters. ?
No wage is enough for what they do.

£10 million pounds refurbishment yet tenants left with no working fire alarm or sprinkler system. Landlord needs to be investigated -what were they thinking. Plus the cladding installed on the outside of the building appears to have fed the flames. Surely a Fire Risk Assessment must have been done? The residents have been warning the Landlord about the dangers for over three years yet no steps have been taken to protect the tenants. Dreadful. So sorry for the families who have lost loved ones and for the firefighters who faced a nightmare blaze when they attended the scene.

It is truly horrific and so reminiscent of 911 albeit from a totally different cause - those poor people and also their pets who will also have perished. The ones who are safe have lost everything but al least they're alive. There was a poor man at the window all through the news this morning and then they stopped showing the shot. The smoke was beginning to reach his window so I can only think the worst. My son lived in the tower block opposite some time ago and knows the area well - he also lived near the Tower Bridge area and now living on the other side of the world finding all the news so terribly sad. Having had a fire behind us only a few weeks ago and being shocked at the ferocity of that I can't comprehend how bad this must have been. Those extremely brave fire fighters and other emergency services must be exhausted

Unbelievable, This is a terrible tragedy in London. Godd be with you all.

Dreadful tragedy, my thoughts and Prayers go out to everyone involved.

Heads should roll for specifying Alucobest cladding shown to spread fire in tall buildings as this Australian report shows:

- www.jas-anz.org/sites/default/files/post_incident_analysis_report.pdf#page36

Dreadful ...a tragedy that should never have happened ,,I really feel for all those involved and the services that are helping.

So sadly reminds me of that 70's film Towering Inferno ..although it was only a film, the cause was the builder cutting corners ..which sounds like it may be the case here ...even if a faulty electrical appliance caused the initial fire in one flat, smoke alarms, sprinkler systems and really good working escape routes should have been in place. Easy to say in hindsight and is not going to bring back all those innocent people who perished.

I hope the insurance companies are not going to argue about small print here in order to refute claims ...why do I think this will not be the case ?

It is once again heartwarming to see the people of London rally round with assistance, clothing, food, beds, etc ...but in this case it could have been avoided. I hope there will be a full and in depth enquiry and no buck passing

RIP all those who died, Good recovery to those who are injured and a massive thank you to the Fire Ambulance and all other NHS staff and services.

If the cladding was indeed Alubest aluminium/polyethylene composite panel, then there have been other fires where the repid spread was attributed to this material. www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=140638066

Grampie The report you flag up was published in 2014, three years ago. This places a very big responsibility on both manufacturer and managing organisation in North Kensington to explain why, given this report, they chose the cladding method they chose and ignored all the reservations flagged up by residents

I understand that there was no sprinkler system installed in the block. Even if the flats did not have them - and there is a cogent argument for at least having them in the kitchens, the public areas should have had an extensive system. Even with the flames spreading up the sides of the building, it would have at least enabled people to escape down the stairs.

Thoughts with all who are involved. Can't bear to think of all those frightened people especially those with young children or the disabled. Thanks to the fire fighters and ambulance man and the teams in the hospitals too. What a dreadful thing to happen.

How much more can London take? Those poor people. Cannot watch it. If warnings were ignored, the owners have so much blood on their hands. Doesn't help the victims or their families. I hate Tower Blocks, no one would choose it as a way to live. Bet the people that design these monstrosities live in nice homes with gardens, probably in the country. A disgrace. So thankful for what I have, but almost guilty when people are going through so much.

I'm fearful of a 3 figure death toll. Only around 80 people accounted for and in a 120 flat building you would expect between 350/500 residents. Doesn't bear thinking about.

A former Chief Fire Officer and secretary of a parliamentary group on fire safety today revealed successive ministers had had damning evidence on their desks since 2013 and nothing had happened.

And the Labour MP who chairs the group said ministers had “sat on” the recommendations for almost four years.

I want to add my horror and heartfelt thoughts I too couldn't stop the tears thinking of the people who were trapped and died horrific deaths, children being thrown out of Windows tiny faces pressed against the glass, elderly, disabled mums dads going to bed never knowing they would face death and a huge tragedy within hours
I don't think there is any point in specualation as to what who or why caused it even the fire service have no clues at this stage and it's all just made up stuff it could have been ANYTHING fridge, tumble driers, cooking, cigarette, candle absolutely anything but there should be such stringent fire rules in every tower block that this could never happen I hate the blooming things

So sad. Where on earth were the fire alarms and sprinklers??? Someone will be brought to book on this but too late for those who have lost everything. Angry.