Horrific Fire In London As Tower Block Erupts In flames

[stu007]

Grenfell Tower fire: support for people affected

 

Information about the support available for people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire on 14 June 2017.

 

This page contains advice on where to seek urgent assistance and information, including the official helplines for this incident.

 

It also provides guidance on support services available for victims and all those affected by Grenfell Tower fire.

 

Urgent advice and support for victims, their friends and families

The Grenfell Fire Response team are currently responding to what the community are telling them they need. If you come to the Assistance Centre at Westway Sports Centre, Crowthorne Road, W10 6RP you will be able to access services and support provided by the team from 9am to 11pm.

 

There are a range of support services available in the Assistance Centre. This includes housing needs, emergency funds, health, social care services, experienced volunteers from the Red Cross and other organisations, food and above all, a kind and sympathetic team of people ready to provide advice on anything.

 

A Red Cross helpline is in action to help give practical or emotional support to anyone who needs it and capacity of this is being expanded to give people a central point of contact. The number is 0800 4589472 - available 24 hours.

 

Residents who are displaced due to the fire please call the Kensington and Chelsea Council housing line on 020 7361 3008.

 

Any family and friends concerned about their loved ones please contact the police investigation team on 0800 032 4539. If someone was reported as missing and has been found safe, please call the police investigation team with an update.

 

READ MORE HERE: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/grenfell-tower-fire-june-2017-support-for-people-affected

[tobyjugg2]

I'm not sure as yet, but it is looking like they bought American paneling because most UK manufacturers dont make this cladding anymore as they sell in the EU so make stuff that meets the more stringent EU fire regs.

 

Still trying to find out how many (possibly thousands) of buildings are encased in this fire and cyanide generating poison.

 

The UK still hasn't banned it and will only likely address high rise buildings entombed in it (at local council and local taxpayers expense)

and IGNORE any/all lower rise schools, hospitals etc encased in this hazardous stuff.

 

It generates cyanide gas when burning as well as being highly inflammable.

 

 

Who remembers when settees and chairs used to be made of this poisonous inflammable stuff way back in the last millennium?

[citizenB]

Apparently there is so much confusion within the building regulations - the cladding is ok as long as it is used with other fire retardent components !

[tobyjugg2]

Apparently there is so much confusion within the building regulations - the cladding is ok as long as it is used with other fire retardent components !

 

and Aluminium aint up to the task it would seem

Perhaps encasing it in a foot of concrete might suffice ?

[citizenB]

I see that some residents in privately owned tower blocks are now also seeking assurances that their buildings are safe. I assume that would be down to the owners / landlords of those?

[citizenB]

Crikey, just seen this article re corruption in the building industry in Egypt - a building that had permission only for 4 floors [but went up to 13] just collapsed !

 

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/26/alexandrias-leaning-tower-became-emblem-corruption

 

When the 13-storey tower block toppled it exposed problems at the heart of the construction industry in a country where 400 residential buildings collapse each year

 

Pensioner Madiha Abdel Alim was heading home to her flat in Alexandria when she looked up and noticed something strange: the 13-storey block in which she lived was suddenly tilting precariously over the narrow road.

 

Concerned, she immediately contacted the local authorities. “They did nothing,” says Alim. “They said, ‘oh, that’s normal. It’s a very tall building’.” Three days later, the tower toppled and crashed into the building across the road.

 

Soon, images of the “leaning tower of Alexandria” went viral across Egypt – seen as an emblem of Egypt’s compromised construction industry, its legal loopholes and frequent corruption. Miraculously no one was hurt in the collapse of the Azarita block, but its residents lost their homes and many were forced to take refuge at a local mosque.

 

[stu007]

Fire brigade raised fears about cladding with councils

 

London Fire Brigade warned all 33 councils about the potential risks of external cladding on tower blocks in May this year, the BBC has learned.

 

It followed tests on panels from a high rise that suffered a fire last August.

 

The insulation panels were made up of polystyrene and plywood, and tests concluded they were the likely cause of the fire spreading up the outside.

 

The fire brigade urged councils to review their use and "take appropriate action to mitigate the fire risk".

 

READ MORE HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40422922

[citizenB]

The whole system appears to have been a mess - now they are saying that experts had warned about exposed gas pipes in the hallways !

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/27/grenfell-tower-gas-pipes-left-exposed-despite-fire-safety-experts-orders?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=232568&subid=22841961&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

 

Grenfell Tower gas pipes left exposed, despite fire safety expert's orders

Council expert said pipes serving flats must be protected with fire-retardant boxing but, by time of fire, two-thirds were still bare

Dozens of exposed gas pipes in Grenfell Tower that caused residents to fear for their safety were left bare despite a council safety expert ordering them to be protected by fire-retardant boxing.

 

The National Grid agreed to protect the pipes serving individual flats, which had been installed over the winter, but had only added a third of the boxing by the time the deadly blaze killed at least 79 people.

 

In March, three months before the blaze, residents told the London fire brigade (LFB) that people living in the 24-storey tower were so scared by the pipes “that they are having a panic attack”.

 

 

 

Jevans said that the National Grid assured the council on 27 March that the pipes would be protected, but two-thirds of the lateral pipes were still exposed when the disaster happened on 14 June.

The works were originally undertaken by the National Grid’s gas distribution arm following a leak. In March, the firm was sold to investors, including the Qatari government, and renamed Cadent Gas.

Cadent said the “work was still ongoing to box in the lateral pipes [horizontal pipes to flats]” when the fire occurred.

 

[citizenB]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?478832-Grenfell-Tower-fire-support-for-people-affected

 

Thought I would copy a link from another section of CAG to here.

[citizenB]

UK Govt won't pay for fireproof cladding on risky towers

BRITISH councils face bills running to hundreds of millions of pounds to make tower blocks safe after the Government said it would not guarantee extra money to pay for vital work to prevent a repeat of the Grenfell disaster.

 

Ninety-five high-rise buildings in 32 local authority areas have failed safety tests, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) said yesterday, with hundreds more blocks still to be tested.

 

The findings prompted Theresa May to announce a "major national investigation" into the use of cladding on high-rise blocks, with every sample so far tested in the wake of the Grenfell found to be unsafe.

https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/uk-govt-wont-pay-fireproof-cladding-risky-towers/3194427/

 

But despite emergency fire safety checks being carried out nationwide under central government direction, councils will not be reimbursed for refurbishment work carried out.

 

A DCLG spokesperson said there was "no guarantee" of central government funding and that it would be up to local authorities and housing associations to cover the costs of ensuring residents' safety.

 

The spokesperson said financial support would be considered on a "case by case" basis for those that could not afford to carry out the necessary work, but did not clarify what the criteria for that consideration would be.

 

The announcement was met with severe criticism from some of the councils affected, with local authorities already having their budgets severely squeezed after years of austerity measures.

[tobyjugg2]

and reports starting of universities with this sort of cladding in student accommodation ...

 

already found in

Newcastle, Nottingham, Edinburgh ....

 

https://thetab.com/uk/newcastle/2017/06/26/northumbria-accommodation-set-september-will-use-cladding-grenfell-26160

 

http://www.thenationalstudent.com/Student/2017-06-16/company_that_refurbished_grenfell_tower_also_renovated_student_accommodation.html

[tobyjugg2]

Ahh never thought to look for some real news @ thedaily mail

but

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4646544/Cladding-fire-fears-38-hospitals-university-halls.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4613130/Schools-hospitals-leisure-centres-cladding-Grenfell-Tower.html

 

 

Australia in same boat

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/minister-says-all-hospitals-safe-as-flammable-cladding-inspection-continues-20170623-gwxgpg.html

 

 

Two types of cladding sold - one is fire resistant

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/uk-test-hospitals-schools-flammable-cladding-48282217

 

http://www.kawneer.com/kawneer/india/en/product.asp?cat_id=1753&prod_id=3938

 

Reynobond® is a composite panel consisting of two coil coated aluminum sheets permanently bonded to an extruded thermoplastic PE or FR (Fire Retardant) core material. Reynobond® is suitable for architectural applications due to its flatness, its light weight (in comparison to steel and solid aluminium), and its ease of fabrication.

[citizenB]

Ahh never thought to look for some real news @ thedaily mail

but

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4646544/Cladding-fire-fears-38-hospitals-university-halls.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4613130/Schools-hospitals-leisure-centres-cladding-Grenfell-Tower.html

 

I think you might find 'Real news' in all bar the sun and the mirror at the moment, TJ - because there is lots of real stories around.

[tobyjugg2]

I think you might find 'Real news' in all bar the sun and the mirror at the moment, TJ - because there is lots of real stories around.

 

LOL yes, but the mail has real 'real news' on this with some real depth and real questions. Not just headlines and spin on a 'real' story..

Quite impressed.

[tobyjugg2]

Yes, as it was apparently perfectly OK within UK government driven regs to do so

 

but no longer after company suffers a share proice drop and threats of legal action both sides of the Atlantic.

 

http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-fire-arconic-reynobonpe-idUKKBN19H1Z3

 

Arconic ends sales of panels used at Grenfell Tower for high-rises

 

 

 

I'm going to call myself on my statement above

 

I'm no professional expert on this, but I now believe this sort of cladding DOES NOT meet fire regs.

It seems it was passed despite being in breach of fire regs via a loophole which just required an 'expert opinion' on its safety.

 

So it would fail fire regs, but met government test (or not) confirmation requirements.

[tobyjugg2]

I think someone needs to look at the PFI builds PDQ

[pmailkeey]

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/world/europe/uk-grenfell-tower-london-fire.html?ribbon-ad-idx=15&rref=world/europe

 

 

 

"But experts on British fire safety rules say that the material, used as exterior cladding, in fact complied with regulations. Other countries, including the United States, have placed stricter restrictions on how such materials can be used, but Britain had not yet done so, they said."

 

"Critics of the material have warned for years that aluminum surface sheets can melt in a fire, after which flames could race through flammable insulation. If other protections fail and fire penetrates the cladding, “It is like you have got a high-rise building and you are encasing it in kerosene,” said Edwin Galea, director of the Fire Safety Engineering Group at the University of Greenwich. “It is insanity, pure and simple.”"

 

"Such a runaway blaze appears to have been precisely what happened at Grenfell Tower. The flames engulfed the building in a matter of minutes, moving from the outside inward and emitting a dark smoke characteristic of burning insulation."

 

Remember the flammable warships we sent to the Falklands

[dx100uk]

huh?

[pmailkeey]

and yet another today

 

 

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/bethnal-green-fire-smoke-billows-160900593.html

 

See - they just can't contain fires in one flat!

[pmailkeey]

https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/uk-govt-wont-pay-fireproof-cladding-risky-towers/3194427/

 

More likely the councils that's used the dangerous cladding will be fined !

[tobyjugg2]

Over a hundred high rises and counting

Still waiting for figures on Schools, Hospitals, Universities, Student accommodation, Leisure centers ........

 

So who initially authorised (or didnt BAN) the use of this material?

Particularly as even the manufacturer labels their own 'other option' in this area as FR (Fire Retardant - not French)

 

How can any bulk insulating material used in places where there are people, let alone people asleep, NOT be FR?

What is the stuff in MY attic? There when I bought the house???

 

 

Who remembers the adverts to check for the kite mark on sofas and chairs so you wouldn't burn to death or be poisoned by cyanide if you fell asleep with a lit fag?

How many decades ago was that?

You couldn't even give those sofas away, and charity shops quite rightly wouldn't touch them.

and here they are letting the same stuff be used to encase buildings decades after the problem was identified.

Lets take it out of the odd few rooms and encase entire buildings in it!!!

 

Need to rip up my attic floor boarding and replace whatever's there dont I?

Edited June 29, 2017 by Andyorch
edited

[citizenB]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/grenfell-tower-fire-man-arrested-false-claim-relatives-housing-money-metropolitan-police-residents-a7815186.html

 

 

Grenfell Tower fire: Man arrested for falsely claiming his relatives had died in fatal blaze to get housing and money

 

Police have arrested a man accused of falsely claiming his relatives had died in the Grenfell Tower fire to gain housing and money.

 

The 52-year-old man, who has not been named, came forward in the aftermath of the disaster posing as a victim.

 

“He was assigned family liaison officers after he claimed that he lost his wife and son in the fire,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.

 

 

 

There had to be one, didn't there? Having spoken to neighbours, it was discovered the man didn't live in the Grenfell building.

[tobyjugg2]

Checked my loft insulation and it does appear to be flame retardant

 

[citizenB]

Now they are saying that the government testing was flawed ?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/30/tower-block-cladding-could-be-safe-despite-failed-tests-experts-say

 

 

Tower block cladding could be safe despite failed tests, experts say

 

Government advisers to consult on whether panels could be used in some cases while warning that removing them could increase fire risk

 

But there are growing concerns that the tests are too simplistic to determine whether towers are clad safely. Some critics, such as the chairman of the Local Government Association, Gary Porter, have called for the tests to be halted as a result.

 

Earlier on Friday, Lord Porter, the Conservative peer, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The thing that is being tested at the request of the experts isn’t the right thing to test. We need to test the whole panel.”

 

On Monday, the Guardian revealed increasing concerns about the tests. “The government is fundamentally flawed in its use of the BRE [british Research Establishment] to conduct overly simplistic and limited fire test samples and not the complete cladding assembly,” said Stephen MacKenzie, a fire risk consultant. “The small-scale tests on external panels need to to be extended to a full disassembly.”

 

He said he had observed the removal of panels in three locations, including Camden, and said he was worried that “we could be pulling off cladding systems that are potentially OK”.

[determindator]

When you ask a charity organisation if they would like a settee or arm chairs they ask if it has the fire retardant label on or they can't take it.

 

Combustible material on a large scale should have been under that fundamental scrutiny.