Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]


Welcome to Conversations. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 5
Grenfell Tower Fire Aftermath: 14-16 June 2017
Topic Started: Jun 15 2017, 11:13 AM (95 Views)
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
note: main Grenfell Tower thread can be found here....

(The Guardian) Summary - 7:15am
(1) At least 17 people have died in Wednesday’s fire at Grenfell Tower. Police have said the death toll is likely to rise.
Sniffer dogs are being sent into the burnt-out tower to search for bodies, while structural engineers work to make the building safe for firefighters to search. The search operation could take weeks, according to the Met commander Stuart Cundy.
(2) A ruptured gas main hampered efforts to quell the fire overnight. It was finally brought under control at 1.14am on Thursday.
(3) Theresa May visited the scene where she met members of the emergency services. She was criticised for failing to meet residents during the visit. Jeremy Corbyn also visited the scene.
(4) Nine firefighters were hurt in the rescue and there are concerns for their mental health. The fire commander Dany Cotton said: “I’m more concerned longer term about the mental impact on a lot of people who were here. People saw and heard things on a scale they have never seen before.”

(5) Labour is demanding a special Commons session to question a senior minister about what the government plans to do in the wake of the fire and ask why it failed to act on coroners’ concerns about two previous tower block fires. The Labour MP for Tottenham, David Lammy, said that what happened amounted to “corporate manslaughter”.
(6) There is growing frustration from the families of the missing about the lack of information about their loved ones. The names of at least 24 people have been circulated by friends and family. Police say they cannot give figures on the number of people missing.
(7) A total of 37 people are still being treated in hospital, with 17 in critical care. They are in six hospitals across London.
(8) The Queen has issued a message of condolence and paid tribute to the bravery of firefighters.

(9) A huge relief effort has swung into action, with charity workers and volunteers providing aid for those affected. Residents have voiced their anger at a lack of coordination from the council and other authorities. More than £1m to help displaced residents has been raised via online donations in just over 24 hours.
(10) Experts said the fire spread at unusual speed and raised concerns whether the cladding may have contributed to this. The tower, which was built in 1974, recently underwent a major refurbishment.
(11) It also emerged the cladding used in Grenfell Tower was behind a rapidly spreading blaze at a tower block in Melbourne in 2014. An eighth-floor fire raced up 13 floors to the roof of the 21-storey building in 11 minutes. The spread was “directly associated” with the external cladding, said the fire brigade.
(12) The Grenfell Action Group, a residents’ association, repeatedly warned about the risk of fire and claimed a major blaze was narrowly averted after a power surge in 2013. The group said its concerns were dismissed.
(13) Witnesses described screams of terror and people jumping out of flats in an attempt to reach safety. A baby was caught by a member of the public after being dropped from the ninth or 10th floor, a witness said.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image
(The Guardian) A tribute wall has been set up by the Latymer Christian Centre, where many have expressed anger at the fire.

Messages quoting Christian scripture sit alongside those mentioning Allah, while others express solidarity.

“Bonds formed in fire are difficult to break – our community will always stand together,” one reads.

Others record defiance and anger. “Justice for Grenfell. Jail those responsible,” says one. “I was watching the fire spread & engulf all the building from 1am, just helpless. Your memories will be forever with me. RIP. Go to hell all those responsible.”

Lex Quiambao, 30, stopped to reflect and write a message on his way to work at Wetherspoons. “Thinking of people we lost we pray for our sorrows to the end,” it read, in small blue capital letters.

He had come “to show I have a heart for the people and community, that we all live together and share in the neighbourhood”.

Quiambao lives in Westervale House, a tower block overlooking Grenfell Tower. “I noticed a smell that came to my apartment, like a barbecue smell … I watched the whole thing burn to a crisp so quickly.”

The day after, he feels “numb”, he said. “There’s no feelings … empty and cold.” He added: “[I’m] living my normal, usual life but my emotions keep tugging me … that sense, the images, the horrors, everything burning so quickly.”

Miriam Andrew, who lives over the road from Latymer Christian Centre, said: “It just feels like a dream – or more like a nightmare … its like living in a different world.”

She wanted “justice to be done”, adding: “We’ve got quite a lot of buildings around here with a similar type of cladding. The government and the councils, they need to make sure people have adequate fire safety in their homes. That’s the job of government, isn’t it: regulation.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image
(The Guardian) Corbyn: 'the truth has to come out'
--Jeremy Corbyn has been seen meeting residents and community leaders at the scene. He said “the truth has got to come out and will come out” as he visited volunteers helping after the Grenfell Tower fire. “The community needs you,” one resident told Corbyn.

He toured the area with the shadow housing minister, John Healey, and the new Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad.

Earlier Theresa May visited the scene but did not meet residents.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Adel Chaoui from London, whose cousin Farah Hamdan, her husband Omar Belkadi and their six-month-old daughter Leena Belkadi are missing, urged the police to release more information.

He said: “I have been asking police if there are any unidentified people in hospitals. I want them to let us know but they are saying that they cannot give information and don’t have it to hand. All we want to know is whether anyone has not been identified yet.”

He added: “We just need more information. We are talking to sympathetic police officers but they are worried about saying too much in case they break protocol and lose their jobs. One police officer in the hospital yesterday was so moved by my story that she let me look at a list of names of people in the hospital. She wanted to show me that they were not hiding anyone. I didn’t get to see the ward, however, so I am not sure if anyone was misidentified. But at least that was something. The officers are humans after all.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Camden council, in north London, is conducting “additional fire safety checks” to reassure residents in its tower blocks following reports that the firm responsible for the cladding in the Grenfell Tower disaster was also involved in recladding on five blocks in the borough.

A spokesman said: Camden has a robust fire safety policy in place and we will continue to work closely with the London fire brigade to ensure our fire safety procedures meet the latest advice and guidance. All housing blocks on our estates receive fire risk assessments and additional fire safety checks will now be made to continue to reassure residents.

We stand ready to respond to any new advice from London fire brigade that may emerge from today’s tragic incident.


Earlier today Construction Enquirer reported that the two firms involved in the Grenfell Tower refurbishment also delivered a bigger project in the Chalcot Estate in the north London borough as part of a £18m revamp under the Private Finance Initiative.

The Chalcot estate in Swiss Cottage consists of 706 homes in five tower blocks - Taplow, Bray, Burnham, Dorney, and Blashford – rising to 23 storeys.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Posted Image
(The Guardian) Corbyn meets a councillor, Mushtaq Lasharie, as he arrives at St Clement’s church in west London, where volunteers have provided shelter and support for people affected by the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Posted Image
(The Guardian) Theresa May at Grenfell Tower talking to members of the emergency services.

(The Guardian) The pictures of Jeremy Corbyn’s visit to the scene were very different from those of the visit of the prime minister.

Theresa May was photographed on a long lens talking to senior figures from the emergency services. She was criticised for not meeting residents, whereas Corbyn was seen chatting to residents and volunteers.

Corbyn visited St Clement’s church, where volunteers have set up a refuge centre. He met volunteers and community leaders as they showed him the donations that have been pouring in since the disaster.

“It’s great that you’re in place,” he told them. Labour has called for an inquiry into the disaster. Corbyn said: “The truth has got to come out and it will.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) May Orders Full Inquiry
--The prime minister, Theresa May, has ordered a full public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower disaster. May said the inquiry was needed to ensure “this terrible tragedy is properly investigated”.

Theresa May says the community around the Grenfell Tower are right to demand answers.

In a pooled interviewed she confirmed that she had ordered a full inquiry. “We need to ensure that this tragedy is fully investigated. People deserve answers. The inquiry will give them,” she said.

She said she overwhelmed by the bravery of the firefighters when she visited the scene today.
-Audio statement: https://soundcloud.com/attheweaver/theresa-may-orders-full-inquiry-into-grenfell-tower-fire
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has confirmed that the death count has risen to 17 and has demanded an interim report into towers refurbished in the same way as Grenfell Tower.

He said: The Metropolitan police have confirmed that tragically 17 people are now known to have died in the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower. Sadly this figure is likely to rise, and my thoughts and prayers remain with all those affected.

Today the fire has been brought under control and the fire brigade and our other emergency services are continuing to work heroically. The operation is now shifting from the search and rescue phase to the recovery phase.

Under these circumstances the full scale of the tragedy is becoming clear and there are pressing questions, which demand urgent answers.

That is why I am demanding a full, independent public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower. In light of concerns about the safety of other tower blocks that have been similarly refurbished the inquiry needs to produce an interim report by the end of this summer at the latest.

Meanwhile, any family and friends concerned about their loved ones should contact Casualty Bureau on 0800 0961 233.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Philip Hammond, the chancellor, has withdrawn from the Mansion House speech in the City of London tonight, citing the fire.

He said: “In view of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, I have withdrawn from giving the Mansion House speech tonight. My thoughts are with local community.”
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) The parents of five-year-old Isaac Shawo have made a desperate plea for information about him since he went missing during the fire. Genet Shawo and her husband Paulos Petakle, a taxi driver, were making their way to safety from their 18th floor flat with their children Luca, three, and Isaac when he became separated. Isaac was holding a neighbour’s hand and got lost in the thick black smoke, his mother told the Evening Standard.

The family have heard no news of the St Francis of Assisi Catholic primary pupil since. His mother told the paper: I will not fear the worst. I am still hoping and praying for him. He is a beautiful boy.

He told us during the fire that he didn’t want us to die. My neighbour said he would hold him and and bring him down. But when I got outside I realised Issac wasn’t there. I have been to all the emergency centres, all the hospitals and there is no news of him.


It is also understood that the engineering student Mohammed Al Haj Ali, 24, who had fled Syria, is one of the victims. He reportedly became separated from his 25-year-old brother Omar as they fled the flames and was reported missing. Omar remains in hospital. The brothers fled Daraa in Syria for the UK three years ago. The Syrian Solidarity Campaign Facebook page said he had died in the blaze, which was confirmed by one of the student’s friends.

Mohammed’s friend Mahmoud, who shared a flat with the brothers, spoke to the Guardian yesterday when Mohammed’s loved ones still hoped he would be found. Mahmoud last spoke to his friend at around 3.30am.

He was saying help me. My friend who escaped went to one flat and he went to another. They lost each other …

He was saying please help me. Please tell my family I love them. He sounded very scared.

-Read more: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/an-entire-family-wiped-out-names-of-victims-begin-to-emerge-after-grenfell-tower-disaster-a3565426.html
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Siân Berry, Green Party Member of the London Assembly and chair of its housing committee, told the Guardian the committee had called for stronger building regulations, including fire safety measures, in tower blocks after the Lakanal House fire, which killed six people in Camberwell, south London, in 2010. The committee called for clearer building regulations and higher quality fire assessments.

“They realised it was a mess and people doing inspections were not qualified to say whether buildings were safe,” she said. “The system was not fit for purpose in giving residents assurance their buildings have good fire safety or what to do in the event of a fire.” In 2010, she said, the committee found 20% of safety assessments of tall residential buildings were inadequate.

But an update to the building regulations that was due in 2012 still hasn’t happened. “The government has a lot to answer for,” Berry said. “Residents all around London who live in similar blocks will want to know what’s the safety of their buildings,” she said. “That can be done urgently by councils.”

Blocks that have been re-clad, as Grenfell Tower was, will need particularly urgent attention, she said. The implications of the fire are “absolutely enormous” for London’s councils and housing management bodies, but the central government needs to take action too, she said. “Of course if you don’t make it statutory for sprinklers [to be provided], private companies won’t necessarily provide them,” she said.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) May Promises To Rehouse Grenfell Tower Residents
--In her statement May also promised to rehouse in London all those whose homes were lost in the Grenfell Tower fire. She also talked of the “great spirit of the community”.

Here are the key bits of her statement.

They [the emergency services] have been working tirelessly in horrific conditions and I’ve been overwhelmed by their professionalism and their bravery. I heard stories of firefighters running into the building being protected from the falling debris by police officers using their riot shields.

At times like this the response of the community has been extraordinary and it has shown the great spirit of people in responding to a tragedy such as this. I’ve ordered that the cross-government group that is meeting to ensure that the response is properly coordinated will meet again today. The government stands ready to provide every assistance necessary to the emergency services and to the local authority.

We have all heard heartbreaking stories of the people who were caught up in this terrible, terrible tragedy. I want to reassure the residents of Grenfell Tower, all of whom are in our thoughts and prayers, that the government will make every effort to ensure that they are rehoused in London and as close as possible to home.

Right now people want answers and its absolutely right. That’s why I am today ordering a full public inquiry into this disaster. 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.


May ducked a question about whether the government’s decision to delay the publication of a fire safety report contributed to the disaster. She added: What we need to do is ensure that this terrible tragedy is properly investigated. That’s why I’m ordering a full public inquiry so we can get to the answers. It became clear to me this morning that that was necessary, because when I visited the scene, when I spoke to the emergency services, they told me that the way this fire progressed was rapid, it was ferocious and it was unexpected. So it is right that we do have a full public inquiry to get to the bottom of this.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Ministerial briefing for MPs about the Grenfell Tower fire
--Nick Hurd, the fire minister, and Alok Sharma, the housing minister, are starting a briefing for MPs at Westminster. It is taking place in the Westminster Hall mini-chamber, but it is not a proceeding of parliament, because the Commons is not sitting yet. It is technically a Home Office briefing. It is not being televised, and parliamentary privilege does not apply.

I’m in the room to cover it. Hurd is just beginning. He says it is an appalling tragedy, but we do not know yet how many people have been killed. He praises the emergency services and people in the community who have rallied around to help.

He says so far 17 people have been confirmed dead. Another 35 people are in hospital.

The fire is now considered to be under control, he says.

He says, for the coroner’s investigation to be effective, sufficient time has to be allowed for bodies to be identified.

The cause of the fire has not yet been identified, he says.

This is an exceptionally complex investigation and likely to take many months.

He says he would expect all housing providers, particularly those in charge of tower blocks, to make sure their buildings are safe.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) Nick Hurd and Alok Sharma are now taking questions.

Emma Dent Coad, the new Labour MP for Kensington, goes first. She says the community is “traumatised and angry”. She says she wants to know if fire regulations were implemented, and if warnings from community leaders were heeded. And she wants to know whether the emergency services had the ability to cope.

John Healey, the shadow housing minister, is now speaking on behalf of the front bench (although technically a briefing, this feels like a parliamentary statement). Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, is here, sitting alongside Healey, and says he plans to speak later. Healey says no fire in a single flat should have led to such devastation. No one should sleep in fear in a tower block. And no minister should rest until all the questions have been answered.

He says the PM should appoint a cabinet minister to lead the cross-departmental work that will need to be done to stop this happening again.

He asks when the PM will publish details of the inquiry.

And the government does not need to wait until the inquiry is over. There are recommendations from coroners from previous fires, and sprinklers could be installed in tower blocks now, he says.

Labour’s David Lammy says this has been described as a national tragedy. But the Commons has passed an act creating an offence of corporate manslaughter. Lammy says a criminal investigation needs to take place. He says the impact of the cladding created a chimney effect.He says his friend, Khadija Saye, was on Facebook at 3.30am, two hourss after it started, saying she was trapped by the fire. She did not get help, he says.

Lammy says he knows from the London riots that it can take years for people who lose their homes to rebuild their lives. There is an Act that obliges the state to pay compensation to people affected by riots. Will the state help out in this case, he asks.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Webster
Member Avatar
Wasatch Storyteller & Resident Forum Curmudgeon
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
(The Guardian) The former chair of the Grenfell Tower residents’ association has said his warnings of the risks of a catastrophic fire were ignored because of a “vacuum of accountability” in the building’s management.

David Collins lived in the building between April 2014 and October 2016. He was one of the administrators of the blog that warned extensively of structural dangers in the 24-storey block.

He moved out shortly before another member of the association wrote that a serious fire was a real possibility, and likely to be the only thing that would force change. After the devastating blaze that ripped through the building, killing at least 17 people, Collins said a public inquiry – which Theresa May announced on Thursday – was long overdue.

“It’s what we asked for 18 months ago,” he told the Guardian. “It’s what we deserve now.”

When Collins woke on Wednesday morning to the news, he said, “I was appalled, I was angry, I was upset – but I wasn’t surprised. I wasn’t surprised. The worst-case scenario was a fire. We knew there would have to be a tragedy before someone would do something.”
-Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/15/former-grenfell-tower-resident-demands-independent-inquiry-into-fire
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · The News Hub · Next Topic »
Add Reply
  • Pages:
  • 1
  • 5

Aquös by tiptopolive of the ZB Theme Zone