Fire Engulfs Apartment Tower in London

[jimsenchuk]

LONDON — More than 200 firefighters from all over London were struggling to contain a major fire at a high-rise apartment building in the west of the city early Wednesday, amid fears that people were trapped inside.

According to the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police, the fire broke out around 1:16 a.m. and quickly engulfed the building, Grenfell Tower, in North Kensington, which appeared to have been gutted.

The London Fire Brigade said the flames had spread from the second floor to the top floor of the 27-story building, which contains some 120 apartments. More than 20 ambulances were sent to the scene. The police said that “residents continue to be evacuated,” but there was no official statement about deaths or serious injuries, and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/worl ... p=cur&_r=0

[westbankkid]

I can see heads rolling over this one. Someone has screwed up badly. Apparently the building was clad in a flammable material for aesthetics to surrounding buildings. It was too drab.
We watched the fire develop on SKY TV news and you could see the material catching fire and climbing the outside of the building. Within minutes it went from the lower floors to the top.

$17,000,000.00 for renovations in 2016 and the smoke/fire alarms didn't work???

[averagejoe]

Only a catastrophic event will expose the neglect': Action group called for Grenfell Tower to be pulled down FOUR YEARS ago but say their warnings about appalling safety 'fell on deaf ears'

The blaze engulfed the 27-storey Grenfell Tower on Latimer Road in White City on Wednesday morning
Grenfell Tower is council-owned but the management of the building is down to an independent company
Construction on the flats started in 1972 and was finished in 1974 when it was under complete council control
In 1996, the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Company was handed the contract to manage flats
It is a completely separate company and the board of directors are responsible for overseeing maintenance




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-ago.html

[Fancy]

I'll never understand why those poor people were told to stay in their apartments in the event of a fire. Even school children are taught about smoke and how to get out of a room safely.

Survivors of the disaster said on Wednesday they had raised fears about the fact that there was only one escape route. They also told the Kensington and Chelsea tenant management organisation (KCTMO) of their concerns over the placement of boilers and gas pipes, the absence of a building-wide fire alarm or sprinkler system, and piles of rubbish being dumped and causing a fire risk.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ts-in-2012

[lesliepaul]

Soon to be outdone by the 20 some odd story WOODEN high rise that I believe is being approved by the City of Vancouver currently. Developers only know one thing.........PROFIT. Wood is cheaper than concrete. We have seen our share of wood frame condo fires in Kelowna.........minutes to burn.

[dle]

This is a tragic event with horrific outcome. It has long been a bone of contention with me that developers are given permits for buildings allowing them to be built so tall. I don't think any building, steel, wood, brick, or otherwise, should be allowed taller than what the ladder trucks can reach for evacuation.

I know the steel buildings are much safer than wood etc, and I know that most modern buildings erected today have firewalls and other such preventative measures demanded by code. I did see part of a program on TV once about a building being built - in Dubai or Japan (somewhere with many mega-tall structures) where the plans incorporate egress fire chutes, like enclosed slides. I wasn't too sure how it was supposed to work when there were floors full of people all in it at once - I missed that part of the show - but they seemed to have it worked into the plan. I seem to recall there were also cement landing decks at intervals. I wish I had seen the whole show, but I still wouldn't be able to sleep a wink that high up no matter how splendid the view!

I wonder how the fire chiefs feel about these tall buildings and if they would ever live in one on a floor higher than they know their ladder trucks can reach?

Perhaps the fire department should have to sign off on all building permits ensuring there is a plan in place for fire safety and escape and maybe they already do. I'm sure there are fire codes in Canada but I still don't understand how they can be allowed to build higher than the ladders can go.

Too late for all those poor people in London though,

[Ranger66]

“fire department should have to sign off on all building permits ensuring there is a plan in place for fire safety and escape and maybe they already do. I'm sure there are fire codes in Canada”

In BC, AB and SK all multi-unit buildings are signed off by the Fire Dept. and building inspectors review and get sign offs from engineers on fire stop before they issue schedules.

[dle]

“fire department should have to sign off on all building permits ensuring there is a plan in place for fire safety and escape and maybe they already do. I'm sure there are fire codes in Canada”

In BC, AB and SK all multi-unit buildings are signed off by the Fire Dept. and building inspectors review and get sign offs from engineers on fire stop before they issue schedules.

Thanks for that info.....I thought there had to be something in place.

Personally, and maybe there are not very many of us that feel this way, I still couldn't see myself that high up knowing a fire truck ladder could never reach and there was simply no way to escape. I just watched the local news on Global and they are reporting on all the high-rises, around 30 stories, being considered for building here in Kelowna - I guess there must be many people who never give it a thought.

[Queen K]

I'm wondering what the procedure will be to take down the burned out empty shell of a building if all the bodies hadnt been recovered or people accounted for.

[GordonH]

I'm wondering what the procedure will be to take down the burned out empty shell of a building if all the bodies hadnt been recovered or people accounted for.

I am sure all attempts will be made to remove the bodies, before the building is imploded.

[Leifer]

I was shocked to see a combustible material cladding the outside of a building of that size.
It just boggles the mind. The fire looks to have raced up the outside of the cladding and burst through windows to ignite the interior of the units.
The structure of the building (concrete, steel, whatever) would not have made any difference in the outcome IMO.
Working fire alarms, sprinklers, and exclusive use of non-combustible materials would have saved allot of lives.
Someone needs to go to prison for what happened there.

[maryjane48]

Soon to be outdone by the 20 some odd story WOODEN high rise that I believe is being approved by the City of Vancouver currently. Developers only know one thing.........PROFIT. Wood is cheaper than concrete. We have seen our share of wood frame condo fires in Kelowna.........minutes to burn.

not if the wood is treated. whens last time you saw a loghouse burn . the tower in london was just clad in flammable material . no sprinklers working no alarms working . it isnt just the wood. and in those condo fires were all codes met ? was the drywall fireguarded properly ? was fireguard drywall even used ? lots questions not just one answer

[maryjane48]

Two women feared dead in the Grenfell Tower tragedy were allegedly threatened with legal action after they campaigned for improved fire safety.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ho ... 95586.html