London Tower block fire

[Invicta]

This disaster is a great tragedy.  

Julian, my son in law wo is a senior buildings surveyor for  Westmister  City Council which is next to the borough of Kensington where the recent apartment fire disaster happened.  He was late home this evening as he had to attend a joint meeting with Kensington officers, regarding the situation of similar tower blocks.   May seems  so uncaring.  She will have to go. 

 

[Invicta]

Nearby Camden is evacuationg 1000s of people from similar blocks.  

Julian said the cladding which is blamed for the blaze conformed with building regulations and it is these regulations that need to be changed.he also said that theere was a layer which should have made a firebreak but for some reason it didn't. Many tower blocks around the country are being examined.  Also public buidings and hospitals may have similar cladding.

[HappyChristian]

I hope people are recovering from that fire, @Invicta? Has there been a decision what to do about the buildings with the cladding?

[Invicta]

I am not sure.  They have rehoused quite a few people. But people want to stay in the area, with their families and friends and there just isn't housing available in that area.  I think they have to replace all the cladding.  My son in law has been promoted to the senior office in Westminster Council building control dept.l, which is next door to Kensington.  I will ask him.  

It has mostly dropped out of the news except when people say the authorities are not doing enough. 

The fire seemed to have started when a gas cooker exploded.  The Fire service put the original fire out, and were still in the buiding when the cladding  burnt.  One major thing they will have to consider is installing sprinklers.  

Several decades ago there was a gas appliance that exploded on the ground floor of a block called Ronan Point, if I remember correctly.  The whole corner of the building collapsed. There was talk of banning gas in high rise blacks at that time, but it appears it wasn't followed up.

[Invicta]

One complaint is that many relatives have not got the bodies of their loved ones back, but the police said they were so badly burnt that there is practically nothing to recover. They are still searching the remains and about a week or so ago recovered the body of a child. 

[HappyChristian]

Tragedies like this one do result in not getting some of the bodies back. I can't imagine the grief!

 

[Invicta]

17 hours ago, HappyChristian said:

Tragedies like this one do result in not getting some of the bodies back. I can't imagine the grief!

 

Exactly. Trouble is the police etc are going through the ruins with a fine tooth comb as it were. The relatives cannot understnd that.

I did send an email to my s-i-l but haven't received answer.

[HappyChristian]

Fire burns so thoroughly sometimes.  I do hope the cladding situation gets resolved. I understand that there is a type of cladding that is not flammable? 

[Invicta]

16 hours ago, HappyChristian said:

Fire burns so thoroughly sometimes.  I do hope the cladding situation gets resolved. I understand that there is a type of cladding that is not flammable? 

Govt. announced today that new tower bloks over 30 metres high have to have sprinkler fitted. ampaigners and the fire brigade have said they should be fitted in all blocks.

They thought that cladding was not flamable, but they were wrong. 

[HappyChristian]

I'm glad they've decided to have sprinklers fitted in the taller buildings at least. 

[Invicta]

I saw my s i l yesterday evening I asked him about it and he said he is very busy, leaving before  6.00 in the morning and getting home later in the evening.   Most of the information he has is not for the public at present as it is still being investigated.