Pete-MK(Elite Donator) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 10:56
Horrible scenes coming out of London today, with eyewitness accounts sharing horrible details of the fire. Despite the building having a refurb last year, it seems that shortcoming from the housing association that runs the building may have contributed to the fire spreading so quickly - including an apparent lack of smoke alarms!
As someone who works in the building trade, it's staggering that in 2017, a building can be so lacking in basic safety features, and that work can be carried out so poorly, that the building could be classed as fit for human habitation. Heads are gonna roll
bandicoot(Elite) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 11:09
Just watching it on my office telly, and it started on the fourth floor according to a resident, and the fire ran up the external cladding, which it seems looking at it was not fireproof.
Also the stairwell was ful of smoke right from the start. Definitely a death trap.
As for fire systems, well it seemed very inadequate.
I work in the building industry, and public spaces unless supervised with staff, are very difficult to keep operational due to public misuse.
When I was refurbishing a school recently, the pupils kept setting the fire alarm breakglasses off, costing the school a fine each time the fire brigade came out. We had to eventually buy a cover over each breakglass unit that sounds if lifted, so a staff member could run out and catch the pupil. Thats the public for you.
RE: Huge Blaze at Grenfell towers in West London
Snaps(Elite) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 11:16
Just listening to the reports on the radio this morning. Ex head of the residents assoc for the tower said 90% of residents had signed a petition complaining of safety issues and 68% said they had been threatened by representatives when they had raised any queries.
It sounds likely that somebody may even end up doing time for this.
bandicoot(Elite) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 15:34
Latest ......Six dead, Twenty critical... BBC News 4.30PM.
RE: Huge Blaze at Grenfell towers in West London
RJS(undefined) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 18:18
Awful, heart goes out to anyone involved. You want to feel safe in your own home. :/
On the radio this morning a resident was saying the official advice in a fire was to stay in your flat, the fire brigade will arrive and put out any fire before it reaches you. And if they'd have done that, they'd be dead.
Si Wooldridge(Reviewer) posted this on Wednesday, 14th June 2017, 21:07
Seems to have been sound advice though as I saw a tweet that I can't find now from some architecture magazine saying that something had gone badly wrong as those type of dwellings are supposed to the contain the fire to a single flat.
No idea if that's true, it will all come out during the inquest...
Quote: Experts have repeatedly warned that the addition of cladding, which is regularly used to refresh old or unsightly buildings, can help spread fire. It can work like a chimney, they have warned, bringing up air that allows it to spread across a building quickly.
bandicoot(Elite) posted this on Thursday, 15th June 2017, 14:30
On the radio today they were discussing the building cladding.
Seems the cladding had a space between building and inner side of cladding and this was acting like a chimney.
There should be horizontal baffles behind the cladding to stop this, but was there?, and how good against fire was it?
Another factor was that there was only one way out the building.
This all should come out in the inquest, but if I was living in similar cladded tower blocks I would be worried.
RE: Huge Blaze at Grenfell towers in West London
Brooky(Elite) posted this on Thursday, 15th June 2017, 14:37
Awful so sadden what you Brits have been hit with.My prayers are with you all.When I saw that on my tv I said to myself oh my god!!!I pray so fast no one got burn!!!awful n horrible way to die. Wonder how it started.
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