Latimer Road fire: Huge fire engulfs west London tower block

[Raptor]

[unable to retrieve full-text content]
Firefighters tackling "serious" fire in tower block in Latimer Road, west London, with flames seen on many storeys

BBC News

[GTI]

Absolutely horrendous, I pray most managed to get out

Several people dead after 'massive' blaze at London tower block



People were reportedly trapped in their homes.

Several people have been killed in a burning tower after a huge fire engulfed and destroyed a large block of flats.
More than 200 firefighters tackled the inferno which consumed almost the entire building near White City, west London, in the middle of the night.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing people trapped inside their homes in Grenfell Tower and screaming for help as emergency services were called shortly after 1.15am on Wednesday.
At least 50 people have been taken to hospital so far, according to London Ambulance Service.
The cause of the blaze is currently unknown.

Source

[EvilBoB]

My grandmother lived on the 15th floor of Grenfell until only recently. I can tell you that the building was a death trap waiting to happen. I lived at her place around 20 years ago when I first moved to London and the lifts barely worked, there is only one way in and out of the building and it gets HOT in there normally. The intensity of a fire in this building is not surprising to spread so quickly imo - things would hit ignition point pretty quick. I used to play with the other kids when I was younger and believe me - when you have to walk up or down 15 flights of stairs without staring death in the face it will finish you off. This is a horrible event and I hope more got out than I think.

[flumperino]

This is horrible.

Hopefully something can be done for those trapped at the top.

Looks as if the building will eventually collapse.

[Nibb]

I know a Blaggard lived in a high rise and I haven't heard off him in FB since around 1am last night! Hope he is OK! [emoji20]

[MHP]

Looks like the residents association were well aware of the problems. Take a look at their blog.

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/

[flumperino]

Theresa May’s New Advisor Gavin Barwell Failed To Review Tower Block Fire Regulations - Despite Four Years Of Warnings

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entr...?utm_hp_ref=uk

[JonEp]

A list of the names of people on the electoral roll living in the tower.

Spoiler:

https://www.searchelectoralroll.co.u....asp?pc=W111TG

[Raptor]

People have told harrowing tales of hearing the screams of those trapped in Grenfell Tower as the blaze ripped through the building.

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'I have seen people jump'

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Eyewitness Daniel told BBC London: "They were trapped. They couldn't come downstairs, especially from the top floor … people have been burned.
"I have seen it with my own eyes. And I have seen people jump."
Zoe, who lives on the fourth floor of the block, said: "Someone started banging on my door saying there's a fire and to get out.
"When I got on the landing it was thick with smoke but the smoke alarms weren't going off, which is quite scary.
"Then I just ran down the stairs. You could see the fire is in one of the flats.
"They were saying apparently the fire was caused by a fridge freezer, don't know how true that it is but the way the fire spread from the fourth floor all the way up was just scary.
"When we got downstairs we were seeing people in the building flashing their kitchen lights, bedroom lights trying to get everyone's attention."

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Mahad Egal escaped from his flat on the fourth floor with his family, including two small children, just before 01:00 BST.
He broke down as he recounted the events of the night on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show.
"At first it seemed it was controllable, but really quickly the fire started to rise as the cladding caught fire, " he said.
"The stairwells were full of smoke, dark, scary, and a trip hazard and fall hazard as some lights weren't working. It is incredible we survived.
"So many people were left; we had so many relatives and families who were ,still trapped in, calling and saying please let the fire services know that we ,are still here.
"There were people jumping out of the place, a man who threw two of his children out."

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'Lives have been ruined'

Zach Leeks lives a few minutes from the tower. He was woken at 06:00 by a friend concerned for his safety.
He told Radio 5live: "I went into the garden and there was just foam and ash and charred remains all over the garden. I just put some shoes on and went and did as much as I could.
"The people who have woken up at the same time I have, have relieved the people who were here all night.
"It's a lot to take in. It's very emotional. It was very silent down here. People were in shock. I'm still shaking here now.
"There are local builders here who are bringing supplies - water, clothing, bedding. I've never seen this place pull together so much since I've lived around here.
"It's extremely emotional. This is going to ruin a lot of people's lives."

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'Towering inferno'

"I woke up about half past one this morning to look across the road and see the big Grenfell Tower, in a towering inferno, just fire coming out of every window... smashing and exploding," said Paul Littlejohn, who lives opposite the tower.
"Things falling out, people screaming, people jumping out on fire, chucking ropes down what they'd made out of bed sheets, to try and climb out.
"Just a complete nightmare, absolute nightmare."

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Children thrown

A panicked parent was seen throwing her children from a window in the block shortly after 02:00, one witness said.
Joe Walsh, 58, said: "I saw the parent throw two kids out of the window.
"I don't know where they landed because I was on the other side.
"I doubt anyone caught them, I hope they did."
Student Tiago Etienne, 17, said he saw people drop from around the 15th floor but it was hard to tell in the darkness of the early hours.
"I saw about three children between the ages of four and eight being thrown," he said.
He said he thought they were being sent down to firefighters because they were not letting the civilians who were there get close.
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The screams of the residents had alerted him to the fire. He added: "I could hear the screaming.
"From where I was it sounded like people were directly outside.
"It was loud. It was terrible."

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'Frantic banging and screaming'

Samira Lamrani said she saw a member of the public catch a baby thrown from the ninth or tenth floor.
"People were starting to appear at the windows, frantically banging and screaming.
"The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch [it].
"Somebody did, a gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby."
Ms Lamrani described how she could see people "from all angles" banging on the glass for help.
"Members of the public were reassuring them, telling them we've done what we can and that we've phoned 999, but obviously the look on their face was death.
"My daughter's friend said she observed an adult who made some sort of homemade parachute and tried to lower himself out of the window.
"The more I looked up, floor upon floor. Endless numbers of people. Mainly the kids, because obviously their voices, with their high pitched voices - that will remain with me for a long time."

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'Corridors full of smoke'

Jody Martin said he got to the scene just as the first fire engine was arriving.
"I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams," he said.
"I was yelling everyone to get down and they were saying 'we can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors'."
"I was screaming at people in the building that were looking out of the windows, trying to wake people up, telling them 'get out of the building'
"And they were screaming back at me: 'We can't. The corridors are full of smoke'"

• 'It was like a horror movie'
• Inside the block

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'Save my children'

Neighbour Tamara said when she got there the whole right side of the building was on fire.
"The whole thing was engulfed in flames. We could hear people screaming 'help me' so me and my brother ran over to the estate and there were people just throwing their kids out saying 'save my children'," she said.
"The fire crew, ambulance and police couldn't do anything, they couldn't get in, and they were just telling them to stay where they are, and we'll come and get you.
"But things quickly escalated beyond measure and they couldn't go back in and get them.
"Within another 15 minutes the whole thing was up in flames and there were still people at their windows shouting 'help me'.
"You could see the fire going into their houses and engulfing the last room that they were in."

• Emergency casualty number
• 'Investigation needed'

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'The screaming was the worst'

Ann Waters lives in a house at the foot of the tower and was forced to flee her home when burning debris began raining down.
The 57-year-old said she was in bed when she smelled smoke and heard a fire engine.
"It was the screaming that was the worst and I could hear that from the ground, all I could hear was 'help, help, help'," she said.
"I was just speechless, the guy next door was screaming at people to get out of the building.
"When I went out the front I could see all the debris coming down and I could see [it] coming down and a police officer told me to... leave and go to the end of the road.
"It was like something out of a nightmare."
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BBC News

[Raptor]

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Twelve people have died in a west London tower block fire and the number of deaths are expected to rise, police have said.
Firefighters rescued 65 people from Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, after they were called at 00:54 BST.
Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning tower block, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.
Police say there may still be people in the building who are unaccounted for.
The ambulance service said 68 patients had been taken to six hospitals across London, with 18 in critical care. A further 10 patients made their own way to hospital.
During the night, eyewitnesses said they saw lights - thought to be mobile phones or torches - flashing at the top of the block of flats, and trapped residents coming to their windows - some holding children.
It is understood that "several hundred" people would have been in the block when the fire broke out shortly after midnight, most of them sleeping.
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An emergency number - 0800 0961 233 - has been set up for anyone concerned about friends or family.
Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor, managed to escape.
"As I was going down the stairs, there were firefighters, truly amazing firefighters that were actually going upstairs, to the fire, trying to get as many people out the building as possible," he told the BBC.
He said he was alerted to the fire not by fire alarms but by people on the street below, shouting "don't jump, don't jump".
Eyewitness Jody Martin said: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams.
"I was yelling at everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors.'"
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BBC News

[Mickey]

You wouldnt have thought it would happen in england with all this Health & Safety crap

[ilscuro]

Someone will be going to prison for a long time over this, whether it's because they cut corners during the 10 million pound refit, for ignoring residents safety concerns, or god forbid arson.

[Bald Bouncer]

Someone will be going to prison for a long time over this, whether it's because they cut corners during the 10 million pound refit, for ignoring residents safety concerns, or god forbid arson.

Maybe but if they do it will be the person or people below the person or people who should go.

[MHP]

No capes required...

[GTI]

A list of the names of people on the electoral roll living in the tower.

Spoiler:

https://www.searchelectoralroll.co.u....asp?pc=W111TG

A rich tapestry of cultures. RIP all who perished.

[darkstar]

12 dead I fear a lot more in the coming days mirocale if not

[Mobileman]

I think will top 150 tbh horrible news I think defo more to come from the investigation once gets under way

Poor family's and friends those involved must be distraught

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bald Bouncer]

KCTMO – Playing with fire!

Posted on November 20, 2016 by grenfellactiongroup


It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders. We believe that the KCTMO are an evil, unprincipled, mini-mafia who have no business to be charged with the responsibility of looking after the every day management of large scale social housing estates and that their sordid collusion with the RBKC Council is a recipe for a future major disaster.

Unfortunately, the Grenfell Action Group have reached the conclusion that only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation. We believe that the KCTMO have ensured their ongoing survival by the use of proxy votes at their Annual General Meeting that see them returned with a mandate of 98% in favour of the continuation of their inept and highly dangerous management of our homes. It is no coincidence that the 98% is the same figure that is returned by the infamous Kim Jong-un of North Korea who claims mass popularity while reputedly enslaving the general population and starving the majority of his people to death.

It is our conviction that a serious fire in a tower block or similar high density residential property is the most likely reason that those who wield power at the KCTMO will be found out and brought to justice! The Grenfell Action Group believe that the KCTMO narrowly averted a major fire disaster at Grenfell Tower in 2013 when residents experienced a period of terrifying power surges that were subsequently found to have been caused by faulty wiring. We believe that our attempts to highlight the seriousness of this event were covered up by the KCTMO with the help of the RBKC Scrutiny Committee who refused to investigate the legitimate concerns of tenants and leaseholders.

We have blogged many times on the subject of fire safety at Grenfell Tower and we believe that these investigations will become part of damning evidence of the poor safety record of the KCTMO should a fire affect any other of their properties and cause the loss of life that we are predicting:

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpres...ancaster-west/
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpres...n-fire-safety/
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpres...afety-scandal/
https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpres...l-a-fire-risk/

In October 2015 a fire ripped through another KCTMO property, the 14 storey Adair Tower in North Kensington, causing mass panic and resulting in a number of residents taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. It is reported that had it not been for the swift actions of the London Fire Brigade the consequences of this fire and potential loss of life could have been much worse.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ensington.html

In the aftermath of the Adair Tower fire the London Fire Brigade found that the KCTMO had not been looking after the safety of residents properly and issued an Enforcement Order compelling them to improve the fire safety in the escape staircases and to provide self closing devices to all the tower block’s front doors. A further audit by the London Fire Brigade of the neighbouring Hazelwood Tower (located alongside Adair Tower) found similar breaches of health and safety legislation and an Enforcement Order was also issued for this property forcing the TMO to address the serious concerns of the Fire Brigade’s inspectors. What is shocking is that a decade ago a fatality occurred due to a fire at Hazelwood Tower and the Fire Investigation Team ordered that the grills on the fire escape staircase be covered over. This never happened and it is believed that the uncovered grills at Adair House (Hazelwood Tower’s twin block) acted like a chimney and were responsible for the accelerated spread of the fire and smoke damage.

In the last twenty years and despite the terrifying power surge incident in 2013 and recent fire at Adair Tower, the residents of Grenfell Tower have received no proper fire safety instructions from the KCTMO. Residents were informed by a temporary notice stuck in the lift and one announcement in a recent regeneration newsletter that they should remain in their flats in the event of fire. There are not and never have been any instructions posted in the Grenfell Tower noticeboard or on individual floor as to how residents should act in event of a fire. Anyone who witnessed the recent tower block fire at Shepherds Court, in nearby Shepherd’s Bush, will know that the advice to remain in our properties would have led to certain fatalities and we are calling on our landlord to re-consider the advice that they have so badly circulated.

The Grenfell Action Group predict that it won’t be long before the words of this blog come back to haunt the KCTMO management and we will do everything in our power to ensure that those in authority know how long and how appallingly our landlord has ignored their responsibility to ensure the heath and safety of their tenants and leaseholders. They can’t say that they haven’t been warned!

Source

[Raptor]

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Firefighters have worked through the night to dampen the deadly fire at a west London block of flats that killed 12 people and left many more missing.
Flames could still be seen inside the tower block as crews used lights to search the building floor by floor.
Sixty-five people were rescued after fire ripped through Grenfell Tower in north Kensington on Wednesday morning.
Police have warned the number of deaths is expected to rise, while PM Theresa May has promised a full investigation.
Firefighters were called to the residential tower at 00:54 BST on Wednesday, at a time when "several hundred" people were thought to have been inside.
The tower had around 120 flats. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
Dozens of people left homeless by the fire have spent the night in makeshift rescue centres, while well-wishers have been signing a wall of condolence near the site.
Photographs have been left alongside messages for loved ones.
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council said it had placed 44 households so far in emergency accommodation.
BBC News reporter Sarah Corker said people had been arriving throughout the night with donations to help those affected.
Bhupinder Singh, a volunteer, was one of a number of people looking after donations overnight.
"It is times like this that the best of our community comes out. This is where you find out how good it is to live in England and how good it is to be a Londoner," he told the BBC.

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The missing

The ambulance service said 68 patients were taken to six hospitals across London, with 18 in critical care. A further 10 patients made their own way to hospital.
But many more people are unaccounted for, and loved ones have appealed on social media for information.
Among them is 12-year-old Jessica Urbano Ramirez, 66-year-old retired lorry driver Tony Disson, and security guard Mo Tuccu, a British national from Eritrea.
An emergency number - 0800 0961 233 - has been set up for anyone concerned about friends or family.
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Speaking on Wednesday, Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Sadly I can confirm that there are now 12 people that have died that we know of.
"I do anticipate that the number of fatalities will sadly increase beyond those 12."
London Fire Brigade Assistant Commissioner, Steve Apter, said there were "still pockets of fire yet to be extinguished in places particularly difficult to reach" but "almost all" of the building had been searched.
Checks have been carried out on the building and it is not in danger of collapsing, London Fire Brigade said.
'Don't jump, don't jump'

Paul Munakr, who lives on the seventh floor, was one of those able to escape the fire.
"As I was going down the stairs, there were firefighters, truly amazing firefighters, that were actually going upstairs, to the fire, trying to get as many people out the building as possible," he told the BBC.
He said he was alerted to the fire by people on the street below, shouting "don't jump, don't jump".
Eyewitness Jody Martin said: "I watched one person falling out, I watched another woman holding her baby out the window... hearing screams.
"I was yelling at everyone to get down and they were saying 'We can't leave our apartments, the smoke is too bad on the corridors'."
Michael Paramasivan, who lives on the seventh floor with his girlfriend and young daughter, said he ignored official advice to stay in your home.
"If we had stayed in that flat, we would've perished. My gut instinct told me just to get the girls out. I wrapped the little one up because of the smoke and I just got them out."
Another resident, Zoe, who lives on the fourth floor, said she was woken by a neighbour banging on her door.
"The whole landing was thick with smoke. The smoke alarms weren't going off but the way it spread so quickly from the fourth floor, all the way up to the 23rd floor was scary."

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Safety fears

Grenfell Tower underwent an £8.6m refurbishment as part of a wider transformation of the estate, that was completed in May last year.
Work included new exterior cladding and a communal heating system.
The 24-storey tower is managed by the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation on behalf of the council.
Before and during the refurbishment, the local Grenfell Action Group claimed that the block constituted a fire risk and residents warned that site access for emergency vehicles was "severely restricted".
Policing and fire minister Nick Hurd said checks were now planned on tower blocks that have gone through similar refurbishment.
He said authorities discussed "a process whereby we seek to identify towers that might be in a similar process of refurbishment (and) run a system of checks and inspections".
Construction firm Rydon, which carried out the refurbishment, said it was "shocked to hear of the devastating fire".
It originally stated that the work "met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards".
It later issued a new statement, removing the previous mention of the building meeting fire regulation standards, instead saying the project met "all required building regulations".
In a statement, Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, said it was "too early to speculate what caused the fire and contributed to its spread".
Council leader Nick Paget-Brown said the buildings were regularly inspected, but a "thorough investigation" was needed.
Politicians call for answers

The prime minister has promised a "proper investigation" into the fire.
But Labour politicians are calling for answers from the government. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: "We need to know what reports were available, what information was given and what actions were taken."
A review of building regulations covering fire safety was promised by Prime Minister Theresa May's chief of staff, Gavin Barwell, last year, when he was a government minister, but has not been published.
Responding to earlier reports, the Department for Communities and Local Government said it was "simply not true" that a report has been "sat on".
Following the Lakanal House fire in south London in 2009, in which six people died, the coroner recommended the guidance relating to fire safety within the Building Regulations was simplified.
The government said this work was "ongoing".
The government also wrote to councils encouraging them to consider retro-fitting sprinklers, as recommended by the coroner, a statement said.
Southwark Council was fined £270,000 for breaching fire safety regulations after the Lakanal House blaze.
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BBC News

[EvilBoB]

I think will top 150 tbh horrible news I think defo more to come from the investigation once gets under way

Poor family's and friends those involved must be distraught

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember there were lots of families. At least 20 people living on the 15th floor when I was staying there. If you count an average of 15 people per floor that's 315 people live in Grenfell! Comparing that to the number reported so far and guessing that some flats will have a higher occupancy I would expect the number to dramatically rise. I fear we may never know the true death toll. The top few floors may never be accessed due to the interior structural integrity