London fire: SEVENTY-NINE+ killed as Grenfell Tower engulfed

[emmy_dreamy]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-40269625

At least six people have died after a huge fire raged through the night at a west London 24-storey tower block, and police expect that number to rise.
Eyewitnesses described people trapped in the burning Grenfell Tower, in north Kensington, screaming for help and yelling for their children to be saved.
Firefighters, who rescued many people, were called at 00:54 BST and are still trying to put out the fire.
Police say there may still be people in the building who are unaccounted for.
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.

Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said the recovery operation would be "complex and lengthy", and the number of fatalities was expected to rise.
He declined to give any details of the number of people who may be missing.
He said it was likely to be some time before police could identify the victims, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.
An emergency number - 0800 0961 233 - has been set up for anyone concerned about friends or family.
More than 70 people have received treatment in hospital. At least 20 are known to be in a critical condition.
At 13:00 BST, Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton said firefighters expected to be on the scene for at least another 24 hours and she would not speculate about the cause of the blaze.
She said there were concerns that people were still inside the tower and she urged all residents to make sure they had reported themselves to police so that the authorities know they are safe.
Prime Minister Theresa May is "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life", said Downing Street.
Meanwhile, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is to demand a government statement in Parliament on Thursday on the tragedy, the BBC understands.
Later, police and fire minister Nick Hurd will chair a cross-party meeting to look at how the government can assist the emergency services and local authorities.

The pictures of this fire are frightening. I'm not sure I could live in a huge building like this. Can't exactly jump to safety.

[Amy1217]

There's no way the death toll is going to stay that low. How horrific.

[strmmrgrrl]

Up to 12 and expected to rise

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...med-residents/

• Grenfell Tower fire sees flames engulf 24-storey block
• Twelve fatalities confirmed, but police expect death toll to rise
• Trapped residents jump from upper floors and throw babies
• Eighteen people in critical care as 79 taken to hospital
• 'The whole building has gone': Witnesses tell of horrific scenes
• Children and elderly among the missing after London fire
• 'Blitz spirit': Community centres overwhelmed with donations
• What caused the blaze? The theories fire chiefs will examine
• Residents claim safety warnings in 2014 'fell on deaf ears'
• Police number for concerned relatives: 0800 0961 233

12 people have been confirmed killed in a huge fire that ripped through a west London tower block, but police expect the death toll to rise.

Up to 600 people are believed to have been inside Grenfell Tower's 120 flats when the blaze tore through the 24-storey building in the early hours.

Eighteen people are in critical care after 79 injured people were taken to hospital. But many are still missing after residents were left trapped on upper floors as flames rapidly ripped up the block after initially being told to stay in their homes.


Residents who escaped spoke of others trapped and screaming for help, with some throwing children from windows and others jumping from upper floors. Some were reported to have attempted to use bin bags as makeshift parachutes.

Pictures showed flames engulfing the block and a plume of smoke visible across the capital, while others showed desperate residents looking out of windows in the block.


Huge plumes of smoke pour from Grenfell Tower as the blaze rages CREDIT: JEREMY SELWYN/EYEVINE

In a sign of hope, survivors were still being pulled from the block 12 hours after the blaze started - but numbers of those saved are unclear.

As an investigation into the cause of the fire began, residents reported that fire alarms had not sounded and that they were told to "stay put" in their flats and "put a wet towel down by the door".

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said: "There will be a great many questions over the coming days as to the cause of this tragedy and I want to reassure Londoners that we will get all the answers."

More than 250 firefighters were called to the block on the Lancaster West Estate, in north Kensington, at about 1am. Several firefighters also suffered minor injuries in the blaze.

Confirming the deaths, Commander Stuart Cundy, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "I can confirm twelve fatalities at this time but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care."

He said it was likely to be some time before police are able to identify the victims, adding that it was too early to speculate on the cause of the fire.

Smoke continues to pour from the upper floors of Grenfell Tower CREDIT: PAUL GROVER FOR THE TELEGRAPH

After fears were raised that the block could collapse, fire chiefs said a structural engineer is monitoring the stability of the building, which "continues to be safe for our crews to go and work in".

Meanwhile, an action group claimed their warnings of a "catastrophe" fell on "deaf ears" after highlighting safety concerns three years ago. Stay with us for the latest updates throughout the day.

[emmy_dreamy]

The place went up like dry kindling. No one had time to escape. Besides, all the escape routes were ineffective because the fire started on the first few floors. It is one of my biggest nightmares since 9/11 to be trapped in a tall burning building. If I can't jump, I'm not living or working there.

[Boston Babe 73]

I read in USA Today that the residents had confronted the owners and management for years alerting them to the fire hazards in the building and the requests went ignored.

Also, in the live video there was comment after comment trying to pin this on the Muslims and comparing it to 911. FUCK those people.

[emmy_dreamy]

The only thing comparable to 9/11 is that it was a high rise. Other than that, nothing is the same. People are assholes.

[Boston Babe 73]

The Grenfell Action Group, a group of residents of the building, said it previously warned the local authority that owns the building and the management organization that the building was a serious fire risk, but those concerns were dismissed.
"The Grenfell Action Group believe that the (management organizatino) 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," the action group wrote in a blog post in November.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usato...lex/102834158/

ETA: An earlier version of this article named the owners and management company. It's since been revised taking their names out. That's convenient.

[raisedbywolves]

I read in USA Today that the residents had confronted the owners and management for years alerting them to the fire hazards in the building and the requests went ignored.

Also, in the live video there was comment after comment trying to pin this on the Muslims and comparing it to 911. FUCK those people.

I was waiting for that.

[Boston Babe 73]

I was waiting for that.

There was a large number of the residents that are actually Muslim. How's that for a kick in the face? You lost everything and quite possibly your life in this disaster and we're going to make wild assumptions that involve your background.

Fuck those people sideways.

[emmy_dreamy]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/15/europe...wer/index.html

London fire: Mourning, anger and questions over lives lost in inferno
By James Masters, James Griffiths and Muhammad Darwish, CNN
Updated 6:52 AM ET, Thu June 15, 2017

London (CNN)London's fire chief has warned that it could take weeks to identify all the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire, such is the devastation caused by the blaze.

A day after the devastating fire in North Kensington, firefighters were still working to dampen the blaze and search for remains of the dead. Police said the confirmed number of deaths had reached 17.
Dany Cotton, London's fire commissioner, said she had "genuinely" no idea about how many people were still missing. She also admitted that it we be an "absolute miracle" if there was still anyone alive in the tower and that it would take "weeks" to complete a proper search with the building still unstable.
On Thursday, Labour Member of Parliament David Lammy called for arrests to be made over the fire, describing the incident as "corporate manslaughter."
Latest developments
Final death toll still unknown, no number put on missing
Residents who escaped were offered housing overnight
Local council says it has enough donations for the survivors
37 people in hospital, 17 of which are critical
British Prime Minister Theresa May visited the site Thursday

More like Corporate Murder. They knew there were issues and did nothing. If that's not premeditated, I don't know what is.

[leapfreak]

The place went up like dry kindling. No one had time to escape. Besides, all the escape routes were ineffective because the fire started on the first few floors. It is one of my biggest nightmares since 9/11 to be trapped in a tall burning building. If I can't jump, I'm not living or working there.

They actually had quite a bit of time to escape but people chose not to. Residents called 999 and were advised to wait in their flats to be rescued instead of trying to get down the stairs. People followed the advice. The ones that have survived appear to be the ones who ignored the advice and left.

It was believed that the fire doors should contain the fire and so it was safest to stay in your flat. They didn't realise that the fire was climbing up the outside of the building as the new cladding that had been added had caught on fire and was spreading rapidly, trapping people.

[leapfreak]

The news here are now reporting that they aren't expecting to find any more survivors. The building is still on fire. Nobody really seems sure how many people are actually missing. 17 are now confirmed dead.

[emmy_dreamy]

They actually had quite a bit of time to escape but people chose not to. Residents called 999 and were advised to wait in their flats to be rescued instead of trying to get down the stairs. People followed the advice. The ones that have survived appear to be the ones who ignored the advice and left.

It was believed that the fire doors should contain the fire and so it was safest to stay in your flat. They didn't realise that the fire was climbing up the outside of the building as the new cladding that had been added had caught on fire and was spreading rapidly, trapping people.

I just know the fire was spreading quite quickly. I'm not sure if I would have listened to the emergency reps advice or if I would have fled. It sounds like a lot of mixed messages caused some of the confusion. The whole situation sounds horrific!

[Amy1217]

So they do not have a guess as to how many people are missing?

[leapfreak]

So they do not have a guess as to how many people are missing?

The BBC have been reporting all day that they don't know how many people are unaccounted for

It is unknown how many people remain unaccounted for, with police saying that it is unlikely that more survivors will be found.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40272168

They were saying that it is confusing as people keep reporting the same people as missing over and over. I read something earlier that one man has been reported missing something like 67 times.

[emmy_dreamy]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017...-fire-victims/

Grenfell Tower latest: London fire death toll rises to 30 as anger grows over safety failings


BY Danny Boyle
16 JUNE 2017 • 1:38PM

- 30 confirmed killed, but death toll could rise above 100
- 24 still in hospital as police do not expect more suriviors
- Queen and Prince William meet residents affected by blaze
- Theresa May visits hospital after 'not showing humanity'
- Grenfell Tower locals demand answers amid growing anger
- Hundreds set to attend Westminster rally to demand 'justice'
- The missing: From babies to whole families feared dead
- Hero 'caught girl like rugby ball' after she was thrown
- What caused the blaze? The theories fire chiefs will examine

[Little Duck]

This disaster is an absolute disgrace.

Just some of the factors contributing to the inferno:
- The flammable cladding and the belief that there may not have been adequate fire barriers between each floor (it shouldn't have spread so far so fast)
- Possibility of removal of fire barrier between internal floors during refurb that had not been reinstalled
- One fire escape and no sprinkler system despite a refurb that finished only last year - apparently this is acceptable in England
- National Grid (now Cadent) installed gas pipes in the only fire escape stairs. Residents raised concerns about this and was told there would be fire rated surrounds installed but there are reports this work went unfinished
- Residents were told to stay put because emergency operators believed the building would adequately protect residents until the fire brigade rescued them
- Residents told their doors were fire rated for half an hour but the doors actually installed were not fire rated at all...

So much WTF-ness to all this and heads should roll. It boggles the mind that in a developed country, so many people died unnecessarily.

[Boston Babe 73]

My Husband couldn't understand why I literally lost my shit with our Landlady when she tried to act like there was nothing wrong with our wiring after an electrician confirmed it was fucked. I FORCED her to fix it. It's no joke. Cheap bitch already almost killed us with her faulty wall heater and I had to buy my own fire/CO detector.

Slumlords are allowed to operate because nobody enforces the laws. Tenants are too afraid to report them for fear of retaliation.

[raisedbywolves]

My Husband couldn't understand why I literally lost my shit with our Landlady when she tried to act like there was nothing wrong with our wiring after an electrician confirmed it was fucked. I FORCED her to fix it. It's no joke. Cheap bitch already almost killed us with her faulty wall heater and I had to buy my own fire/CO detector.

Slumlords are allowed to operate because nobody enforces the laws. Tenants are too afraid to report them for fear of retaliation.

I am sure you already know this, but she is required to provide you a Carbon Monoxide detector. California is one of 27 states that requires it be provided in private residential dwellings.

[Boston Babe 73]

I am sure you already know this, but she is required to provide you a Carbon Monoxide detector. California is one of 27 states that requires it be provided in private residential dwellings.

Oh. I was well aware. That was my first clue that we weren't in a good place. I bought my own along with a fire extinguisher.

We're actively looking for a new place. Which is impossible in our area without ending up in a place just as bad for twice the money. It's like winning the lottery finding a decent place without starving.

[raisedbywolves]

Oh. I was well aware. That was my first clue that we weren't in a good place. I bought my own along with a fire extinguisher.

We're actively looking for a new place. Which is impossible in our area without ending up in a place just as bad for twice the money. It's like winning the lottery finding a decent place without starving.

You know that, as long as you keep paying the rent (a lot of tenants think they can withhold rent, but only the courts can do that), you can take her to court to make her do these repairs...and she can't retaliate against you unless she wants to lose her ass. I know a lot of this is easier said than done, but if you wanted to stay and make her fix things I would think about it. CA is pretty tenant friendly. Must more than my state, and I know of people doing that out here. It might be worth a try.

[Boston Babe 73]

Heartbreaking story about two of the victims:

https://meanwhileinoz.com.au/2017/06...-home-parents/

[emmy_dreamy]

Heartbreaking story about two of the victims:

https://meanwhileinoz.com.au/2017/06...-home-parents/

This one is heartbreaking too

http://www.unilad.co.uk/news/hero-so...grenfell-fire/

[emmy_dreamy]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...ry-15-10637730

Fears grow over '15 tots from same nursery missing' in Grenfell Tower fire

Ugghhh! This just makes me want to do something murderous to the building owner.

[puzzld]