Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington - news and discussion

[eoin_k]

What a tragedy. I can't look at the individual stories without welling up with tears. It's striking how many of the local residents are making the links between what happened and the council running the area down as part of their gentrification strategy, however inconvenient this might be for the BBC journalists who clearly don't want the interviews to go there.

 

[Sprocket.]

Sadly this terrible incident puts all other ongoing topics into perspective.

 

[no-no]

In the case of the TMO I sat on, the (2) independent members were people we drafted onto the board to provide us with short-term expertise in a particular field. We had an architect for a year, a QS, and accountant etc - all people that helped the board do a better job for the residents. IF KCTMO were drafting local political worthies (it sometimes happens, especially with very large TMOs), then they should have reduced the councillor count accordingly.

sounds reasonable, I was thinking that it was another example of part privitisation, heard earlier it's def a non profit.

 

[Plumdaff]

Even the presenter, Nihal, on Radio 5 Live atm (I know, what am I doing listening to 5Live when football isn't on) is openly asking what's wrong with this country if we don't look after people, if this just about money what does that say about us.

 

[Mr.Bishie]

Corbyn tried to get a bill through to make landlords accountable for property unfit for human habitation, 72 Tories blocked it who are private landlords. Simon Kirby (Brighton Kemptown) was one of them. How the fucking fuck is this democratic & allowed to happen? I'm fucking fizzing with rage at these bastards.

 

[killer b]

Sadly this terrible incident puts all other ongoing topics into perspective.

not at all - it's a direct result of (some of) the ongoing topics - deregulation, austerity, privatisation of public assets... that's why people are so angry.

 

[sim667]

I can't donate clothes, and I'm too far out of town to offer a room (I think), but is there anywhere that I can donate a few quid to a fund?

 

[Sprocket.]

not at all - it's a direct result of (some of) the ongoing topics - deregulation, austerity, privatisation of public assets... that's why people are so angry.

Exactly.

 

[Poot]

I can think of little else today. I have absolutely nothing useful to add (I mean, is there anything at all, really?) I just wanted to be with likeminded others who are similarly bewildered. There really just aren't words.

 

[Barking_Mad]

I can't donate clothes, and I'm too far out of town to offer a room (I think), but is there anywhere that I can donate a few quid to a fund?

A few options here

 

[jakejb79]

One thing I found shocking was Good Morning Britain with the live Videos of the blind man trapped in his house and even naming him too.

Would like to know if he is ok.

 

[Wilf]

Fire safeguards in Grenfell were temporarily removed during the refurbishment, according to the trade journal Inside Housing.

From:
London fire: six dead, 20 in critical care after tower block blaze – latest updates

 

[sim667]

A few options here

Thanks

 

[brogdale]

"A bonfire of red tape" is a quote I recall

 

[frogwoman]

Corbyn tried to get a bill through to make landlords accountable for property unfit for human habitation, 72 Tories blocked it who are private landlords. Simon Kirby (Brighton Kemptown) was one of them. How the fucking fuck is this democratic & allowed to happen? I'm fucking fizzing with rage at these bastards.

what??

 

[editor]

what??

Read it here: Tories vote down law requiring landlords make their homes fit for human habitation

 

[phillm]

Shitloads of this cosmetic cladding has gone up on old blocks recently. I suspect some may have to come down if it's proven to have played part in this awful fire.

Yeah - like Guy's Hospital.

Penoyre & Prasad reskins "ugly" London hospital tower

 

[eoin_k]

I'm not trying to take away from the bill about landlord's accountability, but it's worth being aware that it applied to the private sector, so not directly relevant to this case (although no doubt there were plenty of leaseholder landlords in the building). It still reflects where different politicians' priorities lie.

 

[frogwoman]

Read it here: Tories vote down law requiring landlords make their homes fit for human habitation

that's unbelievable

fucking tories

 

[hash tag]

In the wake of the huge fire that ripped through the block of flats in Southwark a year or two back coupled with the fact that this block has just had a big refurb makes this very difficult to make sense of. Thinking of our brave overstretched fire fighters who had an awful job dealing with it in the first place. I guess they will now have to investigate every nook and cranny in the block to ensure the fire is actually out before even checking on the cause and what went wrong. As of a few mintes ago, I see there is still plenty of smoke coming out of the block. In addition to the terrible tragedy of those that have lost their lives or who are injured, there are many who have lost their entire wordly possessions and may not yet know where they are sleeping tonight.
A massive task for hundreds, if not thousands of people to sort out, with recriminations to follow. A terrible sad tragedy, that, dare I say it, could probably been avoided.

 

[killer b]

Dawn Foster in the Graun has been tweeting some good stuff all day, and has now turned in this article - some interesting/outrageous stuff in there

After Grenfell Tower, can we make our tower blocks safe? | Dawn Foster

The London fire brigade, whose officers were deployed to Lakanal House and now to Grenfell, has been vocal about how stretched it has been cuts and station closures. Fire services have been affected across the country. Many say they can’t take more cuts without people dying. The figures seem to bear that out: last year saw a 21% increase in fire fatalities.

 

[brogdale]

As nogojones said above...



Shower of cunts.

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

that's unbelievable

Is it?

 

[ChrisD]

And they boast about it too... makes me cry

Cameron claims victory in bonfire of the Building Regulations

 

[agricola]

My heart goes out to the people in the flats. Emergency services crews will have done a fantastic job. Internet sites are saying some BA crews got at least as far as the 20th floor. 20 floors in BA in a working job like this; amazing.

But: how many fire crews have been covering wider areas because of full or part time station closures? Most of the cops will have been on at least 12 hour back to back shifts since Manchester and the non HART LAS people have been running at 96/97% capacity for years. That's no meals and no breaks. Don't even start on the receiving A and E departments

And none of them have had more than a 1% pay rise for years whilst both Fire and police have had their pensions fucked. LAS had their pensions buggered years ago.

I look forward to the Maybot saying how much she respects the emergency services.


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Things are that bad that I honestly can't remember the last time anyone at work went on a rant about about pay or what she did to pensions; people invariably now rant about the danger of what it is the Government has done, and is doing.

 

[hash tag]

Dawn Foster in the Graun has been tweeting some good stuff all day, and has now turned in this article - some interesting/outrageous stuff in there

After Grenfell Tower, can we make our tower blocks safe? | Dawn Foster

The London fire brigade, whose officers were deployed to Lakanal House and now to Grenfell, has been vocal about how stretched it has been cuts and station closures. Fire services have been affected across the country. Many say they can’t take more cuts without people dying. The figures seem to bear that out: last year saw a 21% increase in fire fatalities.

That reporting is outrageous for so many reasons. People are dying simply because of cuts to the fire brigade, cuts to local authorities Etc. Anyone would think we lived in a poverty stricken underveloped country

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

This video. Switched on young people:

 

[hash tag]

Things are that bad that I honestly can't remember the last time anyone at work went on a rant about about pay or what she did to pensions; people invariably now rant about the danger of what it is the Government has done, and is doing.

As a council employee my pay has been frozen for years now, fucking tories. Time for a demo?

 

[Miss-Shelf]

This video. Switched on young people:

Don't apologise for his language. He's furious and he should be.

 

[Barking_Mad]