Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington - news and discussion

[bmd]

Extremely thick and nasty Tory Solihull councillor Ken Hawkins compared protests to a lynch mob. Such contempt for people that it even overcomes their self-interest.


And this prick is responsible for housing.

Fuckin arse nugget Conservative wank pimple.

 

[Plumdaff]

She is busy slagging off Clive Lewis on twitter at the moment.



Scumbag lib aristo.

Bevan's beyond her imagination, then?

 

[Orang Utan]

She is busy slagging off Clive Lewis on twitter at the moment.



Scumbag lib aristo.

Oh. I thought she was praising him for it

 

[killer b]

Bevin's beyond her imagination, then?

Yeah, I was thinking 'lower than vermin' was much more coarse. Tool.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I live in London. Haven't been able to look at all of this thread. So may be repeating other posters.

I looked at C4 interview with a couple of local residents.

In the interview the local residents were bringing up issues of the big gap between rich and poor. The ethnic and social cleansing of London. With " regeneration" schemes being about that. This isn't directly to do with the fire. But I can understand why locals bring up these issues. Suddenly it on national news.


Thee have been comments from locals that the cladding was to prettify the tower blocks to make them look nicer to the well off. The cladding of old blocks is not for that. But that is how it's perceived.

Seems to me that the fire has meant that the poor in London suddenly find the media is asking there opinion on national TV. The kind of people who are usually ignored.

There is a lot of simmering anger out there about what has been happening to London.

This tradegy has focused it on a national platform.

A lot of the same issues came up in regard to a fire in a warehouse squat in San Francisco last year. Housing is so expensive that it forces people to live in makeshift housing that doesn't conform to building codes. I know I've lived in places that don't conform to building codes (or basic habitability for that matter).

 

[Cid]

This is probably a dumb question, but is there a program to hand out smoke detectors? We have a program where you can go to any fire station and ask for a smoke detector. Elderly folks can request a fire-audit and some firemen will show up and put up smoke detectors for them. I know its not a replacement for building-wide detectors and sprinkler systems, but it would be a patch on a bad system.

Yes, but there's a world of difference between a smoke detector designed to alert a resident, and a full fire alarm system which alerts everyone in the block, and usually the fire service.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Yes, but there's a world of difference between a smoke detector designed to alert a resident, and a full fire alarm system which alerts everyone in the block, and usually the fire service.

Yes, as I said in my post.

 

[killer b]

Literally everyone is all up in her mentions going 'er, bevan?'. It doesn't seem to have quite been taken the way shed planned.

 

[Cid]

Yes, as I said in my post.

I did try to read it, honestly.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I did try to read it, honestly.

Hey, it's Friday!!!!

 

[mather]

She is busy slagging off Clive Lewis on twitter at the moment.



Scumbag lib aristo.

I saw that crap on my Twitter, luckily everyone (me included) is calling her out on it.

I noticed she has not said anything about the disgusting comments made by certain Tories on this, I wonder why.

 

[Ax^]

Good luck to everyone and the urbs out protest today..

Not been on the internet all day good on ya'll

 

[Gramsci]

A lot of the same issues came up in regard to a fire in a warehouse squat in San Francisco last year. Housing is so expensive that it forces people to live in makeshift housing that doesn't conform to building codes.

I don't want to jump to conclusions yet. There are many older tower blocks in London with no sprinkler system as standard. The Barbican development for example. Which is private.

A fair amount of money was spent cladding this tower block. It's about making them more insulated. Many Council blocks have this.

The question is whether this was done properly and the right fire resistant cladding was used ( newspaper reports say possibly this was not the case).

On top of this is how the less well off feel there are two Londons. One for rich and poor. This is correct imo. But it's separate issue.

Like the Deptford Fire a whole load of issues are coming into national view.

New Cross house fire - Wikipedia

This time the Queen has been quick to visit. I'm sure that's a lesson learnt from the Deptford fire.

 

[Lurdan]

This is probably a dumb question, but is there a program to hand out smoke detectors? We have a program where you can go to any fire station and ask for a smoke detector. Elderly folks can request a fire-audit and some firemen will show up and put up smoke detectors for them. I know its not a replacement for building-wide detectors and sprinkler systems, but it would be a patch on a bad system.

Well I got a letter hand delivered through my door today from the Chief Executive of the ALMO which manages the housing stock belonging to my landlord, Tower Hamlets Council.

Susmita Sen, Chief Executive
Susmita joined us from Network Housing Group where she was Network Stadium Executive Director. She was previously Chief Executive of Ealing Homes, and is a former Director of Housing and Interim CEO at Hackney Homes. In all Susmita has over 20 years of delivering social housing services.

Susmita tells me that

Most of our tenanted flats have smoke detectors installed and many have new fire-rated front doors.

Most of them eh. That's nice.

She also helpfully points out that

You can book a Fire Brigade FREE home fire safety check, which includes a free smoke alarm, by phoning 0800 028 44 28.

 

[duncanh64]

Yeah, I was thinking 'lower than vermin' was much more coarse. Tool.

Quite; something as appalling as this happens and of course we must keep it all nice and polite FFS.

 

[tim]

Well I got a letter hand delivered through my door today from the Chief Executive of the ALMO which manages the housing stock belonging to my landlord, Tower Hamlets Council.



Susmita tells me that

Most of them eh. That's nice.

She also helpfully points out that

What fire warning and prevention have e ALMO themselves installed in your building?

 

[JTG]

So, 72 hours on - what, aside from general arse covering, victim blaming and delivering shitty letters to tenants, has RBKC done? I've lost track but I think they've arranged accommodation for families. Are they coordinating any relief effort or anything else that could be considered useful?

 

[Gramsci]

I really hope this tragedy won't be used to " regenerate" the remaining blocks. Replace them with the mockery of what passes as affordable housing in London. Ending up with social cleansing several years down the line.

There needs to be commitment to rehouse everyone locally in housing at social rent not the "affordable" bollox.

 

[Gramsci]

So, 72 hours on - what, aside from general arse covering, victim blaming and delivering shitty letters to tenants, has RBKC done? I've lost track but I think they've arranged accommodation for families. Are they coordinating any relief effort or anything else that could be considered useful?

In London there is a rent cap. Be interesting to see if this will be waived. Temporary housing will be expensive. There is possibility that those on low incomes will exceed rent cap.

 

[Lurdan]

What fire warning and prevention have e ALMO themselves installed in your building?

Used to be a mains wired smoke detector in the living room (although thinking about it that predated the formation of the ALMO). My bathroom was done up under Decent Homes two years ago, and as part of that the smoke detector was replaced and a mains wired heat detector fitted in the kitchen. Given it's a bedsit that's entirely adequate. And happily the new smoke detector doesn't go off every time I have a fry up.

This kind of work is generally done as part of another contract, or hopefully, when a flat becomes empty. As the word 'most' in her letter implies this still leaves scope for lots of gaps in provision.

 

[Wilf]

I don't want to jump to conclusions yet. There are many older tower blocks in London with no sprinkler system as standard. The Barbican development for example. Which is private.

A fair amount of money was spent cladding this tower block. It's about making them more insulated. Many Council blocks have this.

The question is whether this was done properly and the right fire resistant cladding was used ( newspaper reports say possibly this was not the case).

On top of this is how the less well off feel there are two Londons. One for rich and poor. This is correct imo. But it's separate issue.

Like the Deptford Fire a whole load of issues are coming into national view.

New Cross house fire - Wikipedia

This time the Queen has been quick to visit. I'm sure that's a lesson learnt from the Deptford fire.

On the underlined bit, I think it's just too soon to tell. It's not just the issue of why the cladding was put up, which cladding was used, or even the chains of management, sub management, contractors and sub contractors - how poor people are treated by neo-liberalism. It's also the things the residents have been complaining about for years. And the residents anger carries on, taken further by the way they've been treated since the fire. I'll put it this way, I'll be very surprised if the story of this horrendous fire resolves itself down to something solely and specifically technical and (social) context free.

 

[mauvais]

I take that letter to mean that some have the latest fire rated doors, not that some have no fire rating on their doors at all. I thought there was an obligation to retrofit to a certain standard. It would be worth finding out rather than guessing though.

 

[sleaterkinney]

I really hope this tragedy won't be used to " regenerate" the remaining blocks. Replace them with the mockery of what passes as affordable housing in London. Ending up with social cleansing several years down the line.

There needs to be commitment to rehouse everyone locally in housing at social rent not the "affordable" bollox.

Hopefully this will result in a wider debate around regeneration and social housing.

 

[Gramsci]

I was chatting to someone today who lives in the area. He says there is complete divide between rich and poor. This tragedy has brought it out in open.

Listening to news and protest at Council was very angry.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

I was chatting to someone today who lives in the area. He says there is complete divide between rich and poor. This tragedy has brought it out in open.

Listening to news and protest at Council was very angry.

I think Classwar have been making the point for quite some time now.

 

[Wilf]

Apologies if we've had this, but a Grenfell Action Group blogger was threatened by council solicitors for the blog (on safety issues):
Kensington and Chelsea Council threatened Grenfell Tower blogger with legal action after he brought up fire safety

Paget-Brown's obligatory knighthood must be receding.

 

[Lurdan]

I take that letter to mean that some have the latest fire rated doors, not that some have no fire rating on their doors at all. I thought there was an obligation to retrofit to a certain standard. It would be worth finding out rather than guessing though.

I have a distinct impression of seeing very old and very clearly unrated front doors on properties fairly recently elsewhere on the estate although obviously it's impossible to judge whether or not these are leaseheld properties purchased a long time ago. Earlier this week I was informed of the detail of the next major works contract we will be 'enjoying', and amongst the things I wasn't actually 'consulted' about before it was let is a new front door. As with smoke and heat alarms this is the kind of thing that gets added on when something else is being done - in our case concrete repairs. So again, enormous scope for gaps in provision where there isn't a contract to link it to.

 

[Who PhD]

One of the most appealing traits of our useless robot leader is her ability to start to grin when she says something she seems to think is monumentally profound. "one of the things is to make sure the money goes where it's needed" Well fuck!

 

[taffboy gwyrdd]

On the right there's a curious and instructive dynamic of more anger at the anger than at scores of people dying horribly. They really seem to think we should put up with it. We have a responsibility to see that it ain't so.

 

[harpo]

I work in mental health in Kensington. The repercussions of this are wider than anyone can imagine.

If anyone has practical or counselling skills or anything at all to give in terms of time, please email ASC.comms@lbhf.gov.uk

It's the address we've been given. They are looking for shifts tomorrow. There will be other places and it'd be good if people post them.

Please include your mobile no. if emailing.