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“We repeatedly reported concerns to … Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, including fire safety concerns which were not investigated, during the regeneration works. Concerns over locations of boilers, concerns about escape, concerns about fire escape lighting, the list goes on. I spoke to Nick Paget-Brown of the council, I spoke to councillors and they refused to investigate, they wouldn’t believe that the residents were concerned.
90% of residents signed an independent petition asking for there to be a investigation into the organization that runs this building because they were so incompetent, and the council turned it down, 68% of residents felt they had been threatened, harassed, pressured or bullied by the same organization or by the contractors doing the work. I personally had the contracts manager…come threaten me on my own door. That was the conditions we were dealing with and they didn’t listen to our concerns.”
(David Collins – Local Residents Association)
June 14, 2017 @ 11:22AM
SOURCE = BBC News Channel Live
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London tower fire: Residents had warned of fire risk at London flats gutted by blaze
June 14, 2017
Local residents warned of the potential fire risk in London’s Grenfell Tower apartment block nearly 18 months before the complex was engulfed in a giant blaze, saying they feared people could be trapped inside if a fire broke out. In a blog post dated January 24, 2016, the Grenfell Action Group (GAC) said a build-up of rubbish during development works posed a serious fire risk. “It has been very clear for some time to the residents of Grenfell Tower that those responsible for ensuring the smooth running of Lancaster West Estate are failing in their duty of care and wilfully allowing our residential amenity to decline in unacceptable ways,” the post reads. “Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in our landlords’ failure to deal with a serious health and safety issue that recently developed at the entrance/exit to Grenfell Tower.
“This matter is of particular concern as there is only one entry and exit to Grenfell Tower during the Improvement Works and the potential for a fire to break out in the communal area on the walkway does not bear thinking about as residents would be trapped in the building with no way out!”
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SOURCE = Radio Australia
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London Fire: Structural engineer is monitoring Grenfell Tower’s stability after devastating blaze
June 14, 2017
The London Fire Brigade says that a structural engineer is monitoring the stability of Grenfell Tower, the 24-storey residential block which was engulfed by a devastating fire in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The building has been described as safe for now, and firefighters continue to work inside.
“We have got a structural engineer, who in conjunction with my urban search and rescue advisor, is monitoring the stability of the building,” London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton said. “At the moment the building continues to be safe for our crews to go and work in.” Cotton also said crews had only reached as far as the 19th and 20th floors of the building so far.
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SOURCE = The Independent
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‘It’s Blitz spirit’: Community centres and churches overwhelmed with donations for Grenfell Tower residents
June 14, 2017
Kind locals have come in great numbers to help out those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, giving food, clothing and toiletries to those in need. Some of the places people are sheltering, including churches and other religious buildings, have had to turn away people because there are so many volunteers. They have said more help will be needed as the residents get back on their feet. Latymer Christian Centre, the team running another makeshift rescue centre, told the Guardian they have been overwhelmed with donations of food, water and clothes. They are now turning people away, asking instead for cash donations. David Lammy, the MP for Tottenham, said: “If you can help with clothes, food, blankets, toiletries etc please donate to: St Clements Church, 95 Sirdar Rd, W11 4EQ”. The Rugby Portobello Trust is also accepting donations for residents.
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SOURCE = The Telegraph
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Terrified victims of Grenfell Tower fire have been left homeless – here’s how you can help
June 14, 2017
Residents and community groups are clubbing together in the wake of a devastating London fire that ripped through an entire tower block. Witnesses say the first call to a blaze at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in West London came in just before 1am. ‘Multiple fatalities’ have been reported and others are said to be missing. Now, the families who managed to escape the flames have been left homeless. Many include children. Hundreds of people have shared ways to help out. Clothing, bedding, food and water have already been promised at various nearby centres such as sports clubs, churches, mosques, and halls.
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SOURCE = The Mirror
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Grenfell Tower fire: Survivors tell how they escaped the devastating blaze
June 14, 2017
Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in west London have spoken about their terrifying escape as a huge fire gutted the 24-storey apartment block, leaving at least six dead and more than 50 in hospital. Hundreds of people were asleep when the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday (14 June). They were awoken by the sounds of people screaming “fire! fire!” and people rushing to escape the burning building. Over nine hours after the blaze started, firefighters are still trying to contain the flames. Those who managed to get out in time say they are “lucky to be alive.” One man was only alerted to what was happening when fire engines started arriving outside.
He said that he hadn’t heard any fire alarms go off and only realised how serious the incident was when he looked out of his window on the 17th floor and saw “the fire blazing, and coming up really fast, because of the cladding – the cladding was really flammable, and it just caught up like a matchstick.” He guided his 68-year-old aunt through thick smoke to the exit and out of the building, but said he feared that people who waited longer would not be able to get out. One woman tweeted at 2:18am that she was stuck in the tower block and afraid to leave her flat as she thought she would “die from the smoke.” People on Twitter urged her to ring 999 and cover her door with wet blankets. An hour later the woman tweeted again that she was still trapped in the building and could see people jumping out of the window.
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SOURCE = International Business Insider
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Grenfell Tower Fire: People Jump From London Apartment Building Flames – Fire Risk Warnings Posted In 2016
June 14, 2017
A massive fire has broken out and engulfed an apartment building named Grenfell Tower in London. The image above shows some of the 200 firefighters battling the huge fire that broke out in London on Wednesday, June 14. Multiple outlets such as CNN and The Sun are reporting on claims that people were jumping from windows to escape the blaze, with the latter publication reporting that people have jumped from higher floors of the Grenfell Tower to escape the fire.
The Grenfell tower block is in West London, reports BBC News, as videos and photos from the scene of the fire show that the fire has nearly completely usurped the tower block on Latimer Road in West London. Desperate people have turned to social media to try and find those missing from Grenfell Tower, even as firefighters tackle the fire and rescue people from the flames.
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SOURCE = Inquisitr
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What we know so far about the Grenfell Tower blaze
June 14, 2017
“If we’d listened to them and stayed in the flat we’d have perished,” he told the BBC.
A massive blaze has engulfed a block of flats in west London with witnesses reporting people being trapped in their homes. Firefighters were called to Grenfell Tower in north Kensington, west London, just before 1am on Wednesday as fire ripped through a 24-storey block of flats. Residents who escaped the building, which contained 120 flats, spoke of others trapped and screaming for help, with some holding children from windows and others jumping from upper floors. Pictures from the scene showed flames engulfing the block and a plume of smoke visible across the capital, while others showed residents looking out of windows in the block.
The cause of the blaze is not yet known. There have been a “number of fatalities” in the block, London Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton told reporters. Thirty others have been taken to five hospitals. The leader of Kensington and Chelsea Borough council Nick Paget-Brown said “several hundred” people would have been in the block when the fire broke out. Nicky Paramasivan, who was in his seventh floor flat with his partner and child, said the advice issued to residents in the event of a fire was to stay in their flats.
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SOURCE – Independent Ireland
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