Tower block fire - london

EssexBoy · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:51

wolfie138 said:
from the vid on BBC it looks like virtually every single window is lit, no idea what could have caused something like that, except maybe a big build up of gas or fumes from materials/equipment from the renovations someone mentioned?

"Extremely saddening and the worst thing is that it could have been prevented."
don't think you can say that w/ certainty until you know the cause.

With certainty no i can not but i am sure a lot more could have been done and we shall soon find out.I also live in flats that have recently been renovated with fire retardant materials and a sprinkler system so if we got them everyone else should be entitled too.

Hades · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:51

scorza said:
For incidents like this there's always going to be a lot of speculation, probably best to wait a while and get the facts. I mean, the building was still on fire at six am this morning.

It's still on fire, in a big way, now.

MooMoo444 · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:51

If there has been on going safety concerns and no action taken, I wonder if some idiot has done it deliberately to prove some kind of sick point.

cheesyboy · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:52

muon said:
In America all buildings will have a separate fire exit. Even if that needs to be bolted onto the outside of the building.

These tower blocks only have a single stairwell. This will hopefully result in some kind of change.

That's pretty scary, one fire exit.

Especially with the fire brigade seemingly having no tools for dealing with fires or evacuating people above about the 10th floor.

Rannoch · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:52

Horrific, what a nightmare.

LOAM · 14 Jun 2017 at 07:56

For that to have spread from the second floor it must have been extremely well established. It's clearly breached a duct or something similar, possibly externally. The concrete floor plates offer very good fire protection.

It seems to have gone up so quickly though it's alarming.

Rids · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:02

Jesus Christ, incredibly grim.

UTmaniac · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:03

This looks far worse than the Shirley Towers fire in Southampton in 2012 IIRC, where two firemen lost their lives.

If reports of no fire alarms ringing is true, questions need to be asked and heads may need to roll.

RIP to those that died in this tragedy (I dread to think how many 4+ families per flat this could have affected).

kkelly · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:07

Is the external cladding on these not just foam basically now ?

I'm more concerned that the residents have reported that fire alarms didn't go off, I had to have mine checked yearly in my old flat I let out for insurance.

Somnambulist · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:12

Saw the smoke from this as I was on the DLR this morning and wondered what it was. Awful.

bulb66 · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:12

Horrible news and my thoughts go to the people affected.

It seems only a matter of time before that block collapses, with that amount of fire and heat.

MookJong · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:15

Reading the horror of the eye witness statements turned me white on my commute this morning. I can't imagine what the death toll might be.

RIP

Ayahuasca · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:16

This sky news reporter is going a bit far with questioning witnesses

Vern1961 · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:18

Dreadful. My immediate thoughts were tumble dryer fire but surely this would be contained by the concrete? Anyhow speculation doesn't really help at this stage.

Almost certain there will be multiple fatalities - RIP.

Nitefly · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:21

Awful - I suppose they can't easily go inside to hunt for people as it might unexpectedly collapse :/

RIP

Dunks · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:22

kkelly said:
Is the external cladding on these not just foam basically now ?

I'm more concerned that the residents have reported that fire alarms didn't go off, I had to have mine checked yearly in my old flat I let out for insurance.

Flammable foam coated in aluminium which is good at conducting heat and has a low melting point. Recipe for disaster.

molinari · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:22

sounds like a good number of people got out, including from the top floors. Certainly some people appear to have been trapped, let's hope not as many as there could have been.

Azza · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:24

kkelly said:
Is the external cladding on these not just foam basically now ?

I'm more concerned that the residents have reported that fire alarms didn't go off, I had to have mine checked yearly in my old flat I let out for insurance.

Apparently it was reclad in 2016. Not sure what though but look at the pictures and videos it could well have been one of those cheap Chinese made aluminium composite things.

Somnambulist · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:25

Not sure if

kkelly said:
Is the external cladding on these not just foam basically now ?

I'm more concerned that the residents have reported that fire alarms didn't go off, I had to have mine checked yearly in my old flat I let out for insurance.

I lurk on an architecture/building forum as it's always interesting to see what's being built in London and around the world and a couple of things posters there have brought up;

Just checked the building regs and they are clear about the risk of fire spread up the outside of a building in B4 section 12.5 to 12.9 so this should not be possible in a new building. Seems the same rules do not apply to recladding schemes. Why, I do not know.

If this building is of concrete construction, how could a fire spread as it clearly has. Hope its not a case of combustible new insulated metal cladding from China which caused a series of high rise fires a few years ago.

The images of the combustible furniture dumped in the hallways is also terrible. Kensington and Chelsea seem to be trying to upgrade their council housing stock but something has gone very terribly wrong.

snips86x · 14 Jun 2017 at 08:28

I heard this on the radio driving to work, horrific. Apparently those living in the tower block did complain on multiple occasions regarding fire safety, but nothing was done about it