Tower block on fire in London

originally posted by: stosh64
My God....How horrible.

Thoughts and prayers to all involved.

This has been burning for about 4 hours now? This could still collapse.

So many questions, but they can wait till later......

That only happens in Hollywood
Or New York..

originally posted by: Kalixi
Is this a gov't owned commission flat? If so I hope it was maintained properly

Typically, these residential buildings are erected by local government.

Still burning.

The outside looks like it was covered in cardboard and plastic the way it is burned.

The fire commissioner gal is not going to speculate on the number of fatalities.

That's messed up, what the outside was covered with.

Here's what 40 fire engines and 15 specialist fire vehicles tackling a towering inferno apparently looks like.



ichef.bbci.co.uk...

And here's 40 fire engines and 15 specialist fire vehicles tackling a same towering inferno 3 hours later.



pbs.twimg.com...

R.I.P.

originally posted by: burgerbuddy
Still burning.

The outside looks like it was covered in cardboard and plastic the way it is burned.

The fire commissioner gal is not going to speculate on the number of fatalities.

That's messed up, what the outside was covered with.

It is probably some cheap form of fake stone, like fibreglass or some sort of moulded plastic type stuff. They put it on to make places look as though they aren't made of matchsticks and stuff.

a reply to: burgerbuddy

Just crazy that material is approved for sheathing, it appears to be the same stuff that is a KNOWN hazard. From what I can glean as of now, it had been recently sheathed in a aluminum or zinc covered plastic material. We will learn more in the coming days I'm certain.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Doing a bit of research on the cladding, it sounds like the material used is an aluminium composite. Basically 2 sheets of aluminium with resin in between them.

If THIS is the manufacturer, they also offer a fire rated core, I assume there was no fire rated core used on the Grenfell Tower.

Also, often when a building gets cladding fitted, the cladding is attached off the existing wall to allow for ventilation and drainage.

That small air gap could explain why the fire took off so fast, it created a fast draught to feed it.

Harley Facades is the contractor who installed the cladding.

There was one report which claimed a faulty fridge was to blame, but I don't buy it. Not for several reasons:.

1. It's too early to establish the cause, and officials have said as much.

2. The speed with which it spread.

I'm leaning towards the possibility this was a deliberate act, especially with recent terror attacks in London. But I have no proof.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

a reply to: Spacespider

You took the words right out of my mouth. The last time I saw a blaze of this severity was on 9/11.

a reply to: Chadwickus

Nice finds. Could have created a vacuum effect all the way up the gap.

a reply to: dianajune

It's happened multiple times in the past, that sheathing is like kindling on the outside of the building.
How a common building material turned a Dubai hotel fire into an inferno

How a common building material turned a Dubai hotel fire into an inferno

What a shocking tragedy , thoughts and condolences to all those involved.

How can it be right in the 21st century to expect people to live in these high rise blocks without fire safety measures like sprinkler systems installed.
This tragedy should be a wake up call for councils up and down the land to act and protect their residents.

RiP.

originally posted by: buddha
"refurbishment"
No smoke alarms!!!
they had complained for some time that it was a fire risk.
people should go to jail.
I think it was arson.

Smoke alarms have long been a legal requirement in the UK in council properties the issue here is the 'stay put' policy where people have been told to stay put and wait for emergency services in the event of an emergency.

This is a nightmare. Let's pray it's not a terrorist attack. What is going on in England?

I'm devastated.

originally posted by: biggilo

originally posted by: buddha
"refurbishment"
No smoke alarms!!!
they had complained for some time that it was a fire risk.
people should go to jail.
I think it was arson.

Smoke alarms have long been a legal requirement in the UK in council properties the issue here is the 'stay put' policy where people have been told to stay put and wait for emergency services in the event of an emergency.

So victim mentality swept the nation?

Any fire and I get the hell out of the building ASAP.

a reply to: Chadwickus

You are right in your thinking,
There have been several similar fires both here in australia google the lacrosse apartments melbourne fire, there is concern in the cladding.

Also others have mentioned the exploding fridge, could be possible as there are alot of shifty mechanics here in melbournes south east that do car airconditioning re gassing for a cheap price like $79.00 Australian dollars whereas the real mccoy is closer to $190.00. What they are using is basically barbeque gas.

So the fridge may have been regassed (cheaply) and had a leak that was not repaired the gas leaked and the frudge compressor ignited the gas.

The it was a really sad series of unfortunate events.

originally posted by: dianajune
There was one report which claimed a faulty fridge was to blame, but I don't buy it. Not for several reasons:.

1. It's too early to establish the cause, and officials have said as much.

2. The speed with which it spread.

I'm leaning towards the possibility this was a deliberate act, especially with recent terror attacks in London. But I have no proof.

My prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

I was thinking the same thing... some lunatic radical has started it on purpose as they don't care who they kill or injure but maybe it wasn't..

Could easily be a new act of terrorism though when you think how easy it would be for one of them to be living in these blocks and everyone else wouldn't know and then one he or she begins there plan to get a fire going..

a reply to: Chadwickus

Excellant example of how the media uses events like this and encourages fear.

The head line at the bottom the TV screen was may were trapped. Well after seeing the building buruning like a roman candle, there is extremely little chance anyone could survive that fire unless they were perhaps taking over in the deepest recessess of the basemant.

They should have take the head line at the bottom of the screen off because of the extereme unliklyhood of there being any survivers.

IMO the media flogged this horse to death for whatever fear they could get out of it. They were merely using the victims as fear porn.

originally posted by: MysticPearl

originally posted by: biggilo

originally posted by: buddha
"refurbishment"
No smoke alarms!!!
they had complained for some time that it was a fire risk.
people should go to jail.
I think it was arson.

Smoke alarms have long been a legal requirement in the UK in council properties the issue here is the 'stay put' policy where people have been told to stay put and wait for emergency services in the event of an emergency.

So victim mentality swept the nation?

Any fire and I get the hell out of the building ASAP.

There was signs outside of the lifts and in the stair wells of the building advising people of this policy in the building.