Grenfell.............two years on.

[HelenaDove]

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jun/11/how-grenfell-survivors-came-together-to-change-britain?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

How Grenfell survivors came together and how Britain failed them.

Your tenacity to keep people aware of the dangers in this matter are to be applauded HelenaDove
Thanks to you I have been kept informed when I perhaps may not have been
Well done.

I didn't even know anything about the fire last Sunday.
Thank God there were no fatalities.

for all the souls and all those affected.

Maybe a question about Grenfell is something that should be put to the Tory leadership candidates on Tuesday. (I'm not around then).

Something along the lines of:

It took over 20 years for some justice for the relatives of the 96 who died at Hillsborough- long if you are Prime Minister will it take for justice for Grenfell.

@prampushingdownthehighst Thank You thats very kind

@Awwlookatmybabyspider i dread to think what could have been if the Barking fire had happened at night.

@ForalltheSaints that is an excellent idea I like the way you phrased it.

twitter.com/itvlondon/status/1139587229918093312

Jesus Update on the Barking fire.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/barking-fire-residents-had-to-break-through-doors-in-desperate-bid-to-escape-flames-61908

Barking fire residents ‘had to break through doors’ in desperate bid to escape flames
News
14/06/192:30 PM
by Jack Simpson

Residents of the Barking block involved in a huge fire last weekend have said they had to break through doors in a desperate bid to escape the rapidly spreading flames

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Barking fire residents “had to break through doors” in desperate bid to escape flames, public meeting hears #ukhousing
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Residents question developer’s claims about wood cladding in public meeting following Barking fire #ukhousing

At a public meeting last night attended by residents and the block’s developer Bellway, one resident described how those near the top of six-storey Samuel Garside House were almost trapped by the fire.

The resident, who lives in a block nearby and entered the building to alert residents about the fire, claimed that the alarm had been on silent at the time of the fire, and that those living inside the block were able to escape only because they were alerted by neighbours.

He told the meeting that some of the building’s magnetic doors had not released, meaning residents had to break them open

Some residents were not aware that there was a fire until… smoke had reached inside the building. At the top of the building it was very, very hot and very, very smoky and people had to break through the magnetic doors to get out because the fire alarm didn’t go off,” he said.

At the meeting:

Residents questioned Bellway’s claim that the timber cladding on the balconies could withstand fire for 30 minutes
The developer suggested that its current plan is to treat wood on other buildings in the development to make them more fire resistant
Residents passed a motion calling for the timber to be fully removed across the site
Bellway said that eight of the damaged homes will take six months to make ready for re-habitation

Residents asked why Bellway believed that the wooden cladding on the outside of the building could take heat and flame for up to 30 minutes despite Sunday’s fire spreading across the building in less than six minutes.

“We have all been told by Bellway that the cladding was not fire retardant and it was protected to take the heat and flame for about 30 minutes. If that is the case, how come after four or five minutes the first fire crew were there and the whole place was an inferno? That’s not 30 minutes, is it?” he said

Ian Gorst, regional chair for London and South East at Bellway, said that while the timber cladding “was not fire rated”, the structure and the fabric of the building in all respects “performed exactly as it was designed to do”.

He said: “Clearly the images which are extremely distressing and the speed with which the fire took across the decorative timber across the balconies is clearly unacceptable and something we need to address.”

Inside Housing revealed on Monday that the wood used on the block was a Class D-rated material called ThermoWood. Government guidance requires Class B for the external surfaces of walls on buildings above 18m and limited combustibility, or A2, for insulation. Class D is more combustible than both of these. Samuel Garside House is below 18m.

Mr Gorst said timber was used because of the timing of the initial design of the block 10 years ago, when “the trend in architecture was to use sustainable and natural products”.

Inside Housing also reported this week that the architect on the development was Sheppard Robson. The firm has so far declined to comment

The comments were made at a meeting last night between residents of Samuel Garside House, developer Bellway, management company RMG, ground rent company HomeGround, and Barking Riverside – the joint venture between L&Q and the Greater London Authority that owns the whole of the Barking Riverside development.

As part of the meeting, Barking Reach Residents’ Association brought forward three resolutions including calls for Bellway to remove cladding from all apartment buildings and houses across the Barking Riverside development.

Mr Gorst said that Bellway intended to remove the cladding from Samuel Garside House, and that it was currently looking at proposals to treat the wood on the houses across the development to provide them with greater fire resistance.

Residents recalled stories from the day of the fire, as well as the impact it has had since Sunday.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing, and Mr Gorst said that Bellway was carrying out its own review of the building.

Mr Gorst said that as of Monday there were a total of 47 flats that had been fire damaged: 27 suffered no damage inside, 12 suffered minor smoke damage and eight suffered fire damage.

He added that the 27 flats would be ready within four weeks, the 12 with minor damage would be ready in eight weeks, and it would take six months for the eight damaged flats to be fit for habitation.

twitter.com/EL4JC/status/1139465470283800576
Emma Dent Coad: "They are being punished for the council's and the government's errors" This is so shocking and saddening. 2 years on from Grenfell, the survivors, their families and the community are being treated appallingly by their council and their government

Emma Dent Coad has written to James Brokenshire calling for RBKC to be put into special measures.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/grenfell-tower-residents-billed-80000-16520281?utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fzen.yandex.com&fbclid=IwAR3Po8NBZ-IZ1RBkhTkSpWsfXH84Z8-3gWlI7c72SEBHXnkPf6eyl4nVIBo

Residents across UK billed £80"000 to ditch dangerous cladding.

www.architectsjournal.co.uk/opinion/two-years-after-grenfell-barking-riverside-fire-raises-familiar-questions/10043144.article

Weekend roundup: Two years after Grenfell, Barking Riverside fire raises familiar questions

15 June, 2019By Simon Aldous

The Grenfell Tower fire, which occurred two years ago this week, was a tragedy made all the more appalling by having been so avoidable, with the tower’s own residents having previously warned about the building’s fire risks.

Thankfully, there were no fatalities or even serious injuries following last Sunday’s fire at flats in Barking Riverside. But fire-safety expert Sam Webb thinks that is less to do with the building than the time of the fire, during the afternoon when many of the residents weren’t at home.

‘If this fire had occurred 12 hours later we would have woken up to a death toll to rival Grenfell,’ he told the AJ.

The fire spread across the timber-clad balconies of the six-storey Samuel Garside House, a mix of private and housing association flats, designed by Sheppard Robson and completed in 2012. Twenty flats were destroyed with a further 10 damaged. Photographs and footage on social media depict a raging blaze that apparently spread in minutes

And according to residents’ association treasurer Venilia Batista Amorim, residents had written to the builder, Mace, and developer Bellway Homes to express concerns about the timber cladding, and were assured that the materials were fire retardant.

However, it has since emerged that the wood-based ThermoWood material used for the cladding had a Class D fire rating, which is not fire retardant. UK timber bodies have since criticised the scheme for not specifying Class B.

The use of the material did not contravene any regulations. But had the building been more than 18m tall – and built this year – neither option would have been permissible, as they would have contravened the revised Building Regulations. These only allow cladding with a Class A fire rating.

Which does raise the question of why the combustible cladding ban has a height exemption. Only last week, regs expert Geoff Wilkinson wrote about this in the AJ, arguing ‘We need a single system, not twin-track ones. Try telling residents of 17m-tall blocks that no change is required.’

All this comes as the Grenfell United campaign group commemorated that tragedy by projecting giant messages on high-rise buildings around the UK, highlighting safety concerns of the blocks’ residents – from dangerous cladding, to a lack of sprinklers and defective fire doors.

All this comes as the Grenfell United campaign group commemorated that tragedy by projecting giant messages on high-rise buildings around the UK, highlighting safety concerns of the blocks’ residents – from dangerous cladding, to a lack of sprinklers and defective fire doors.

While government ministers were adamant that a tragedy like Grenfell could never be allowed to happen again, two years later, a public inquiry into the fire feels as if it has barely got going and more than 300 high rises remain clad in combustible material.

‘Nothing changes except people get promoted and any inquiry can be stretched to infinity,’ commented Webb

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/grenfell-survivors-beam-message-onto-parliament-two-years-on-a4169441.html

Grenfell survivors beam damning message onto Parliament: 'This building still hasn't kept its promises'

Survivors and bereaved families of the Grenfell Tower fire have projected a damning message on to the Houses of Parliament two years on from the devastating blaze.

The Parliament building was illuminated with a message re-iterating survivors’ calls for the Government to take action on making high-rises across the UK safer.

It follows a similar action last week, when messages were projected on to “unsafe” tower blocks across the UK on the eve of the second anniversary of the fire.

The message beamed onto Parliament on Monday night read: “Two years after Grenfell, this building still hasn't kept its promises. Demand Change.

Friday marked 24 months since a small kitchen fire in a flat on an estate in Kensington turned into the most deadly domestic blaze since the Second World War.

Some 72 people were killed and scores of families were made homeless. The fire triggering both a public inquiry and a criminal investigation.

Latest figures show some 328 high-rise residential and public buildings are still to complete the replacement of unsafe cladding amid fears over its contribution to the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

A spokeswoman for campaign group Grenfell United, which organised the projections, said: "Last week we sent a powerful message across the UK that was hard to ignore. The reaction and outpouring of support has been incredible.

"We felt now was time to shine a spotlight on one more building - the Houses of Parliament."

The spokeswoman added: "We are calling for all dangerous cladding to be replaced, for fire safety measures in all tower blocks and for a new separate housing regulator that would put people over profits.

"With a new prime minister about to be appointed, fulfilling the promises made by this Government after the fire must be made a priority. People must be safe in their homes."

Messages were projected on high-rise blocks in London, Newcastle and Manchester in last week's action

A projection on west London's Frinstead House, a 20-storey block which lies on the same estate as Grenfell, claimed: "2 years after Grenfell this building still has no sprinklers #demandchange."

On Newcastle's Cruddas Park House, a 25-storey block designated to over-50s, a message read: "2 years after Grenfell and the fire doors in this building still don't work."

And in Manchester, a projection on the 246-flat NV Building warned that "dangerous cladding" still wrapped the outside of the structure.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/barking-fire-risk-assessment-identified-significant-risk-from-wooden-cladding-months-before-fire-61966

Barking fire: risk assessment identified ‘significant risk’ from wooden cladding months before fire
News
19/06/193:55 PM
by Jack Simpson

The fire risk assessment of the block of flats in Barking devastated by a huge fire last week identified the wooden balcony cladding as a “significant hazard” that “put residents at risk”, Inside Housing can reveal

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Barking fire: Block manager was warned about ‘significant’ cladding hazard months before the fire #ukhousing

Inside Housing has obtained a copy of the assessment, carried out in January on the Samuel Garside block where dozens of apartments were badly damaged by fire on 9 June.

The assessment said external cladding, wooden joists and deck balconies were a “significant hazard” that could put residents at risk of smoke inhalation and burn injuries.

The assessment, carried out for building manager RMG by assessor Osterna, said: “It is assessed that the wooden decks and joists are over 90mm thick and should have been formed of or treated with fire resistant materials but this could not be confirmed during the assessment.

“If a balcony does catch fire it should be noted that this will accelerate fire spread through either setting the balcony above alight or through entering the flats through open windows and this will put residents and visitors at risk of smoke inhalation and burn injuries.”

The fire damaged 47 flats, including eight flats that will take six months to make habitable. There were no casualties but two people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Osterna recommended that a responsible person check whether cladding materials had been treated.

It also called for the building’s manager to warn residents not to have BBQs on the balconies.

The BBC reported last week that a barbecue “may have been the cause of the fire”. However, an investigation is yet to confirm this.

Last week, Ian Gorst, regional chair for London and South East at the building’s developer Bellway, confirmed at a meeting with residents that the wood used on the block had not been treated and was not fire retardant.

The cladding on the balconies used on the block was ThermoWood, which has a Class D fire rating if not treated to make it more resistant to flame.

Government guidance requires the higher Class B for the external surfaces of walls on buildings above 18m and limited combustibility, but sets no standard for buildings below this height. The Samuel Garside block is understood to be below 18m.

A source close to Bellway said that the company had not received the report before the fire.

Bellway completed the Samuel Garside block and adjoining blocks in 2014. It sold the freehold of the block to property company Adriatic Land, which is ultimately responsible for the fire safety of the building. HomeGround, an Adriatic Land company, is the manager of the block but has contracted RMG for the day-to-day management. RMG is a subsidiary of Places for People.

The assessment also raised concerns about fire safety in other parts of the building, including issues with the compartmentation of the block and the fire alarms used.

It said it found “gaps and holes” in the service cupboards where pipes and cables have been routed, which could allow fire and smoke to spread internally through the building and block escape routes. This, it added, would put residents and visitors at risk of smoke inhalation and burn injuries.

The report did note that remedial work to fix the fire stopping were in progress at the time of the fire.

It added that a fully automatic fire alarm had been fitted within the common parts of the building, which was at odds with a block purpose-built to building regulation standards designed with a high degree of fire compartmentation

It also reported that there were no records of fire alarm tests, emergency escape lighting tests, or maintenance and testing of other fire protection systems.

The overall risk of the block was “medium”, meaning it had normal hazards subject to appropriate controls for the type of occupancy.

The building was given a “tolerable” risk rating, meaning no major additional work was required but there might be some improvements needed.

Last week, residents claimed that the fire alarm for the block had been on silent at the time of the fire and had to pull open some of the building’s magnetic doors.

Inside Housing has also seen a fire risk assessment from Samuel Garside’s adjoining block, Ernest Websdale House, which also includes concerns over the cladding, compartmentation and fire alarms.

In response, a spokesperson for RMG and HomeGround said: "RMG, as the managing agent for Samuel Garside House, commissioned a fire risk assessment for the building in January 2019. All of the actions identified by the risk assessor were followed up and tracked for compliance purposes.

At the time the risk assessment was carried out, remedial works to address certain issues were already being undertaken in the building by Bellway.”

Bellway declined to comment while an investigation into the fire is ongoing.

www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/wood-cladding-linked-to-barking-fire-identified-on-multiple-housing-association-developments-62001

Wood cladding linked to Barking fire identified on multiple housing association developments
News
24/06/197:00 AM
by Luke Barratt

Housing associations are urgently investigating developments using the same material found covering the Barking block partly destroyed by a fire two weeks ago, as an Inside Housing investigation has discovered 20 developments using the product

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Housing associations are taking urgent action to investigate developments using the same material covering a Barking block partly destroyed by fire #ukhousing
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Inside Housing analysis has discovered 20 blocks clad in the same material as a Barking building partly destroyed by fire, seven of which are high rises #ukhousing

Clarion, L&Q and Peabody have all said they are carrying out work to deal with potential issues arising from ThermoWood, the wooden material used on the balconies and cladding at Samuel Garside House, the site of a fire earlier this month.

The fire damaged 47 flats, including eight that will take six months to make habitable again, with residents forced to flee for their lives

Inside Housing revealed shortly afterwards that the cladding used was ThermoWood, a Class D-rated material.

Following a ban on combustibles on high rises brought in last November, official government guidance does not permit the material to be used on new build blocks over 18m.

It would still have been banned on high rises under previous guidance, unless it was proved safe by evidence from a large scale test or used on balconies.

However, it was and is permitted on buildings below 18m. Samuel Garside House is understood to be under 18m
Inside Housing has used planning documents and developers’ marketing material to build a list of 20 more schemes – mostly in London – using ThermoWood as either cladding or decking for balconies.

This includes a six-storey development in Lewisham which is owned by Clarion and is clad with ThermoWood. Responding to Inside Housing, a spokesperson for the organisation said: “Our residents’ safety is paramount.

“We are working alongside our partners to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency and will carry out any improvement works that are required.”

Seven of the 20 developments identified include at least one high-rise building, of six storeys or more, within the scheme.

One of these was Titanic Quarter in Belfast, a massive development including 474 apartments, with balconies clad in ThermoWood.

A spokesperson for Titanic Quarter said: “Our development - the ARC, Titanic Quarter - has been constructed in compliance with building control and fire safety regulations and received Full Building Control certification. We are aware of the recent fire in Barking and are closely monitoring the outcome of the investigation

Meanwhile, L&Q’s flagship Quebec Quarter development in Canada Water, which includes blocks of up to six storeys but all under 18m, has also been revealed to have ThermoWood present.

An L&Q spokesperson said: “L&Q is compiling a list of blocks which have extensive timber cladding, including but not limited to ThermoWood.” They added that they were undertaking this work in preparation of the latest fire safety advice from experts and said all of its buildings had up to date fire risk assessments.

A source close to Peabody, which owns a 10-storey block in Bow called Merchants Walk with ThermoWood panels, said the association is looking at the whole estate to evaluate the risks.

A spokesperson said the association was reviewing all of its blocks and making improvements where needed, and had acted on a number of blocks. They added: "We continue to replace materials we consider to be higher risk."

The builder Countryside, meanwhile, declined to comment on its Silver Point scheme in Enfield, which at one point is eight storeys high and uses ThermoWood cladding

Inside Housing also identified 13 mid-rise blocks of between three and five storeys using ThermoWood as either cladding or balconies.

It is possible to treat ThermoWood to give it a higher fire rating of Class B. This would mean current building regulations would still forbid it from being used on new high-rise buildings.

However guidance before regulations were changed by the government last November would have permitted it. It is still permitted on buildings built before that period.

None of the organisations contacted by Inside Housing was able to confirm whether or not the ThermoWood used on its scheme had been treated in this way.

Inside Housing has identified the key organisations involved in developing and managing Samuel Garside House:

Developer: Bellway

Architect: Sheppard Robson

Building owner (headlease): Adriatic Land

Freeholder of land: Greater London Authority/L&Q

Management: HomeGround, which appointed RMG (part of Places for People)

Building control: NHBC

Owner of affordable homes (32 of 80): Southern Housing Group

bylinetimes.com/2019/06/14/grenfell-two-years-on-little-has-changed-for-social-housing-tenants/

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GRENFELL
TWO YEARS ON
Little Has Changed for Social Housing Tenants
Natalie Bloomer and Samir Jeraj
14 June 2019
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Natalie Bloomer and Samir Jeraj report on how the tragedy at Grenfell Tower still hasn’t led to change for others living in poor conditions.

In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, there was lots of talk about giving a voice to social housing tenants and the need to take their concerns more seriously.

Two years on, how much has really changed?

Michelle Fox and her four children moved into their housing association home in 2015. It quickly became apparent that the property had a serious problem with damp.

“Most rooms were damp,” she says. “But there was also groundwater coming up through the concrete floor.”

She made a number of complaints to the housing association but she says that, rather than taking action, they told her they would monitor the problem for two years.

We have to change the culture in social housing so people are treated with respect.
Karim Mussilhy, vice-chair, Grenfell United

“There were puddles on the carpet,” she says. “We lost two sofas and my feet were always wet.”

Eventually, three years after her first complaint, the housing association moved the family into temporary accommodation while they repaired the floor.

Things didn’t get any better.

The new house also had problems with mould and damp and Michelle says that old windows let the cold in.

“The cold was brutal,” she says. “And there was no oven, so we lived off junk food for months.”

Even once back in their home, Michelle says there continued to be issues with the floor. As a last resort, she put in for an exchange and moved out of the property last month.

“Nothing has changed [since Grenfell],” Michelle says.

“They’re dealing with society’s most vulnerable people, but there’s a ‘put up and shut up’ attitude.”

Emma (not her real name) and her teenage daughter, spent two years living in temporary accommodation on the Aylesbury Estate in London while they waited for social housing.

In February, during freezing conditions, a burst pipe meant that tenants on the estate were left without heating and hot water for eight days. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. We spoke to Emma at the time.

“We continuously have heating and hot water shut downs,” she said. “I can wake up one morning and go to have a wash and there’s no hot water. This is how we’ve lived for the past two years.”

During the shut downs, the council provided tenants with electric heaters but Emma said she was concerned with the cost of using them.

“I’m having to use hot water bottles, extra clothing, fan heaters and I’ve also brought a mattress into the living room so we can stay in one room. I can’t afford to have these heaters running all over the house.”
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Another resident on the estate told us there were holes in one of her bedroom walls which let rain water into the flat. It was so bad that they had to stop using the room and, instead, she and her three children all had to sleep in the same bedroom.

Both she and Emma said they made repeated complaints to the council over the two years they were living on the estate.

“I’m trying to deal with all this the best I know how, while still trying to remain an example for my daughter,” Emma said.

“I’m trying to teach her that you go to work so you can have nice things, but living in the conditions we are living in, I don’t know if I’m doing a good job of that anymore.”

In recent months, both families were moved into permanent homes. But, social housing tenants across the country face similar problems.

New research from the housing charity Shelter shows that 56% of social renters in England have experienced a problem with their home in the past three years.

The issues included gas leaks, faulty lifts and electrical hazards. One in 10 of those people had to report the problem more than 10 times.

The survey also found that half of all people asked had less trust in the Government to keep social tenants safe in their homes since Grenfell, and another third believed the Government’s response to the tragedy had made no difference.

Christopher Mosley is Chair of the Homes in Sedgemoor arms-length management organisation in Somerset. He’s been a council house tenant for the last 40 years. He says things have got a lot worse for social housing tenants in recent years.

“There’s bad housing, a lot more poverty and people just being ignored,” he says. “When the terrible fire happened at Grenfell it brought attention to social housing but it hasn’t lasted. People think it’s yesterday’s news.”

Christopher is also part of the group Benefit to Society, which campaigns to end the stigma of social tenants. This month he and others will be visiting Parliament to raise the issues faced by those living in council or housing association homes.

They’re dealing with society’s most vulnerable people, but there’s a ‘put up and shut up’ attitude.
Michelle

“We’ll be telling them that programmes like ‘Benefits Street’ should never be aired again and that press and politicians should end the stigma associated with council housing,” he says.

They will also be travelling around the country to speak to other tenants groups.

“We’ll be going all over and, after each meeting, we’ll be putting on an afternoon for residents so we can talk to them about the issues they face. This is about us coming together and raising our voices.”

The London residents and campaigners group Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL) say that its members continue to face overcrowding, poor responses to repair issues and long council waiting lists.

“HASL members have always understood the importance of good, secure council housing,” spokesperson for the group, Elizabeth Wyatt, says. “While there were some claims that attitudes towards council tenants softened after Grenfell, national and local politicians’ contempt for social housing is clear.”

This week, the Grenfell survivors group, Grenfell United, projected messages onto tower blocks which they believe are still unsafe.

One read: “Two years after Grenfell and the fire doors in this building still aren’t fit for purpose.”

Another said: “Two years after Grenfell this building still has no sprinklers.”

Vice-chair of Grenfell United Karim Mussilhy, who lost his uncle in the fire, said he had visited residents in Newcastle and heard how their concerns were being ignored.

“That’s what happened to residents in Grenfell before the fire.

“We have to change the culture in social housing so people are treated with respect. Two years after Grenfell, we are coming together and our voices can only get louder.