Grenfell Tower

[RhythmAndStealth]

Watching the news just now and I can't believe my eyes. It looks absolutely horrific.

I want to think everyone got out safe, but sadly I just can't.

Some of the news reports are about alleged poor safety standards and dangerous living conditions. If that's true it just beggars belief.

Awful to think of but it's in my head, the people that have been trapped there I'm guessing they will be completely burnt will they be able to identify them?

mimi, I think that's reaching a bit. Lives have been lost.

The PM remains in control even between governments. If she can go to France and talk to Macron...

Other politicians have managed to comment. Even if only via the medium of twitter.

Horrible news. I dread to hear the death toll and it seems sadly they will be children among them.

user there are also witnesses saying that fire alarms did go off. They don't seem to have been central, building alarms but ones in individual flats did alert some of the residents.

George Osborne‏*@George*_Osborne
@EveningStandard has launched an appeal for the residents of #GrenfellTower. They need our help. You can donate via www.dispossessedfund.org.uk

TM is just down the road from this, no excuse to hear nothing at all. Other MPS are commenting. Just something

It doesn't sound like there was an integrated central fire alarm system. Crazy. Or if there was it didn't go off.

6 confirmed dead

I don't think money is the issue; they had the money - it feels like (without knowing the full outcome of the investigation) that money was spent on the wrong things.

Sounds familiar and all too common. Our local council spent £300k renovating our village library and then closed it down less than a year later!!!

It's highly unlikely that the residents will have contents insurance either. I don't.

Just been confirmed that Six people have died.. Sadly I expect that number to rise as further bodies are found in the building.

Six dead confirmed but that will rise

"There really isnt enough information about what we can do. Where do we send donations, clothes, food, toiletries, blankets, nappies, shoes and What do they need the most."

Cash.

If you're nearby, the church is having a bucket collection on the street. Wait for an official collection of you're not.

I feel so much anger at the needless and preventable loss of life on this scale.

So many errors and faults, so many warnings.

A previous comment struck a cord, a ten million pound refurb that was all about tarting up the exterior to look in keeping and pleasant for the millionaires to view from their windows and to yank up the rents that private landlords could charge to live there. Seemingly not to make it a safe place of residence for hundreds of people.

I hope some people have trouble sleeping over the coming nights, they have blood on their hands.

Hadn't seen post by Redtoothbrush when I posted. Evening Standard is reputable, so that might be the one to go for.

Person just interviewed on the BBC says that a lot of immediate needs are being met, but the need to help people in the longer term is going to be just as important and that takes money.

Despicable

(Sorry, I was agreeing with kungfu)

It's not 'political point scoring' to be angry about neglect and cuts causing people's deaths and to want that addressed so it doesn't happen again.

May is still Prime Minister, even if only because the post can't be vacant, and could comment on that basis. As pp said, it hasn't stopped her meeting Macron.

We don't know what the cause is, nor who to blame.

RBKC spent over £8m on the building last year. Why did it burn so quickly?

Housing in Britain is truly in crisis. We are so backward in terms of housing standards of safety. Apparently the fire service have recommended to the government for years now that tower blocks of that size should have sprinkler systems. It seems such a basic thing, could you imagine this happening in one of big banking towers? Just shows ordinary people lives do not matter.

Could some of those millions perhaps have been spent on sprinklers rather than cosmetic work?

Is anyone else reminded of discussions in the Towering Inferno? Discussing safety systems, shortcuts, building regulations and skyscrapers...