London Fire: Grenfell Tower thread five

[RhythmAndStealth]

RIP

Five victims officially named
At least 79 victims expected, possibly more
Many displaced and struggling

To all those affected and all those helping

Thread four
Thread three
Thread three contains links to threads one and two.

Oh and that lady, by the way, had been resident for 34 years, a lifetime, as had many others...which is why rehoming them in the local area is so very important.

Re 'fire fumes' I'm sure the cyanide the cladding produced represents a lot of it

I also read in the Sunday Times that a lot of furniture produces toxic fumes when it burns. All that 'fire retardant' stuff they put on sofas etc is designed to prevent fire if one cigarette for eg is dropped on it.

But if the sofa does manage to catch fire, the fumes this fire retardent stuff releases is actually toxic. And of course this was times however many sofas etc there were in the whole block.

I imagine there were other things that also became toxic when burning at high temp .

PM giving statement to the Commons right now.

PM confirming that anyone accepting the emergency payments will not have their benefits affected.

Also that no ones immigration

151 homes destroyed - everyone has been offered emergency hotel accommodation & will be offered rehousing.

164 suitable properties identified and are currently being inspected.

Everyone who lost a home will be guaranteed a new home on the same terms they previously had.

Barclay Homes has turned over a block of 68 brand new flats (low rise) at cost price. Contractors are working 24/7 to fit them out.

Emergency hotel accommodation also available for anyone whose home has been damaged.

Anyone who wants to leave the area will be supported to find a new property, but no one will be forced to leave.

Councilling offered to local school children and teachers & any child affected that was due to sit GCSE's will be given appropriate dispensation.

No ones immigration status will be questioned and they will be entitled to all the help they need.

All social housing landlords have been instructed to check their fire protection status and private landlords will be offered help.

Tests are being carried out on cladding on other buildings and some have already come back as combustible. The local authorities have been contacted and local Fire Brigades notified so steps will be taken.

100 properties can be tested a day and results come back in hours so PM is encouraging all landlords to get their properties tested. If positive local Fire Brigade and Authority will be notified.

All MPs who have affected properties in their area will be notified.

Thank you for posting that CaveMum , but surely there were more than 151 homes destroyed ..

IDS has asked the PM that the inquiry should look carefully at whether it is worth retrofitting sprinklers, etc in existing tower blocks or if it would be better to pull them down and rebuild better quality housing.

sunnyhills 121 flats plus surrounding properties, so 151 sounds about right.

PM confirms the inquiry will be led by an independent Judge who will be free to set the remit of the inquiry as he/she sees fit.

Harriet Harman (with 58 tower blocks in her constituency) asks PM to set a strict deadline for all local authorities to check the cladding on every tower block and a deadline to replace where necessary.

PM just dodged a question from one of her own MPs who asked that the Exchequer consider levying an additional tax on properties left empty for a period of time.

Fire Brigade will be releasing results of testing on the cladding at Grenfell Tower in the next 48 hours.

Thanks CaveMum ,I think the enormity of the event had made me imagine an even bigger number .

Higher tax on empty properties good idea .

The Judge to head the inquiry will be announced in the next few days.

It's pretty disgusting how the media splash has been "Grenfell Tower survivors to be rehoused in luxury flats" rather than "Existing social housing completion date moved forward"

Well yes, but that's the media for you - they want the "most exciting" headline and will twist whatever they need to get it. Which is why it's so important to perhaps start off with a news item but also to do your own research

It's been confirmed that so far 3 tower blocks have tested positive for combustible cladding.

What happened about the low rise surrounding properties? surely they'd have been smoke damaged but not destroyed, which would take a few weeks/months to rectify, along with the neighbourhood heating system, which IIRC was in the basement of GT. Those families obv need short term accommodation, but could return later in the year, if they wish, at least either way the home is available for a family to occupy.

Was 151 the number of properties, or households, as in an overcrowded property market there may be more than one family household per flat?

TM said "151 homes" so I'm assuming properties.

She did say that work was being carried out on the damaged properties to get them habitable again with occupants currently being offered hotel accommodation. She said if families did not want to return they would be found alternatives.

I cannot believe the number declared dead or presumed dead. This block could accommodate 600 people; let us presume that 150 are off on holiday in their villas in the Bahamas (hmm) then that still leaves 450 folk. It was the middle of the night when most people are home. Add together the number presumed dead (79) and the number ill in hospital and the number who are known to have escaped - it still seem to me there would be more than 79 dead.

Thanks cave, I hadn't realised how extensive the damage was beyond the footprint of GT

They don't know exactly how many escaped though. They know how many people the Fire Brigade helped out but there are videos on social media showing people making their own way out.

PM's spokesperson has confirmed around 600 buildings (not just tower blocks, for example schools and libraries) are believed to be clad in a similar material to Grenfell Tower.

It feels like Theresa May has read the 5 Grenfell threads here on mumsnet and is putting the thoughts and ideas into practice

It's just what we want to hear.

Will it be put to practice though?

If 600 blocks need to be evacuated asap it will create a massive housing shortage. It be over 30 thousand people needing to be rehouses at least temporally and probably in concentrated areas. And if its temporary they cant be moved too far away without disturbing education and jobs.

I think the 600 blocks include public (& poss commercial) buildings, as well as residential flats.

God, this goes right to the heart of the built environment life in this country. This tragedy will have seismic implications for sociology, urban geography, planning, architecture, civil engineering, economics, politics, welfare policy etc etc for decades to come. The root causes are political economy based - austerity, outsourcing and deregulation. And that's not just about the Tories... New Labour & Third Way economics were just as much architects of outsourcing and PFI set ups as the Cons. Blairism continued in the same neoliberal mould as Thatcherism.

Higher tax on empty properties good idea

Only if they can enforce it! There's all kinds of new laws and regulations but they're poorly enforced. There are already taxes on empty properties. We have the new "tax on enveloped dwellings" which was supposed to get tax from foreigners who own properties via offshore companies/trusts (to hide their identity). We have higher stamp duty on more expensive houses. There are changes afoot to make capital gains tax payable upon completion via the solicitor. Actually, quite a lot has changed over the past few years to try to deal with tax avoidance/evasion relating to property - enforcement is the main thing that has been lacking and is slowly being changed.