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.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/22/grenfell-tower-survivors-too-scared-to-seek-help-because-of-immigration-status?CMP=share_btn_tw
Grenfell Tower survivors 'too scared to seek help' because of immigration status
Some survivors of disaster are refusing to seek help because they fear being reported to Home Office, volunteers say

One woman from north Africa was referred to De Zulueta by a volunteer psychological counsellor because she was complaining about a possible head injury. “On her way out of the building, coming down the stairs, she hit her head and she lost consciousness for a few minutes. Someone helped her out of the building,” the GP said said. Her partner and other relatives are still missing, presumed dead. “The counsellor said she was too scared to go to hospital.”

De Zulueta, who lectures in public health and primary care at Imperial College, continued: “She was visibly distressed, she had short-term memory loss, dizziness, headaches – symptoms which could relate to traumatic stress or which could indicate brain injury. While I was talking to her, her level of consciousness was fluctuating, which is another sign of brain injury.

“I felt quite strongly that she should go to A&E. She was very reluctant. When I asked if she was frightened to go, she nodded.” She called an ambulance for the patient and persuaded her to go. “I told her there would be no repercussions and that she would be safe,” she said.

grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2017/06/22/grenfell-tower-fire-the-forgotten-forgotten-victims/
Grenfell Tower Fire – The Forgotten ForgottenVictims

Now 11 high-rise buildings in 8 local authority areas have been found to be clad in combustible cladding.

Premier Inn also believe 3 of their hotels in Brentford, Maidenhead and Tottenham are affected though an independent expert has said they are safe to stay open due to their robust fire safety measures - i.e. Fire and smoke detectors in every room and multiple escape routes.

More here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40366646

They are still not getting a voice Red.

Sorry I meant they are still not being heard.

No it seems as if these people aren't being heard by anyone- the demonstration yesterday is a prime example. I hope that each individual is looked at and assessed according to their own needs and that support for further down the line will be provided.

www.legalvoice.org.uk/grenfell-tower-inquiry-must-residents-terms-says-hillsborough-families-barrister/

Michael Mansfield QC is listening to them.

That's good news

Someone told me today that one of their customers kept saying the residents flatly refused to have sprinklers fitted. I don't believe this at all. I've not posted on this thread - I am a Housing Officer and a tenant for the same LA and I felt uncomfortable about posting after receiving (positive) instruction from my management about our LA's sitution although I did on the previous four. I will bet my arse that IF IF IF the residents did refuse sprinkers then the system wasn't explained to them. And also when did an LA actually give tenants a choice about something as serious as that?!

Heman I COMPLETELY agree.

Thats why i pointed out to her that a co. that wanted them to have sprinklers would hardly have written them a letter threatening them with legal action if they didnt STFU about fire safety.

Harrods has donated £1million to the British Red Cross London Fire Relief Fund to support the local community affected by the disaster:

www.facebook.com/Harrods/posts/10155471713252458

IF IF IF a tenant refuses a workman/engineer access to their home it is usually for a good reason.

Certain companies who some HAs have given contracts to are slapdash and sometimes downright dangerous but tenants STILL have no right to stop them from coming into their home. Tenants have no rights to protect themselves from shoddy and dangerous workmanship.

If an HA hands a company a contract the HA is seen as the customer not the tenant. This is a gap in consumer law that needs to be closed.

Emily Maitlis on Newsnight making the same statements ive been doing for YEARS Too much sub contracting going on.

I put this on Thread 1.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2595702-To-wonder-how-this-company-is-still-in-business

Helena I work for/tenant with a LA that keeps most of it's work 'in house'. This horror of tenants being penalised and threatened is shocking to me. I've said it before and I'll say it now - I cannot understand what they hope to gain from it. I really cannot get my head around it .

HelenaDove Tue 26-Apr-16 00:03:00
Yep. Thought this would come up again.Charles the difference is as an owner occupier you can choose not to have the same company back again Or not to have the same engineer back again. Social housing tenants cant do that Often tenants are forced to have not only the same company that have fucked up before but the same engineer who fucked up before There are lots of examples in my linked thread.

At the beginning of last year Liberty Gas took 4 and a half months to put in a boiler and six rads for a tenant. This took over TWENTY appointments including several no shows a massive leak in the tenants bedroom engineers just turning up to take photos

Now by rights when they make this many fuck ups the tenant has a right to ask for a different engineer or company to do the job. The HA promised her she could have someone else if LG fucked up another appointment. LG fucked up another appointment.

So the tenant asked the HA if she could have a diff engineer from a diff company HA said yes but you will have to wait 28 more days

28 more days with her floor pulled up and the furniture all pulled out of the upstairs rooms. She reluctantly had to agree to LG finishing the job. Its obvious to me that the 28 day wait was a punishment for her asserting her rights.

So no Charles there is no comparison because owner occupiers arent forced or bullied to have the same dodgy workmen back again and again and again.
Add message | Report | Message poster HelenaDove Tue 26-Apr-16 00:04:17
Oh and they tried to insist the bedroom carpet was already wet before the leak

Heman The above post is copied and pasted from an HA thread from last year.

Heman i agree. In house can make a difference.

Good grief. Helena It smacks of ghettoising (sp). Why? To what end?

And Trading Standards will only help and deal with complaints if you have paid for the work done.

So that doesnt include tenants.

Now 11 high-rise buildings in 8 local authority areas have been found to be clad in combustible cladding.

So, different contractors and different local authorities, so different building regs inspectors etc.

It's looking more and more like the regulations weren't clear, or were contradictory, or there's some other fundamental flaw in the planning/regulations systems for high rise blocks.

This isn't just an isolated case of a mistake by the planners, architects, etc., nor a contractor ordering the wrong stuff either by accident or corner cutting.

It's a systematic failure somewhere within the entire process.

Are there that many different contractors? Speaking from a place of total ignorance here, I would have assumed there would only be a very few across the UK (that would travel to do the work).

The main issue is that building and fire regulations are out of date and have not kept up with current products and practices. This is also evident in that other countries have banned use of this cladding while it carried on being used here. If contractors or sub contractors complied with the current rules then of course the work will have been signed off by building inspectors. Then regulations need an urgent overhaul.

"Now 11 high-rise buildings in 8 local authority areas have been found to be clad in combustible cladding."

Then I hope all these local authorities will be investigated as to why they have allowed combustible cladding.

This is thoughtful and thought-provoking, by a lawyer on the possible way forward for social housing after Grenfell: nearlylegal.co.uk/aftereffects/

There has been an update according to twitter. The fire started with a hotpoint fridge. The number of casualties remains at 79. The cladding and insulation has failed fire tests.

twitter.com/BBCTomSymonds/
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40380584