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.

Speaking of gas safety...

There have been multiple failures by social housing providers in maintaining gas safety certification in their properties.

Neighbouring borough to RBKC, the LBHF was fined for lack of gas safety certificates in temporary accomodation in 2012.

www.housingexcellence.co.uk/news/hammersmith-and-fulham-council-fined-health-and-safety-executive-failures-over-gas-safety

Shocking considering that they can fine private landlords for the same failure.

Several housing associations have also
put tenants at risk. 1000 properties owned by housing association Luminus in [[http://www.huntsbusinessawards.co.uk/story/report-says-housing-providers-safety-failings-exposed-residents-to-serious-harm/ Huntingdonshire.

Paradigm and Manningham Housing associations (on all 1400 properties) have also previously been deemed non-compliant after investigations by the Health and Safety Executive.

14 regulatory notices given to social housing providers by the HSE in the last 5 years alone.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/22/council-chief-line-six-figure-payout-despite-forced-resignation/

From the Hyde Housing Independent Resident Group fb page.

"Hyde sent me a letter dating the 22nd of June saying I have breached my tenancy by not allowing them to do a gas safety check 😂😂 I have the form here left by the engineer who came and done my safety check on the 20th!!"

Minutes from the Grenfell residents emergency meeting back in 2015

grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/minutes-from-the-grenfell-tower-emergency-residents-meeting-170315/

www.ft.com/content/597f3f54-59ba-11e7-9bc8-8055f264aa8b
Council ignored call to tighten control of Grenfell Tower
Kensington & Chelsea rejected critical report into residents’ complaints

The London council that owns the Grenfell Tower block destroyed by a devastating fire rejected recommendations from as far back as 2009 that it needed to exert tighter control of work done by contractors on its housing stock.

The recommendations were contained in a highly critical independent report by Maria Memoli, a solicitor. Ms Memoli was commissioned to write her report because of the volume of complaints from residents against Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation

grenfellactiongroup.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/memoli-report.pdf
Investigation Report on Long Standing Complaints of the Kensington and Chelsea TMO

Independent Report by Local Governance Limited. (April 2009).

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/26/grenfell-tower-cladding-linked-to-fire-pulled-from-sale-worldwide?CMP=twt_gu
Grenfell Tower: cladding linked to fire pulled from sale worldwide
Arconic discontinues Reynobond PE, the cladding linked to the London blaze, for use in high-rise buildings

I'm not going to link this, because it is from the website that must not be named, but I can't find this anywhere else.

Anybody in the area?

A fire has broken out at a North London tower block under a mile away from an estate where thousands were evacuated over flammable cladding.
Crews of almost 60 firefighters are battling flames at Waxham House in Camden this evening.
The block is minutes away from Chalcots Estate, where 4,000 people were evacuated on Friday.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/26/grenfell-tower-victim-isaac-paulos-five-choked-to-death-on-fire-fumes?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Warning........upsetting detail.

Apparently it was Sunday evening .

"A spokesman for London Fire Brigade said: ‘Nearly 60 firefighters and officers dealt with a fire in a flat on Mansfield Road Gospel Oak this evening.
‘One flat on the second floor was badly damaged by the fire but nobody was in the flat at the time of the fire.
‘A small section of a flat on the third and fourth floor was also damaged by the fire.
‘One man was treated by London Ambulance Service for smoke inhalation.
‘Several people who were in the hallways, stairwells and common parts of the block were told to evacuate whereas those who were in their flats and smoke or heat was not affecting them were told to stay in their flat.’"

Mother of four rages at Camden Council after being moved from tower block into small one room bedsit.

twitter.com/5_News/status/879340653238521856

Five people expected to live in a two bed (not two bedroom, two single beds in a room only just big enough to hold them) bedsit for 28 days plus - how is that even legal?!

Fitz thats what i thought too.

Someone just shared this on twitter Its a youtube clip of a documentary from 1984 (33 years ago) that discusses the fire risks of cladding on tower blocks.

twitter.com/mattymandela/status/879363882862727170

This link takes you straight to the clip.

Apparently 1000 fire doors are missing from the evacuated tower blocks in Camden. Its not clear whether they were removed or never installed.

On 5 news one man and his family from a Camden block has been told hotel is fully booked and he must leave.

There are other families who have been sent to small bedsits.

And one family has been split between hotels. What a fucking mess.

It's a disgrace how people are being treated.

What I don't understand is why the government can't sequester if that is the right word hotels by block booking all available rooms for the next 6 to 8 weeks or however long this is going to take. Surely in a capital the size of london with as many hotels and b and bs there are enough rooms to accommodate all families. That would certainly take the financial worries away.

If not hotels then they should be able to rent short term any available private rented properties even if it's on expensive, short term licenses.

If this gets classed as a systemic failure is there a possibility that Kensington council and the TMO will get let off the hook

Im becoming more cynical in middle age.

Frouby i dont understand why the hotels cant just invoice the council directly. Not impossible in the digital age surely.

If this gets classed as a systemic failure is there a possibility that Kensington council and the TMO will get let off the hook

Not necessarily. Not if it's adviced the cladding isn't suitable above a certain height because of a fire risk and that was ignored. But it probably makes it more likely that no action. Plus I suspect there is other things to throw at both of them. Systematic failure and the government didn't review safety? That could get interesting...

Itv news @ itvnews
'There were hundreds of fire doors missing': @sajidjavid reveals the scale of recent fire safety inspection failures in Camden tower blocks

Conservative on channel 4 news fudging it saying that building regulations for the rich are the t he same as for the poor Yes if this was a partments in Holland Park the residents would have been treated in exactly the same way as Grenfell belittled and threatened with legal action.
Totally

I didnt catch his name but there is no way richer residents would have had to put up with that list of appalling treatment listed in the minutes of that 2015 meeting detailed on the Grenfell blog.

And when more well off residents in more prosperous dwellings speak up they are listened to and corners are less likely to be cut.

They still arent getting it.

Am pretty sure that any multi million pound property in London hasn't got tbe same cladding as Grenfall.

Just how many residents in buildings designed and built specifically for the private sector have been made to leave their apartments .

So maybe in theory the rules and regulations are the same. But the reality is very different.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/philip-pullman-grenfell-tower-auction-fire-name-character-trilogy-book-of-dust-nuda-hur-el-wahabi-a7809421.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Philip Pullman to name new character after young girl killed in Grenfell fire after her teacher makes emotional auction bid

What a lovely gesture from Pullman.