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Original poster

Grenfell Tower The Aftermath Thread SIX.

691 replies

HelenaDove · 05/07/2017 19:46

I thought i would take the oppurtunity to start thread six as thread five is now coming to an end. Thanks Thanks to all those lost in the fire their survivors families friends and volunteers.

Link to thread five which also includes links to previous threads.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/in_the_news/2959251-London-Fire-Grenfell-Tower-thread-five?pg=1

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Original poster
HelenaDove · 25/06/2018 00:17

www.london-fire.gov.uk/incidents/2018/june/flat-fire-ladbroke-grove/

flat fire same area One person has died.

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RandomlyChosenName · 27/06/2018 17:34

I feel deeply uncomfortable about the blame being heaped on the fire chief today. He was out of his depths and made mistakes. But all that was caused by a fire that shouldn't have ever been as bad as it was. Everything I have heard the fire service had done would have been the right thing to do had the building not been made unsafe by all the work done on it.

The fire service, and especially not the individuals within it, doesn't deserve to be scapegoated.

Those to blame are those who knowingly stuck flammable material up the sides of a block of homes.

MissEliza · 27/06/2018 19:40

I totally agree. It's disgusting. I don't understand why the LFB have been questioned before those responsible for the renovation when everyone knows the decisions made by them caused the building to 'melt like a candle'. Last week they were accused of 'institutional racism' by Imran Khan. There are legitimate issues to be considered in order to prevent further tragedies but it feels it's about blaming the LFB than learning lessons. The fire fighters who were there that night must be suffering until now. What Michael Dowden has gone through today would break a lot of people.

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 21:24

I totally agree Its Rydon et al who should be grilled like this. Not the firefighters Are they supposed to be responsible for the greed of contractors now? Angry

www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/03/09/grenfell-contractor-rydon-post-9m-profit/

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MissEliza · 27/06/2018 21:31

Urgh that article makes me feel sick. A photo of a burning building next to a lovely article about how they're making lots of money Angry.
I get that the inquiry needs to think about recommendations for the fire service but why start with them?
I'm also conscious of the fact that Imran Khan works for some residents. Are they actually happy with those allegations being made?

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 21:34

MissEliza many arent happy no..............not going by what im seeing on Twitter.

Rydons Green Man contract is worth £155 mil

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Thesearepearls · 27/06/2018 21:37

Why is making laws in this country so difficult?

Clearly all we had to do is make laws that buildings too high for the fire brigade to cope should not be built

They shouldn't have the equivalent of an accelerant stuck on the outside

They should have sprinkler systems and two exits

And no building should be built so high anyway

It's a really simple thing to make these laws. We owe it to the Grenfell dead to get them onto the statute books. Of course the property companies will cavill at their profits being slashed but they'd just have to learn to play within the new rules

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 21:38

Meanwhile.

North Ken Law Centre
‏ @NorthKenLC
Jun 26

Of the 203 households from #Grenfell Tower, 68 remain in emergency accomm, 49 are in temp and 86 are in permanent accomm. Of the 129 that were evacuated from the wider area, 74 are in temp, 15 are in emergency, and just 1 has moved into alternative permanent accomm (as of 21.06)

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MissEliza · 27/06/2018 21:55

These you're right. The matter really is quite simple.
When my neighbour converted her loft, I'm positive she told me she had to have sprinklers fitted. Why on earth aren't they fitted in multi storey buildings? People who work in social housing and the fire service have told me there's a risk tenants will tamper with them. So what? Angry

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 22:12

"People who work in social housing and the fire service have told me there's a risk tenants will tamper with them"

This is the kind of attitude that causes a lot of these problems.

Tenants are no more likely to tamper with them than a home owner is.

If people in the fire service are saying this about social housing tenants generally (id expect it from those who work in housing as it seems to be a pre requisite for the job) maybe (but obvs we dont know for sure) it was said about the Grenfell residents.............more will probably become clear as the enquiry

continues.

It still stinks that Micheal Dowden is being questioned in this way before the contractors.

Honestly though one minute tenants are poor people who are all as thick as shit ..............the next we are all potential criminal masterminds.

The goalposts seem to move depending on which denigration towards tenants certain organizations and/or individuals want to use in any given week.

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 22:16

Miss Eliza that wasnt directed at you................it was directed at the general attitude towards tenants.

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MissEliza · 27/06/2018 22:29

Yes Helena I know. There are shit tenants and there are shit owner occupiers but our society needs to try to protect people in spite of themselves IYSWIM.
I'm a landlord. Once I sent someone to do a repair and he thought to check the batteries on her CO and smoke alarms. He found one wasn't working. She told him she never checked them. I literally sent her a text every month reminding her to check. I didn't want anything on my conscience.

MissEliza · 27/06/2018 22:38

I should add that social housing is a bit of a family trade. I was told while at uni by my dps not to consider it as a career as it would look like nepotism. Anyway I'm aware of the challenges of managing a tower block and also the biases against tenants. Grenfell has gripped me because it's clear certain safety precautions weren't deemed necessary for social housing tenants. Moreover the reaction of the council afterwards was.....I can't find the word. Local authorities are supposed to have emergency plans. Teams from other local authorities were drafted because they had plans and Kensington had nothing. Apparently the employees from the neighbouring authorities who were doing drafted in haven't been called to testify. Why??

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 22:57

That is an excellent point.

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MissEliza · 27/06/2018 23:16

I remember waking up to the news about the fire. My second thought was an emergency team from the council will be down there on the ground coordinating it. But there wasn't. It's mind bogglingly incompetent.

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HelenaDove · 27/06/2018 23:46

Miss Eliza The fire was the day before my birthday.

I thought that the emergency team from the council would be down there by the time i was cutting into my birthday cake at the very LATEST.

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HelenaDove · 29/06/2018 22:58

From Twitter.

Nearly Legal
‏ @nearlylegal**
20m20 minutes ago

I’ve been avoiding, by and large, commenting on the Grenfell Inquiry. There are reasons for that. Partly because my firm is acting. But also because it will be a long process. Thinking that blame is being ascribed on the basis of each day’s evidence is not right.

Nearly Legal
‏ @nearlylegal**
18m18 minutes ago

There may be lessons for many. Training, awareness, process, lack of information. And those need to be drawn out. But phase 1 of the Inquiry (rightly or wrongly) is focussed on the events of the night. Phase 2 - what lead up to that night - should deal with other issues.

Nearly Legal
‏ @nearlylegal**
16m16 minutes ago

In short, there is a long way to go, and the focus will shift. And it seems from even the initial experts’ reports that there will be a lot of explaining for some people to do in phase 2 - the how did the tower end up like this stage

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Motherduckling · 29/06/2018 23:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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HelenaDove · 30/06/2018 02:22

That is likely to be one of the flats that was for private rent MotherDuckling. One of the tenants filmed for the recent Grenfell documentary (she was one of the first tenants to move in in 1974)
was paying £700 a month.

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