Grenfell Tower Fire

[Lace Neil Singer]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40301289

An inferno ripped thru a tower block in London a few days ago. Seventeen people are confirmed dead, with five times that missing; once people can enter the top part of the tower, the official death toll is expected to rise. The reason why the fire spread so quickly? Cladding on the outside which acted like a match to the flames. Also, there were no sprinklers installed as landlords cut costs.

[Greenday]

Did I read correctly on another forum that there was only one entrance/exit.

[s_stabeler]

To be fair, that is because the fire safety procedures envisioned people who'se apartments weren't yet on fire would stay put- in other words, fire safety procedures didn't include evacuation of the tower. (because they assumed any fire could be contained to the unit(s) that had caught fire)

so there being only one exit is only a moronic decision because it relied on moronic assumptions.

Granted, it looks like there were quite a few factors that caused this disaster (wildly inappropiate cladding- which is probably why it went up so quickly, the corridors had been allowed to fill with junk, no fire evacuation plan...)

[Canarr]

Interesting op-ed piece on the fire. Or rather, on the difference in spending at home and abroad.

One of the main reasons austerity is being imposed on the general public is precisely to free up funds for foreign interventions. The endless war lobby need to cut spending on things we want-like public libraries, fire stations, sprinklers on tower blocks, and a properly funded NHS-in order to pay for the things they want - like bombing Libya back to the Stone Age, keeping the conflict in Syria going for as long as possible, and for military build-ups on Russia's borders.

They want to use our money for warfare, and for toppling governments that don’t do their bidding; we want it spent on our welfare. Never in a hundred years has the conflict of interest between the elite and the people been so stark.

To put fires out in Britain, we need to stop lighting them overseas. And the only regime change ordinary folk should be interested in is the one that’s urgently needed at home.

Sidenote: the cladding that was used on the Tower is not allowed for use in highrises in Germany - because it's flammable.

[Tanasi]

To be fair, that is because the fire safety procedures envisioned people who'se apartments weren't yet on fire would stay put- in other words, fire safety procedures didn't include evacuation of the tower. (because they assumed any fire could be contained to the unit(s) that had caught fire)

so there being only one exit is only a moronic decision because it relied on moronic assumptions.

Granted, it looks like there were quite a few factors that caused this disaster (wildly inappropiate cladding- which is probably why it went up so quickly, the corridors had been allowed to fill with junk, no fire evacuation plan...)

I've heard that called shelter in place, which is a good idea in some situations. Some older friends of mine live in a assisted living facility, part of the requirements of them living there is they have to be able to self rescue if possible. They have at least one fire drill a month. His wife has mobility difficulties and uses a rollator, he uses a cane. When the drill happens he gets her on her feet and onto the rollator, she holds his cane and he pushes them out of the building.
A few years ago when I was sick and in a nursing home there was a fire (one story building that is in a big square.) Their policy was shelter in place, the fire doors closed and the nurses/cnas/other staff ran room to room closing doors. When this occured I was at physical therapy as far from the fire as I could get and still be in the building. The fire was on the same hallway as my room, thankfully the fire was easily extinguished. At that time I made an extra effort to get back on my feet, I don't have a lot of fears but burning is one.
I can't imagine what it would take to evacuate around 200 people that the majority of are invalids and most of those that can move aren't exactly in their right minds.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The really stupid thing about using plastic cladding on Grenfell Tower? This and this. Both incidents where fire broke out, and spread rapidly due to plastic being used in the construction of the building. Why weren't lessons learned?

Also this article states that the cladding used on Grenfell Tower is actually illegal. O_o No doubt heads will roll...