Grenfell Tower fire
 | |
| Location | Grenfell Tower, Lancaster West Estate, North Kensington, London, England |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 70+"+" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 70. |
| Interest of | Emma Dent Coad |
The Grenfell Tower fire occurred on 14 June 2017, at the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, a block of public housing flats in North Kensington, London, killing at least seventy people. Criticised for not meeting victims and local residents at the scene, Theresa May was quick to announce there would be a judge-led public inquiry into the tragedy.[1]
Started about 1am
The fire started shortly before 1am local time. Hundreds of firefighters and 45 fire engines were involved in efforts to control the fire. Firefighters were trying to control pockets of fire on the higher floors after most of the rest of the building had been gutted. Residents of surrounding buildings were evacuated out of concerns that the tower could collapse, though the building was later determined to still be structurally sound.[2]
Numbers
An exact figure for residents is unknown but it is a 24-storey tower block and there are thought to be around 24 people per floor. This would leave the total at around 600 (576) although authorities have no idea how many people were in their homes during the fire. Kensington and Chelsea Council leader Nick Paget-Brown suggested:
- "Several hundred would have been in there. It’s a question of establishing how many people were in there at the time of the fire.[3]
Many were killed, and many residents remain missing.[4] Sixty-five were rescued by firefighters. Seventy-four people were confirmed to be in five hospitals across London, twenty of whom were in a critical condition. Ongoing fires on the upper floors and fears of structural collapse hindered the search and recovery effort.[5]
Cause
The cause of the fire is not yet known. The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan criticised the safety instructions telling people to stay in their flats in particular.[6] Since 2013 the residents' organisation, Grenfell Action Group, had repeatedly expressed concern about fire safety and had warned in November 2016 that only a catastrophic fire would finally force the block's management to treat fire precautions and maintenance of fire-related systems to a proper standard.[7]
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver offered free food and shelter to victims of the fire at his nearby restaurant in Frank Lowy's Westfield Shopping Centre in White City.[8]
Event
| Event | Description |
|---|---|
| Grenfell Tower fire | The worst UK residential fire since World War II. |
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Ben Goldsmith and his "party people": Friends in low places | Article | 19 December 2017 | "Just had a glimpse of Corbyn’s Britain. A birthday party for my sister-in-law in Notting Hill invaded and shut down by a vicious bottle-throwing hard Leftist crowd (from the Grenfell march), because they could." | |
| Document:Here’s why the Grenfell inquiry will be a stitch-up | Article | 5 July 2017 | George Monbiot | On 14 June 2017, while the Grenfell Tower was smouldering, a meeting of the Red Tape Initiative panel decided that "on this occasion" they would not recommend the removal of the EU Construction Products Regulation, which seeks to protect people from fire, and restricts the kind of cladding that can be used. |
References
- ↑ "What is an inquest, how is it different to a public inquiry, and why are Grenfell fire victims calling for one?"
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{{URL|example.com|optional display text}} - ↑ "Jamie Oliver offers Grenfell Tower fire victims free food and shelter at his Westfield restaurant"
