UK - Huge fire rips through Grenfell Tower, Latimer Road, White City, London, June 2017

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Sixty-eight flats in a luxury apartment complex where prices start at £1.6m are being made available to families displaced by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Families who escaped the tower blaze will be able to take up permanent occupation in July and August in the apartments in the Kensington Row scheme about 1.5 miles south of Grenfell, where last Wednesday’s blaze left 79 people dead and missing and presumed dead.

The homes are within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea but in the more affluent south end of the borough. They have been purchased by the Corporation of London and will become part of its social housing stock.

The most luxurious four-bedroom apartments are currently on sale in the development for £8.5m but the homes being released to Grenfell residents are part of the affordable quota being built and feature a more “straightforward” internal specification, but have the same build quality.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...be-given-68-flats-in-luxury-apartment-complex
 
Kensington Row development


https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/new-homes/london/kensington/kensington-row


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The site is located on Warwick Road, Kensington, London W14 in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The development comprises 160 No 1 to 5 bedroom apartments over 4 blocks together with basement plant space, residents parking, cycle storage, refuse stores and other ancillary space.



Block A - 16 Stories private residential.
Block B - 10 Stories social rented residential.
Block C - 10 Stories private residential.
Block D - 6 Stories social rented.

http://www.hurstwood-eng.co.uk/project-kensington.php
 
Toxic smoke inhaling is very very bad and can have lasting terrible health effects.

I learned this out when I got too near a brush pile I was burning and inhaled regular wood smoke burning. I didnt think much of it and just coughed a little every now and then. After about an hour or so of burning I realized i needed to quite inhaling the smoke.

I was sick for about a week and felt awful. I knew it was the smoke that caused my sickness. I recovered and realized never to do that again.

If people are in a fire and inhaled toxic smoke much worse than just wood with plastic melting and burning and other toxics. It could easily kill you on the spot or even days or weeks afterwards.

I bought a couple real gas masks years ago and I have them as an emergency. They are not too expensive and worth having them in case of ever needed.

Of course if fire then just try to get out first.
 
Alyce said:
Sixty-eight flats in a luxury apartment complex where prices start at £1.6m are being made available to families displaced by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Families who escaped the tower blaze will be able to take up permanent occupation in July and August in the apartments in the Kensington Row scheme about 1.5 miles south of Grenfell, where last Wednesday’s blaze left 79 people dead and missing and presumed dead.

The homes are within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea but in the more affluent south end of the borough. They have been purchased by the Corporation of London and will become part of its social housing stock.

The most luxurious four-bedroom apartments are currently on sale in the development for £8.5m but the homes being released to Grenfell residents are part of the affordable quota being built and feature a more “straightforward” internal specification, but have the same build quality.


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...be-given-68-flats-in-luxury-apartment-complex
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I'm pleased for the families the authorities have done something good for once. Thank you to the building firm for agreeing to do this when they could have made substantial profits.
 
gregjrichards said:
I'm pleased for the families the authorities have done something good for once. Thank you to the building firm for agreeing to do this when they could have made substantial profits.
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Agree. I think it is very good news and well done to whoever managed to organise this.

It will be good that not only will they have new, fully kitted out, homes to move in to, but that they will also maintain friendships /connections with their neighbours and be with the other people who experienced the horror that they all suffered.
 
gregjrichards said:
I'm pleased for the families the authorities have done something good for once. Thank you to the building firm for agreeing to do this when they could have made substantial profits.
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Totally agree. So glad of this and hope more is done to help those affected.
 
Extra construction staff have been committed by the developer St Edward and working hour restrictions will be relaxed so work can continue around the clock to fast-track completion of the development to meet the increased demand in the area following the fire at Grenfell Tower. The government has also provided additional funding to fit out the flats to ensure they are ready for people to move in to sooner.
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Each home will be fully furnished and completed to a high specification and St Edward will provide liaison staff for each block so that residents are fully supported in settling in to their new homes. This will be in addition to the ongoing range of support being provided to those affected by the tragedy.

The homes will be a mix of 1,2 and 3 bedroom flats across 2 blocks.
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https://www.buildington.co.uk/new_developments/london_w14/warwick_road/kensington_row/id/3866

I think these properties may have already been intended for social/affordable housing - it' s often required by planners as a quid pro quo for allowing other development. Still, good news for the families, although some may not want to live in a high rise again even if it is brand new and high spec.
 
The renovations were inspected 16 times over two years:

Judith Blakeman, a local Labour councillor who represents the Grenfell residents, said: “This raises the question of whether the building regulations officers were sufficiently competent and did they know what they were looking at. It also begs a question about what they were actually shown. Was anything concealed from them.”
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Aluminium cladding of the type believed to have been used at Grenfell, with a polyethylene filler, is not compliant with building regulations on taller buildings in the UK. The Department of Communities and Local Government, which oversees building regulations, says: “Cladding using a composite aluminium panel with a polyethylene core would be non-compliant with current building regulations guidance. This material should not be used as cladding on buildings over 18m in height.”

It remains unclear when and how the more flammable material was substituted and the council declined to comment on what judgments its building inspectors made about the cladding during their site visits. The contractor Rydon has said it “met all required building control, fire regulation and health and safety standards”.

The council also said that its building inspectors vetted detailed drawings before works began as part of a “full plans” application, which usually includes the specifications of materials. However, it added that “a formal decision notice was not issued for the plans”.

Geoff Wilkinson, who runs a company of approved building inspectors, said this raised “a huge question” about whether the council had consulted fully with the fire service about the plans, as the formal decision notice can only be issued when the fire service has responded to consultation from the council.
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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...ions-failed-to-stop-use-of-flammable-cladding
 
How the fire victims suffered just gets more and more awful .
Insulation boards fitted to the outside of Grenfell Tower gave off highly toxic hydrogen cyanide gas which may have contributed to the deaths of some of the 79 confirmed victims.
...
At least three of those injured in the fire have been treated with an antidote for hydrogen cyanide poisoning in hospital, and the number of those affected may be higher.

The gas could have incapacitated some residents, but establishing its role in the cause of death may be impossible because of the condition of the victims.
...
King's College Hospital confirmed to Sky News that three of the 12 patients it received from the fire were treated with the hydrogen cyanide antidote Cyanokit.

Four other hospital trusts declined to comment on the treatment administered to those injured in the fire.

An initial 68 patients were taken to six hospitals across London, with 18 receiving critical care and some put into induced comas to aid in the recovery of damaged airways.
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http://news.sky.com/story/toxic-gas...wer-fire-may-have-caused-some-deaths-10922685

More at the link, including more information about the insulation used in the cladding.

Reports on the COD of the first victims indicate smoke inhalation and inhalation from fire fumes, which I think may mean thermal burns to the airway but I'm not sure. And it looks like one man died from injuries caused by jumping or falling.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40357280

Here's some information about smoke inhalation with more at the link:
Inhalation of toxic smoke is the primary cause of death from fires. It is a major cause of firefighter death. Smoke inhalation causes acute life-threatening injuries and results in long-term lung and neurological damage. Many toxic products are released during a typical room-and-contents fire. A multitude of variables make it difficult to predict what toxins will be produced. As a result, most information is from animal and autopsy studies. Unfortunately, some toxins, like cyanide, are very difficult to measure. Cyanide’s role in smoke inhalation toxicity is just beginning to be understood.

Autopsy and experimental data show that serious injury and death result from exposure to contact irritants, primarily hydrogen chloride, and the central systemic poisons, carbon monoxide (CO) and cyanide.1 Contact irritants cause cellular damage and death. In response to irritants, cells release fluids, causing massive edema. Additional inflammatory responses cause cells to lose integrity and die.2

Systemic poisons are absorbed into the blood through the lungs. They act on specific cells in the body or within specific parts of every cell. Systemic poisons either inhibit critical cell functions or cause cellular death.
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http://www.fireengineering.com/arti.../features/toxicology-of-smoke-inhalation.html
 
This would tally with what one pathologist has said:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...test?page=with:block-5942abe9e4b0d5ab311e8117

Peter Vanezis, professor of forensic medical sciences at Barts and the London, who helped identify the final victim of the 1987 King’s Cross fire, said that identifying those who died would be likely to take months.

Investigators will rely on unburnt documentation, tattoos, dental records and DNA to produce a full list of those who died. In major indoor fires, deaths are normally caused by fume inhalation rather than by the flames, he said:

"If it’s any consolation to the relatives, they’re normally unconscious when the fire takes over. It’s normally substantial inhalation of carbon monoxide. It’s odourless, you get a bit of nausea and a headache and then you pass out."
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This is a case of human stupidity on many peoples part. They took a fireproof building and turned it into a death trap when they wrapped the concrete exterior in plastic. A manager from Quidco who lived there warned them of the firetrap from this plastic. They told Mariem to shut up and quit causing trouble.
Now, she appears to be dead from the fire she predicted.
 
"The controversial cladding blamed for fuelling the devastating Grenfell Tower inferno should still be used on high-rise apartments in Australia, a top building firm claims.

In the wake of last week's horrific blaze which ripped through the west-London block claiming 79 lives so far, witnesses told how cladding seemed to accelerate the fire.

Following the blaze, it was revealed that a Melbourne apartment block which caught fire in 2014 was also covered in a similar brand of Chinese-made cladding.

But while some have called for the product to be banned worldwide, the builder of the Melbourne high-rise that caught alight says the cladding was cleared by experts and is safe to use, The Australian reports."


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ladding-safe-use-Australia.html#ixzz4kgAiqffj

Insanity!
 
The cladding was required as part of the "green movement" as it was supposed to reduce the transfer of heat/cold from interior to exterior. It was manufactured in China - enough said.

Lots of things give off cyanide gas when burned. Most people who die in fires, die of cyanide poisoning. A burning plastic garbage can can kill you.

Someone was negligent and set this fire or it was deliberate. Will we ever know the cause of the fire?
 
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