Deadly Fire In London Grenfell Tower Building Proves Tenants Previous Claims Of Negligence Correct

June 15. 2017

A deadly fire swept through the 24-story Grenfell tower in London, England on Wednesday morning. 12 people are confirmed dead, with officials stating the death toll could rise, as the search of  the burned out building continues. Men, women and children were heard screaming for help during the blaze, as they were trapped in the building. Women frantically threw their babies over balconies, hoping they would escape the raging fire.

Immediately some on social networking blamed the incident on terrorism. However, a few online searches revealed the building was predominantly occupied by Muslims and is not a tourist attraction site, making it less likely it was terrorism (though nothing has been ruled out by police at this time).

In further researching the incident, I came across a blog post from 2016 labeling the Grenfell tower a fire hazard with safety code violations. The author of the Grenfell Action Group, referring to the blogger as a tenant, blamed the landlord for building and safety violations at the building.

Grenfell tower fire

The Grenfell Action Group blog post dated November 20, 2016 stated, "It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders. We believe that the KCTMO are an evil, unprincipled, mini-mafia who have no business to be charged with the responsibility of looking after the every day management of large scale social housing estates and that their sordid collusion with the RBKC Council is a recipe for a future major disaster."

Britain has a very strong building code of high standards. I've followed the London real estate market very closely for years. In that time I have read many news articles regarding legal cases the British government brought against landlords, who attempted to flout the building code. I've read of British councils ordering illegal structures built without planning permission, be destroyed.

I've read of a builder who sentenced to prison over a window that fell on to the street below, crushing a woman to death. I've  read of I've read of landlords being arrested, prosecuted and fined huge sums of money for renting places with substandard wiring, plumbing or heating. Therefore, the Grenfell tower fell between the cracks or power surges deteriorated the electrical system in the building, leading to a series of failures and fire hazards.

Firefighter examining the burnt out building

Further research led to a previous allegation there were power surges in the Grenfell tower that electrically destroyed the appliances and electronics of some of the building's residents. It is alleged the insurance company refused to pay the claims, leaving residents upset at the property losses.

It is now being stated, a faulty fridge on the fourth floor of the Grenfell tower possibly started the fire. I've covered this matter in past articles, regarding the fire hazards power surges can create. Power surges deteriorate or destroy appliances/electronics, increasing the risk of them erupting in sparks and fire. Power surges can also damage the wiring in structures, creating a fire hazard. Power surges can be caused by faulty wiring, bad weather or problems at the light company.

Witnesses and victims of the fire stated they did not hear alarms during the blaze. This could be because there were no fire alarms or the power surges damaged them. I also wondered out loud on Twitter, why there was no mention of sprinklers or smoke detectors in the building.

Firefighters resting after fighting the blaze for many hours

Articles published since the time of the deadly fire indicate, the building was redone in 2016, under a £10,000,000 refurbishment and fitted with "cladding" to give it a better appearance and greater insulation from the cold. However, experts are now stating the cladding also acts as a fire conductor. Cladding is said to be highly flammable. It trapped residents in an infernal blaze.

There was a similar incident in 2015 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the luxury 63-story "The Address Downtown Dubai" building burned rather quickly and cladding was named as the culprit that acted as an accelerant. However, the fire was not caused by the cladding. The fire broke out on New Years Eve on the 20th floor terrace, where an explosion was heard. Then the fire quickly spread. 14 people were injured in the blaze.

Investigators in London will now have to piece together what happened leading to the blaze at the Grenfell tower. The Judiciary Report sends its condolences to the families and friends of the victims in the Grenfell fire. It truly is a terrible tragedy.

STORY SOURCE

KCTMO – Playing with fire!

Posted on November 20, 2016 by grenfellactiongroup - It is a truly terrifying thought but the Grenfell Action Group firmly believe that only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord, the KCTMO, and bring an end to the dangerous living conditions and neglect of health and safety legislation that they inflict upon their tenants and leaseholders. We believe that the KCTMO are an evil, unprincipled, mini-mafia who have no business to be charged with the responsibility of looking after the every day management of large scale social housing estates and that their sordid collusion with the RBKC Council is a recipe for a future major disaster.

Unfortunately, the Grenfell Action Group have reached the conclusion that only an incident that results in serious loss of life of KCTMO residents will allow the external scrutiny to occur that will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation. We believe that the KCTMO have ensured their ongoing survival by the use of proxy votes at their Annual General Meeting that see them returned with a mandate of 98% in favour of the continuation of their inept and highly dangerous management of our homes...

https://grenfellactiongroup.wordpress.com