Breaking News: 'LIKE HELL ON EARTH' Grenfell Tower fire: Huge blaze rips through 24-storey residential tower in London’s Ladbroke Grove with residents trapped inside ‘screaming for help’

[Right_in_Virginia]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4601902/Huge-inferno-West-London-tower-block.html

'Nobody on the top three floors survived': Six dead and dozens missing as massive blaze 'sparked by faulty fridge' engulfs 27-storey tower block in just 15 minutes: Residents hurl themselves from windows while others make ropes from sheets

*At least six people have died, 74 are in six London hospitals including 20 in a critical condition after Grenfell Tower blaze started at 1am;
*Dozens more are feared dead or missing with one source claiming total could run into the hundreds. The Casualty Bureau number is 0800 0961 233;
*Trapped residents begged to be rescued while waving white towels, torches and mobile phones after being urged to stay in their flats;
*Petrified people were seen throwing themselves and their children out of windows - a baby tossed from the '9th or tenth floor' was caught and survived;
*200 firefighters with 40 engines needed to tackle 'unprecedented' blaze - residents claim that fire alarms didn't work, sprinklers failed and only stairwell used as exit was blocked;
*Residents gave repeated warnings about 'appalling' fire safety to landlord Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), whose four bosses earned £650,000 between them last year;
*New plastic rain-proof cladding encasing the building in £10million refurbishment 'went up like a match' and helped fire spread quickly from fourth floor to 27th floor - although the contractor insists it was safe;
*Dozens of similar blocks from the 1960s and 1970s refurbished in recent years have the same or similar new cladding;
*Local community including celebrities bring food and clothes to crisis centres while others offer the now-homeless places to stay; 


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4601902/Huge-inferno-West-London-tower-block.html#ixzz4jzPC0Ura

[Right_in_Virginia]

From this morning: 

[Right_in_Virginia]

Last night: 

[mountaineer]

  Heartbreaking.

[Sanguine]

Heartbreaking.

Yes, it is.  Wow. 

[Free Vulcan]

Horrific and prayers to the families of those who didn't make it out, and those in the hospital. My heart weeps for the children lost.

[EC]

Death toll is now confirmed as 12. It is going to increase further - expectation is that no one at all on the top 4 floors survived.

[driftdiver]

A prayer for the folks going into that burned out hulk to search for remains.    I cannot imagine its very stable.

[truth_seeker]

The recent rehab to the building is over $100,000 spent,  per unit.

(GBP 10,000,000, exch. rate $1.27 per GBP, 120 units)

[Fishrrman]

They better do a sweep to get the dead out as quickly as possible, and then do a controlled demolition (as best as can be arranged in a hurry) to take the hulk down.

If they don't, it may come down NOT under anyone's "control"...

[Smokin Joe]

A prayer for the folks going into that burned out hulk to search for remains.    I cannot imagine its very stable.

And the friends, family, and souls of the departed. Recovery operations are no fun, even without a questionable structure.

[Suppressed]

Grenfell Tower fire: Muslims awake for Ramadan among heroes who helped save lives
by Helena Horton  14 JUNE 2017 • 7:11PM

Heroic residents of the Grenfell tower saved their neighbours by banging on their doors and guiding them to safety, it has emerged.

Local community centres and religious buildings have opened to help those who have lost their homes, and left with nothing but their pyjamas.

Some put their own lives at risk to rescue others.
 
Muslims awake due to Ramadan may have saved lives

Rashida, a local resident, told Sky News how Muslims observing Ramadan may have saved lives in the tower block, as many of them were awake.

She said: “Most Muslims now observing Ramadan will normally not go to bed until about 2am, maybe 2.30am, [when] they have their late night last meal. They do their last prayer.

“So most of the families around here would have been awake and I think even with the noise of the helicopters, it would have brought a lot of attention to a lot of residents, non-Muslim as well, [who] would have thought 'something's going on that's not quite normal.'"

She spoke of how tight-knit the community was, and how many different nationalities lived in the tower.

She said: "It’s a very diverse area, we have all nationalities, all religions. We all live peacefully amongst each other, there is not much crime - [not] higher than anywhere else. You can walk around safely late at night… we all know each other. There is a very high population of Moroccans, and for some reason we all live close to each other. Everyone knows each other.”

Nadia Yousuf, 29, told BuzzFeed Muslim residents were among the first to notice the fire, as they woke up to prepare to break their fast.

"They saw it just after they woke up to eat", she said.

...

Excerpt.  More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/local-heroes-saved-lives-helped-residents-grenfell-tower-fire/


Note this comes from the Torygraph, not a left-wing paper.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Reports (from Italy) that it was the plastic based cladding on the outside of the building that spread the fire - it was added last year as part of a £10 million refurbishment (To make it look decent for the neighbors in the big money homes, not to fix the actual problems).

Placing a combustional substance on a high rise to 'make it look pretty'?

The London Fire Code must have been thrown away.

[Smokin Joe]

Grenfell Tower fire: Muslims awake for Ramadan among heroes who helped save lives
by Helena Horton  14 JUNE 2017 • 7:11PM

Heroic residents of the Grenfell tower saved their neighbours by banging on their doors and guiding them to safety, it has emerged.

Local community centres and religious buildings have opened to help those who have lost their homes, and left with nothing but their pyjamas.

Some put their own lives at risk to rescue others.
 
Muslims awake due to Ramadan may have saved lives

Rashida, a local resident, told Sky News how Muslims observing Ramadan may have saved lives in the tower block, as many of them were awake.

She said: “Most Muslims now observing Ramadan will normally not go to bed until about 2am, maybe 2.30am, [when] they have their late night last meal. They do their last prayer.

“So most of the families around here would have been awake and I think even with the noise of the helicopters, it would have brought a lot of attention to a lot of residents, non-Muslim as well, [who] would have thought 'something's going on that's not quite normal.'"

She spoke of how tight-knit the community was, and how many different nationalities lived in the tower.

She said: "It’s a very diverse area, we have all nationalities, all religions. We all live peacefully amongst each other, there is not much crime - [not] higher than anywhere else. You can walk around safely late at night… we all know each other. There is a very high population of Moroccans, and for some reason we all live close to each other. Everyone knows each other.”

Nadia Yousuf, 29, told BuzzFeed Muslim residents were among the first to notice the fire, as they woke up to prepare to break their fast.

"They saw it just after they woke up to eat", she said.

...

Excerpt.  More at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/local-heroes-saved-lives-helped-residents-grenfell-tower-fire/


Note this comes from the Torygraph, not a left-wing paper.

No doubt, being awake (for whatever reason) influenced survival.
If the above is the case and this is not just a puff piece, then by all means give credit where credit is due.
It's enough to face a burning building in full turnout gear with a hose in your hands. Been there, done that, just none that tall, but plenty hot.

[DB]

Placing a combustional substance on a high rise to 'make it look pretty'?

The London Fire Code must have been thrown away.

There are other reports that it was added to make the building more energy efficient. Doesn't really matter. It was an incredibly stupid thing to do for all the obvious reasons.

[DB]

No doubt, being awake (for whatever reason) influenced survival.
If the above is the case and this is not just a puff piece, then by all means give credit where credit is due.
It's enough to face a burning building in full turnout gear with a hose in your hands. Been there, done that, just none that tall, but plenty hot.

Apparently the fire was started by a refrigerator that literally blew up. The enviro-nuts started using butane (or something similar) for refrigerant in them... Enviro-nuts have killed far more people than their good intentions have ever saved...

[Frank Cannon]

From this morning:

In my professional opinion as a slumlord, a little paint and spackle and you can start moving people back into those units next week.

[Smokin Joe]

Apparently the fire was started by a refrigerator that literally blew up. The enviro-nuts started using butane (or something similar) for refrigerant in them... Enviro-nuts have killed far more people than their good intentions have ever saved...

Butane or propane would work as refrigerants, but almost no one uses them because of the fire hazard. I knew a farmer who charged his tractor AC system with propane every year (after R-12 was banned), but even that was on the outside of the cab in an area where if it can't push the pickup down the road, it isn't very windy.

[Frank Cannon]

Butane or propane would work as refrigerants, but almost no one uses them because of the fire hazard. I knew a farmer who charged his tractor AC system with propane every year (after R-12 was banned), but even that was on the outside of the cab in an area where if it can't push the pickup down the road, it isn't very windy.

Holy shit. I heard about people doing that but I thought that was just folk lore. A/C systems are notorious for leaking and having propane leaking next to something that uses fire to operate seems ill advised.

Better off converting to 134 which isn't a big deal or maybe trying ammonia.

[Smokin Joe]

Holy shit. I heard about people doing that but I thought that was just folk lore. A/C systems are notorious for leaking and having propane leaking next to something that uses fire to operate seems ill advised.

Better off converting to 134 which isn't a big deal or maybe trying ammonia.

Yep, I agree. But the AC unit was on the top of the cab of a large diesel tractor. They guy was a licensed A&P Mechanic, and decided it was his tractor, his A/C system, and he'd do it his way. He never did have a problem, but I wouldn't do it nor recommend it. John Deere wanted a fortune to convert to 134 at the time and a bottle of R-12 had gone from 99 bucks to 999 overnight on Dec. 31. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a half dozen of those when they were cheap, 'cause I knew it was coming.

[EC]

Reports (from Italy) that it was the plastic based cladding on the outside of the building that spread the fire - it was added last year as part of a £10 million refurbishment (To make it look decent for the neighbors in the big money homes, not to fix the actual problems).

Told you: http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php?topic=267368.new#new

[Smokin Joe]

Told you: http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php?topic=267368.new#new

Yep, EC, you had that nailed.  Dear God...

[Gefn]

I'm getting text alerts on my phone the death toll has risen to 17 but will probably be worse. BBC, Sky, CNN, and USA Today reporting.

G-d please take care of these poor souls and those who are injured.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Fire safety rule is to get down on stomach and crawl in a fire (in heavy smoke) but how do get down stairs in that?

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Told you: http://www.gopbriefingroom.com/index.php?topic=267368.new#new

Sounds like it was green global warming garbage, not merely aesthetics