London tower block fire.

[hummuspie]

Absolutely heartbreaking to see some of the videos taken by residents who were trapped inside especially the ones who were above the 19th floor who in all likelihood didn't make it out. Stomach churning stuff

Some of the looks on the faces of the firefighters says it all, they really must be commended for their outstanding bravery and work, all while dealing  with it all understaffed.

Also have to say it's very heartwarming to see everyone pulling together irrespective of race or beliefs.

Going to put the JustGiving link here incase anyone here wants to donate/help but are unsure how to

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/familiesofgrenfelltower

[ripple11]

Watching Channel 4 news I understood a family on the "20 something floor "made it out, so hopeful many others did that high up.

Quite incredible 10 million spent on refurb and no central fire alarm or sprinkler system put in. Ok it wasn't compulsory in regulations, but surely that's top of your "moral"  list in any bleeding upgrade on such a building.

[Woodsey]

Watching Channel 4 news I understood a family on the "20 something floor "made it out, so hopeful many others did that high up.

Quite incredible 10 million spent on refurb and no central fire alarm or sprinkler system put in. Ok it wasn't compulsory in regulations, but surely that's top of your "moral"  list in any bleeding upgrade on such a building.

Not been able to watch it since I read about a baby being thrown off the 10th floor for someone to catch. Couldnt listen to any more after that, too horrific to bear  

[tikay]

Watching Channel 4 news I understood a family on the "20 something floor "made it out, so hopeful many others did that high up.

Quite incredible 10 million spent on refurb and no central fire alarm or sprinkler system put in. Ok it wasn't compulsory in regulations, but surely that's top of your "moral"  list in any bleeding upgrade on such a building.

Not been able to watch it since I read about a baby being thrown off the 10th floor for someone to catch. Couldnt bear listening to any more after that 

I read somewhere that someone caught the baby, but I'm struggling to comprehend that.

It's a horrific tragedy, & one which should never happen in a modern, civilised country.

[Karabiner]

It's incredible that I grew up in my teenage years virtually just around the corner from that very block of flats.

Only couple of miles away to the North of Notting-Hill-Gate and I must have gone past that block many dozens of times on the #52 bus en route to my youth club in West Hamstead.

[titaniumbean]

next PM?

[kukushkin88]

next PM?

Yep, the guys an imbecile. First responders last night will have driven past two recently closed stations to get there, Southwark and Kensington. The destruction of the public sector keeps contributing to deaths.

[Doobs]

next PM?

Yep, the guys an imbecile. First responders last night will have driven past two recently closed stations to get there, Southwark and Kensington. The destruction of the public sector keeps contributing to deaths.

Southwark?  More bollocks on twitter I assume.  To be a first responder from Southwark to North Kensington wouldn't you need a helicopter?

[titaniumbean]

yeh cant imagine first responders did. but with the scale of the mobilisation those who attended will have driven past most places!



Boris is still a complete cretin that hides behind his character of lovable bumbling idiot, when he's just a conniving idiot desperate for power.

[Doobs]

yeh cant imagine first responders did. but with the scale of the mobilisation those who attended will have driven past most places!



Boris is still a complete cretin that hides behind his character of lovable bumbling idiot, when he's just a conniving idiot desperate for power.

Due to the sheer size of the fire, there is a good chance some firefighters went past Southwark, but the first ones didn't. 

Not getting into a dispute about Boris.

[kukushkin88]

next PM?

Yep, the guys an imbecile. First responders last night will have driven past two recently closed stations to get there, Southwark and Kensington. The destruction of the public sector keeps contributing to deaths.

Southwark?  More bollocks on twitter I assume.  To be a first responder from Southwark to North Kensington wouldn't you need a helicopter?

Yeah, it came to me from a colleague whose boyfriend works for LFB. I guess she/they meant pumps/appliances that attended, my error in how I worded it here, it wasn't made totally clear to me by someone whose was v upset when I spoke to them. Seems pretty unnecessary to assume it "bollocks on twitter". We're not really going to say less doctors, less firemen, less police won't mean more deaths are we?

[hhyftrftdr]

Britain First really are a deplorable 'organisation'.

The whole community is helping out after the awful fire, and what do they do? Turn up to help? Nah, go to the area to film some of their racist bile, then complain that they've been shouted out of town.

Disgusting bunch of people.

[Marky147]

Britain First really are a deplorable 'organisation'.

The whole community is helping out after the awful fire, and what do they do? Turn up to help? Nah, go to the area to film some of their racist bile, then complain that they've been shouted out of town.

Disgusting bunch of people.

In before WinkleVanRobinson spots this.

[The Camel]

Took Jake to football training tonight.

Ended up chatting to the dad of one of his friends.

He's been a fireman for over 25 years, and is a crew chief now.

I won't bore you with all the technical stuff he told me about his job, but he said you have to be psychologically immune to what is going on while you are fighting a blaze, almost treat it like a video game, becuase if you get emotionally involved, you'll be a wreck within days.

An awful lot of retired firemen suffer from depression.

[titaniumbean]

Peston nails this paragraph-

But such lax or light touch regulation only becomes fatal in a system - such as we have - designed to drive down costs and save money, not to put the safety of people first.
It is a system in which those working for all the interconnected bodies that made the refurbishment decisions and gave the wrong safety advice to tenants are able to say - as if that makes it alright - "we followed the rules".
It is a system in which identifying anyone who can be proved to be ultimately responsible for what happened may be impossible.
And as we saw in the banks before the financial crisis, when people can take reckless decisions safe in the knowledge they can't be held to account, reckless decisions get taken.