After what has happened in the UK these last few weeks, our thoughts and prayers go out to you all! hope you all can weather this storm of tragedy's lately, and come out ok. You guys have definitely had your share of tragic events.

Earliest reports suggest an exploding fridge on the 4th floor but the source is the tenant of the flat in which the fridge was located so not 'expertly verified' as yet.

Latest death toll figure is 17 and the Police are warning they expect that figure to rise further.

Heard a little bit of it when I woke early in the morning. Didn't take notice of it, until I got up and watched the news. Followed the transmission from the ongoing fire. It was so terrible to see, so after about 1-1½ hours I turned to another channel and watched Horse race from England.

I have throughout of the day been hearing some of journalist saying or have quoted some police or firefighters from London, who have said that the death toll could very well be higher than 100.

Another thing

Some of my FB-friends are convinced its terror or maybe some racist who have created this fire(can't remember the correct word-is it Arson ?)

Markus

We had a huge fire a month ago here and it turned out to be a bed-smoker.

I believe that all tall buildings should have an external escape system, regardless if there are sprinklers in place or not.

I agree with that... I'd want to get outside asap.

I see the blame game has started for flips sake that is not helping the situation.

It will be some time before the official cause is released to the public. I suspect the investigators will go through it very thoroughly and take a lot of time with it before reaching an official conclusion.

alboverburn, outside exit is a good thought. It's not done anymore because of issues with weather and maintenance. I can't speak for Britain, but I suspect it's similar to the US. The interior stair wells are isolated from rest of the building with a fire wall enclosure. Some buildings have pressurized stair wells. The hallways are supposed to be divided up with fire doors to limit smoke movement. If properly constructed, the stairwells and hallways should remain smoke free and safe. If not properly constructed, or if the safety features are over-ridden, they will not work as efficiently as designed. History shows it has tragic results.
I saw a layout of the building. It's what's called pedestal construction. There is a central supporting frame. Inside that frame is the stairwell, elevators and utility supply. The floor supports are attached to this, and often an auxiliary external frame. The external wall panels are what is called curtain walls. Very common with this type of construction. The panels simply hang from a framework and are there for waterproofing. As I understand, the panels were a composite of an insulating material and aluminum sheeting. Given how black the smoke was, I guess the insulation was petroleum based and not properly treated for fire proofing.

Link to an article
 

I've been following the events of Grenfell Tower over the last day. As
Fireftr 18 said, this is a fireman and rescuers worst nightmare.

Thoughts and prayers to all involved.

Money, money, money its all they ever think about. :doh:

http://www.itv.com/news/2017-06-15/g...hment-project/

‘mummy can you please come get me,’
 

From the WSJ: It's getting worse:

Quote:

.... has raised questions about whether officials were too slow to address concerns about fire-safety measures in low-income housing. Residents had complained for years that the building wasn’t fire safe, and experts have suggested that the cladding on the building’s exterior may have contributed to the quick spread of the flames. London police commander Stuart Cundy said it is taking time to identify the dead and retrieve them because of the building’s hazardous condition. He said the death toll had reached at least 30, with 12 bodies taken to the mortuary and more still inside the building. “I do believe the number [of dead] will increase,” he said. On Thursday, he had said he was hopeful that the toll wouldn’t reach more than 100

Quote:

Originally Posted by Me This was always my worst concern at Geneva Towers (two twin 22 floor Federal subsidized housing bldgs);edit: at least the firestair escapes were outside on the hallway exits....from which we patrolled each of 22 floors and three parking garage levels; five times a shift! Bed smokers, crack pipes (think Richard Pryor's accident here) and empty coffee makers left on were always issues. I always made sure my patrol partner could smell well...

Interior unpressurized fire escape stairwells are smoke filled death-traps in older unrenovated highrises.

It seesm it was just of all the new outside insulation, that burnt and spread the fire? I am not sure though, styropor does not burn so easily, or does it?

And will they learn from it? No..

It is sad that people have to die before corrective action is taken.

Let's not kid ourselves, there is a price on human life.

I don't think I would like to work or live in a high-rise building.

Built by the contractor who said they can build it the cheapest using materials provided by a supplier that could deliver it the cheapest. But they will not spare any expense on lobbying/donating politicians over coding/zoning issues.

All we can hope for is that these people did not die in vain.

Fix the problem!!