Warhippy Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Dozens of firefighters remain on the scene of a massive fire that swept through a highrise apartment building in west London, England, and has left at least six people dead and sent more than 50 to area hospitals. Flames could be seen shooting from windows in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in North Kensington and plumes of smoke stretched for kilometres over the capital as more than 200 firefighters battled the blaze. By late morning, London police confirmed at least six people had died, "but this figure is likely to rise during what will be a complex recovery operation over a number of days. Many others are receiving medical care." London Ambulance Service said 74 people were being treated for a range of injuries and 20 people are in critical condition. A firefighter checks damage after a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, in west London. (Rick Findler/Associated Press) Samira Lamrani said she saw a woman try to save a baby by dropping the child from a window "on the ninth or 10th floor." She said "people were starting to appear at the windows, frantically banging and screaming. The windows were slightly ajar, a woman was gesturing that she was about to throw her baby and if somebody could catch her baby. "Somebody did. A gentleman ran forward and managed to grab the baby." Joe Walsh, 58, said he saw someone throw two children out of a window from the fifth or sixth floor. Tiago Etienne, 17, said he spotted about three children between four and eight years old being dropped from an apartment around the 15th floor. 'Unprecedented incident' "This is an unprecedented incident," Dany Cotton, commissioner of the London fire department, told reporters on the scene. "In my 29 years of being a firefighter, I have never, ever seen anything of this scale." Cotton couldn't confirm the number of deaths because of the size and complexity of the building. Witnesses said they saw people jumping from the upper floors. Cotton told a news conference that some firefighters sustained minor injuries and the fire brigade will likely be on the scene for 24 hours. She would not speculate about the cause of the fire or how it spread so rapidly over the whole tower block. Massive apartment building fire in London1:43 The London Fire Brigade received the first reports of the fire at 12:54 a.m. local time, and the first engines arrived within six minutes, she said. Shortly before 11 a.m., the fire brigade reported the building was not at risk of collapsing. "I looked through the spy hole and I could see smoke everywhere and the neighbours are all there. There's a fireman shouting 'get down the stairs,'" one of the block's residents, Michael Paramasivan, told BBC Radio. "It was an inferno. "As we went past the fourth floor, it was completely thick black smoke. As we've gone outside, I'm looking up at the block and it was just going up. It was like pyrotechnics. It was just unbelievable how quick it was burning." Many neighbours said they hadn't slept all night after being awoken by sirens around 1 a.m. London time. ((Thomas Daigle/CBC)) People at the scene said they were unable to reach friends and family inside. Others said they could see people inside using flashlights and mobile phones to try to signal for help from higher floors. Nassima Boutrig, who lives opposite the building, said she was awakened by sirens and smoke so thick that it filled her home. "We saw the people screaming," she said. "A lot of people said 'help, help, help.' The fire brigade could only help downstairs. It was fire up, up, up. They couldn't stop the fire." 'There were no fire alarms' Other survivors spoke of confusion and conflicting advice given to residents, many of whom had been advised in advance not to leave their apartments in the event of a fire. (CBC ) "There were no fire alarms," said Edward Daffarn 55, who was warned by a neighbour to flee. "There was heavy smoke in the hallway. I could not find the stairs." Daffarn said residents had complained for years to London City Council about building safety, to no avail. "I'm lucky to be alive. A neighbour's smoke alarm went off and another neighbor phoned and told me to get out," he said. "I consider this mass murder." Others searched for information at makeshift evacuation centres set up at churches and recreation centres. At St. Clement's Church, Hadra Hassad was trying to find one of her closest friends, who lived on the 21st floor. Hassad believes a daughter of one of her friends is in a hospital, but didn't know which one. Exhausted firefighters Ambulances and fire trucks filled the streets around the building located in a diverse, working-class area of London. Nearby residents, some carrying pets, were also forced out of their homes. Volunteers were handing out bottled water. Volunteers have been bringing clothes and food to makeshift shelters to help those displaced by the fire. (Carl Court/Getty Images) "Crews wearing breathing apparatus and extended duration breathing apparatus have been working in extremely challenging and difficult conditions to rescue people and bring this major fire under control," said Cotton. A structural engineer is checking the stability of the building as firefighters make their way up the floors. "At the moment the building continues to be safe for our crews to go and work in," said Cotton. David Taylor, who lives near the building, told CBC News reporter Thomas Daigle that he was awoken at 1:15 a.m. by a loud noise, then noticed "flames shooting up the side of the building." He said he "was absolutely mesmerized and shocked because there were people in the window. I was shouting at them 'Get out of the building,' and they're going waving at us. It took four hours for the whole building to go up in flames and there's loads of kids at the top. Makes your guts feel funny." Adam Ali, another nearby resident, said it was the worst fire he had ever seen. "That looks like an image from a war zone," he told CBC News. "Doesn't look like something you'd see in a city like London." 'Our warnings fell on deaf ears' Grenfell Tower was built in 1974 and contains 120 flats, according to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The construction firm that refurbished the tower says its work "met all required building control, fire regulation, and health and safety standards." Rydon completed the $14.47-million Cdn tower in May 2016, including adding new cladding and windows. Local residents gather close to the scene of the fire. (Toby Melville/Reuters) The Grenfell Action Group, a community organization formed to oppose a nearby redevelopment project, has been warning about the risk of fire at Grenfell Tower since 2013. The group has raised concerns about testing and maintenance of firefighting equipment, and blocked emergency access to the site. A building plan of Grenfell Tower released by the British Press Association shows a single staircase in the middle of the tower. "All our warnings fell on deaf ears and we predicted that a catastrophe like this was inevitable and just a matter of time," the group said in a blog post written after the fire broke out. Mayor wants answers London Mayor Sadiq Khan said questions will need to be answered over the safety of tower blocks. "Across London we have many, many tower blocks and what we can't have is a situation where people's safety is put at risk because of bad advice being given or if it is the case, as has been alleged, of tower blocks not being properly serviced or maintained." Prime Minister Theresa May's Downing Street office said she was "deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the Grenfell Tower and is being kept constantly updated on the situation." The local council of Kensington and Chelsea, which owns the building, said its focus was on finding temporary housing for residents and the cause of the fire would be fully investigated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Unreal, been following along on twitter. Makes you wonder what the condition of some of the older places in Van are like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ice orca Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 16 minutes ago, Derp... said: Unreal, been following along on twitter. Makes you wonder what the condition of some of the older places in Van are like. Lots of firetraps in every city and town in the country, slum lords skirt or ignore regulations all the time. What a horrible sight in London. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM_ Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 36 minutes ago, Derp... said: Unreal, been following along on twitter. Makes you wonder what the condition of some of the older places in Van are like. no need to wonder, this city is filled with tinder boxes. It wasn't until the 90s that the sprinkler bylaws came in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Apparently the building was undergoing or had undergone renovations to which a local group had complained numerous times about being done in a very unprofessional manner including not reattaching sprinkler systems closing off stairwells etc. They won't have a final death toll for up to 48 hours or more. This is the definition of terrible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tre Mac Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 When they did reno's on my place they striped the walls in the bathroom to put in a new bath/shower door. I was shocked at how rotted our building frame was, some of it was charred. It would go up like a matchbox if there ever was a fire. Looking at the photos I expect a lot of casualties. Dying while being trapped in a fire or drowning has to be the worst way to go out. RIP to the victims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlwaysACanuckFan Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Horrified and saddened to see this morning, my heart goes to all those in the tower as well as the men and women who battled the blaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riffraff Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 This is horrible. Thankful as always for the bravery of the fire brigades and selfless citizens. population density is extreme in London. I lived in an old building for half a year in south kensington. There wasn't a single fire alarm or smoke alarm to my memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish⑦Canuck Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Brutal way to go. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunjabiCanucks Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 London Fire: Muslims Beginning Ramadan Fast May Have Saved Lives In Grenfell Tower http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/london-fire-muslims-breaking-ramadan-fast-may-have-saved-lives-in-grenfell-tower_uk_59410ad3e4b0d3185486088c?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkingz Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Horrible tragedy. Thoughts to those affected. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prix57 Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 Any news on what the cause of the fire was? It was horrific site seeing the entire 24 story building engulfed in flames. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Cat Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 58 minutes ago, prix57 said: Any news on what the cause of the fire was? It was horrific site seeing the entire 24 story building engulfed in flames. Not sure of the exact cause (a kitchen fire?),but it was a disaster waiting to happen...The building had just been refurbished,and the brand new exterior cladding is what caused the fire to rapidly spread (it had already reached the top floor within 12 minutes)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBH1926 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Terrible tragedy, so far 12 people have perished in this fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoGuitar Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Horrible, can't imagine having to toss my kids out the window to try to save them... heartbreaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBH1926 Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Scotland Yard has launched a criminal investigation into this. Number of victims expected to rise above 100. This story how Ethiopian cab driver's fridge caught fire and caused all this damage, it sounds fishy. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/15/london-fire-latest-death-toll-set-rise-amid-grim-search-grenfell/#update-20170616-0202 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofsurrey Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Terrible news. RIP . Condolence to the families and friends. Hope this doesn't give some terrorist some ideas for soft targets........ I Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordCanuck Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Sad. For this to happen it's unbelievable and now there's rumours of up to and maybe over 100 missing/dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 choosing some non-fire-rated exterior cladding sounds like criminal negligence to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBH1926 Posted June 17, 2017 Share Posted June 17, 2017 Considering the magnitude of this tragedy, Britts responded as well as Bush did in 2004. This just goes to show that poor people are treated the same, regardless of where they live. https://www.ft.com/content/9034d46e-534d-11e7-9fed-c19e2700005f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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