Massive fire in London apartment building

[hoosierdoc]

Latimer Road fire: Huge blaze engulfs London tower block | Daily Mail Online

ugh. This is so sad. I haven't seen one burn like that in a while. Hopefully not something the terrorists will start doing

 

[Alamo]

Yes this is very ugly. Sounds like the residents knew they were in a fire trap. Awful.

https://pjmedia.com/video/towering-inferno-engulfs-london-apartment-building/

 

[hoosierdoc]

That "action group" makes me nervous having read that and then seen this

The Grenfell Action Group predict that it won’t be long before the words of this blog come back to haunt the KCTMO management and we will do everything in our power to ensure that those in authority know how long and how appallingly our landlord has ignored their responsibility to ensure the heath and safety of their tenants and leaseholders. They can’t say that they haven’t been warned!

 

[SMiller]

Terrorism?

 

[Birds Away]

Very sad.

 

[hoosierdoc]

The pics I've seen of those affected seem to be lower class immigrants. Just observing. I wonder if this was slum level living?

 

[Kutnupe14]

My girlfriend streamed it live and screamed when someone on fire jumped out of a higher floor. Me, I can't watch that kind of stuff.

 

[hoosierdoc]

Me either. It looks like to building was quickly engulfed

 

[Denny347]

Terrorism?

Not likely, I believe the building housed mostly Muslim immigrants who complained about the unsafe conditions inside.

 

[indiucky]

My girlfriend streamed it live and screamed when someone on fire jumped out of a higher floor. Me, I can't watch that kind of stuff.

It had shades of 9/11 for me...I couldn't watch it wither.....

 

[indiucky]

Not likely, I believe the building housed mostly Muslim immigrants who complained about the unsafe conditions inside.

But if someone knew that and targeted it because of that???? My first thought was terrorism but not the kind we normally see...More like soccer hooligan's mad about immigration....

It seems it was a faulty fridge but the speed in which that building went up was horrendous.....

 

[churchmouse]

It had shades of 9/11 for me...I couldn't watch it wither.....

Avoided it for exactly this reason.

 

[Ski]

Me either. It looks like to building was quickly engulfed

It was, thanks to upgrades to make the building "greener".

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3800401/grenfell-tower-cladding-fires-world-high-rise/

From the article:

Arnold Tarling, 55, of the Association of Specialist Fire Protection, said: “This was an accident waiting to happen.
“They clad the concrete of this building with flammable insulation panels and rain screen cladding with a 30mm gap, which acted like a chimney.
“All the burning material falls down, starting more fires below, and the flames spread up and across searching for oxygen.
“Meanwhile, crews can’t tackle the fire effectively because their water just bounces off the rain covers.
“The cladding looks lovely, it’s cheap, complies with regulations and gives the building a high environmental rating. But it’s a silent killer.
“When this block was built, it complied with the old fire regulations. Had it been left alone it would never have burned like this.”

 

[hoosierdoc]

I saw that chimney effect. Fire seemed to be pulled straight up it

what is a rain shield?

 

[Ski]

Sounds like the rain shield is there to protect the foam insulation. I find it hard to believe that the foam wasn't treated with fire retardant. I guess on the positive side, this flammable insulation is on thousands of buildings across the UK and the world, and is an easy target for terrorists.

 

[Denny347]

Also reported that the building lacked a fire alarm and a sprinkler system...WOW!!!! The cladding on the outside was to make it LOOK nicer to the residents of the affluent city these low income buildings were located in.

 

[Ski]

The cladding was for energy efficiency, that it looks nice is a bonus. There were also signs posted instructing people to stay in their rooms if the fire wasn't in their room. That was
recommended years ago, before they added flammable insulation to the outside of the building. It was also said that the stairwells weren't designed for mass evacuation so these
poor people never had a chance.

 

[femurphy77]

The scary part is that apparently they have buildings like this all over England. I'm betting they'll be sharpening up their guillotines before this is all said and done. Interesting though how building codes can be so different between countries; no internal alarm or sprinkler system, only one stairway out, flammable materials allowed in the construction of the building. WOW! Kinda makes you appreciate at least some of the draconian laws we deal with everyday!

 

[Kutnupe14]

Also reported that the building lacked a fire alarm and a sprinkler system...WOW!!!! The cladding on the outside was to make it LOOK nicer to the residents of the affluent city these low income buildings were located in.

I heard that too. If I'm correct in assuming that the UK has similar regulations requiring that stuff like we do here, someone is going to prison.

 

[hoosierdoc]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4166631/dubai-fire-latest-updates-residential-tower-blaze/

Boy that picture looks familiar